In today’s edition of ‘Charlotte reads every parenting book ever written,’ we have a brilliant sleep tip (that worked for us) from No.1 Sunday Times bestseller, Pamela Druckerman:
“Babies often cry when they’re learning to connect sleep cycles. They can also make a noise like an angry frog and still be asleep. So when the baby is a few weeks old, don’t instantly jump up when he cries at night. Do like the french, and pause for a few minutes. You are waiting to see if your baby will have a breakthrough moment and plunge into the next sleep cycle on his own, without anyone else’s help. If you immediately rush in and pick him up, he won’t have a chance to develop this skill. Rushing in to him may make you feel like a devoted parent, but in effect you’re treating your baby like a helpless blob who is not ready to learn and grow. You needn’t pause for long. Some French parents wait five minutes, others wait a bit more or less. They’re not letting their babies ‘cry it out.’ If he’s still crying after these few minutes, then they reason that he must need something, and they pick him up.”
Taken from ‘French Parents Don’t Give In: 100 Parenting Tips From Paris‘ (and also featured in ‘French Children Don’t Throw Food,’ the very enjoyable memoir of an American mum learning to parent the Parisian way) this little tidbit is just one of many great pieces of advice, as told by a mother who has paid her dues, and done her research. And, as I say, it worked brilliantly for us when Rory was a baby. (And never once resulted in full on ‘crying it out,’ which I have no issue with – each to their own – but am far too emotional to be able to do myself.) Toddler sleep is a whole other ball park, but that’s a story for another day.
Unconvinced? Well, if nothing else, it has to be worth a shot.
After all, there’s a reason sleep deprivation is used as a form of torture… 😴
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