Can't we all just get along? And get some sleep?
In the new editions to their advice books on getting newborns to sleep, experts on both ends of the spectrum have made some compromises and qualifications to the techniques they--and their over-zealous parent/disciples--have been preaching for the last ten-plus years.
According to the Wall St Journal, Ferber's new book acknowledges that "crying it out" was never supposed to be the best solution for all types of sleep problems. And in even bigger news--I hope Attachment Parenting true believers are sitting down--Dr. Sears actually says that parents should get to sleep sometime, too. Maybe, just maybe, by phasing out the mid-night feedings:
In softening his own approach, Dr. Sears says he now thinks his earlier books placed too much emphasis on catering to the baby's needs, and did not address the parents' needs enough. "It's also a parent-centered approach," he says of his new book. "What your baby needs is a happy, rested mother."Grrrr. Some things, apparently, DON'T change.
New Advice On Getting Babies To Sleep, by Elena Cherney [wsj, also in the pitt. post-gazette, via dt reader eric]
previously: DT on Ferber vs. Sears
I always thought Ferber got a bad rap. A lot of people never bother to read his whole book, or even the whole chapter where he discusses controlled crying. If they did, they'd realize even in the old edition of the book, he never advocates this method for ALL children, and there are a lot of other methods in his book that never get talked about (used?) because they take longer to do.
From the linked article:
"The quest by busy, affluent parents to get a good night's sleep has spawned a huge advice industry in recent years, with experts touting books, videos and private sleep-consulting services."
So, only busy, affluent parents need sleep, right? God, they are so *selfish*! I see that attitude hasn't changed so much either.
[whoa, how did I skim over "private sleep-consulting services"?? -ed.]