Sleep Training: Safe and Okay OR Cruel and Traumatizing?

Sleep Training Basics

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By Sleep Training Kids

Sleep Training FAQs

Sleep training, when done correctly, is completely safe

Sleep training, when done correctly, is a great short-term tool to help families get better sleep with no long-term effects. But when it is done incorrectly, it can be risky, cruel, traumatizing, and even dangerous.

Here’s what that means:

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Emotional and spiritual safety and needs of your child

Psychological safety and needs of your child

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Physical safety and needs of your child

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What Factors Make for “Safe” Sleep Training?

Making Sleep Training Physically Safe includes these factors:

01  Being fed when hungry

02 Getting a drink when thirsty

03 Having on clean clothes

04 Getting changed out of soiled diapers quickly

05 Having on a clean diaper

06 Receiving comfort when needed

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here are some of the factors that needs to address when it comes to a child’s emotional, spiritual, and psychological well-being:

The Emotional and Psychological Sides of Sleep Training

Depending on your child’s age, how frequently they’re ignored, the risks for letting a baby cry without intervention include:

Increased cortisol (stress hormone)

Inability to self-regulate and self-comfort

Changes in normal brain development

Trust impairment and self-confidence issues

A diminished caregiver sensitivity and responsiveness

So When is Sleep Training Cruel, Unsafe, Traumatizing, or Just Bad?

Sleep training becomes most problematic when the children are ignored or allowed to cry past the point of becoming neglected.

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When is Sleep Training Okay, Safe, and Even Good

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Sleep training is safe when it’s planned, and intentional, and accounts for all aspects of a child’s wellbeing.

Within the scope of “safe” sleep training, these methods can be used successfully with great confidence.

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That being said, let’s look at the when and how of both sides – how sleep training could be risky and the ways in which it can be done safely.

In other words, is sleep training safe or not?