By: Naomi Maharaj
Think you have this parenting thing down to a science? You handle messes, tiffs, and tears without a bat of an eyelash? Or are you constantly second guessing yourself? Reading parenting books and trying to decide what parenting style you want to implement? Take this parenting quiz (part 3 of 6) to see your score (Parts 1 & 2 are here)
Scenario
After a week of vomiting, diarrhea and general illness, your baby/toddler finally feels better! She settles in for the night, as do you. But after a week of you running to her side to look after her all night, she no longer settles without you; she wakes up throughout the night crying, she is restless, and refuses to stay in her bed. You are exhausted, and so is she. If you rock her like you did while she was sick she falls right to sleep but wakes up if you put her down.
To return your baby/toddler to sleeping through the night you:
a) Use the Dr. Ferber “cry it out” method.
b) Use the “no cry” method (often attributed to Dr. William Sears)
c) Keep going in to comfort her, but slowly scale back on the amount you are doing.
d) Buy a comfortable, padded rocking chair, and settle in until she grows out of this phase and starts a new one.
Score:
If you answered A: You are incorrect.
While working wonders for some parents, many criticize Ferber’s method for being cruel.
If you answered B: You are incorrect.
CIO supporters think this method provides your child with too many sleep props and does not provide the child the opportunity to learn to fall asleep on their own.
If you answered C: You are incorrect.
Supporters of A and B will criticize you for, well, everything in this option, and assume you’ll choose one of their methods eventually.
If you answered D: You are incorrect.
The first night you want to go out, or are sick, or if you have another child before ‘the next phase’ begins, you may second guess your own answer.
The point?
There is no one size fits all answer. And what worked when you first sleep trained your child may not work again now they are older.
I have a 2 year old who was sleeping fairly regularly through the night, but since having strep throat (weeks ago) he is up a number of times a night AND at 5 am for the day. I very much wish I could get this question correct!
What is your approach to sleep training a child after they have been ill?
Naomi Maharaj is mom to two boys, ages 2 and 3. She started the blog Laughing Mom when her second son was a few months old as a way to highlight the lighter side of parenting. In the face of sleep deprivation, crying babies and tantruming toddlers she hopes to be able to see, and share, the humor in it all. Naomi occasionally comments on current events or human interest pieces that catch her attention. Connect with Naomi on Facebook.