You might have heard of baby sleep training before, or maybe you’ve never come across this concept. Baby sleep training elements involves a set of activities or a routine that encourages a baby to fall asleep who will not do so independently. If you have a new baby who won’t sleep well and fusses every night at bedtime, sleep training can be the solution you need.
However, some people are not clear on the basic sleep training concepts that form this idea’s bedrock. We’ll talk about some of those in this article so you’ll understand the science involved.
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Children Will Fall Asleep if They Feel Safe
If you look into the Batelle sleep training routine, you’ll see that the company caters each program to the individual child, but many of the elements they’ll recommend are the same. Batelle is one of the companies that provide remote sleep training programs that have become popular in recent years with parents of problem sleepers.
One of the most fundamental concepts behind sleep training is establishing a routine. That makes sense since humans can find comfort in routines, even at a very young age.
Babies are likely to fall asleep and stay asleep if they feel safe and secure. If they don’t feel safe, or if a situation feels unfamiliar to them, that’s one of the times when they won’t want to fall asleep.
An example would be a child who falls asleep when their parent rocks them back and forth and sings or hums to them. They equate this with safety, so they will drift off. The problem is that if you train a child to sleep when you do this, they won’t know to do it if you don’t follow that same routine every time.
You Have to Teach the Child to Sleep on Their Own
You may not be able to rock a child and hum or sing to them every night, so you need to get away from that routine. You also may teach a child to sleep in the same bed with you. If you ever really want them to sleep in a crib at some point, you must get away from that behavior as well.
If a child does not feel completely secure and ready for sleep until you sing to them or until you lie down next to them and they feel your body close to theirs, you’re going to have a challenging time teaching them that they don’t need those things for their consciousness to shut down. You have established an unsustainable behavior pattern.
Sleep training is a way to get away from these behaviors and habits. Both you and the child need to follow new routines if they’re going to be able to sleep on their own each night.
You Must Train Your Child to Trust the Sleep Process
Fundamentally, getting your child to trust the sleep process and to fall asleep on their own is what fuels baby sleep training. There are various techniques you might use to get your child to feel safe, even if you, the caregiver, are not right there next to them.
This very concept sounds foreign to some parents because they’re always used to being in the same room with a child and trying to get them to sleep through vocalizing or rocking them. You don’t need to do those things, though, and you can teach your child not to need them.
If you find a company that can recommend a science-backed sleep program and you stick with it night after night, you can retrain your child, so they become better at sleeping on their own. They will no longer fuss when you turn out the light or leave the room.
Both the parents and the child will come to trust the sleep process once you find that it works. You’ll also be able to sleep better each night because your child won’t wake up constantly and cry until you pay attention to them.
You’ll be able to focus on your tasks during the days if you work outside the home. You won’t need multiple cups of coffee to try and keep your resolve because you will get the recommended adult sleep amount.
All of this sounds borderline miraculous, but certain companies have developed baby sleep techniques and programs that they stand by completely. They will even offer a money-back guarantee, proof that they trust the science behind the programs they create and send to customers.
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