Family Life

09.11.12 | Sarah Harnisch

There's a story today that's sure to reverberate with every parent whose ever brought a newborn home from the hospital.  Specifically, it has to do with the debate over whether or not to let your newborn cry for awhile in order to learn to sleep through the night. It's a scenerio all parents can relate to: a screaming child who won't go to sleep.  Do you respond immediately, or let them cry it out? A new study in the journal Pediatrics says it's ok to let them cry. Australian researchers tested two sleep training methods "controlled comforting", where parents take longer and longer to respond to their babies cries and "camping out" where they sit farther and farther away from the crib.
          
Five years later, researchers found no significant long term affects on the kids who underwent either of these techniques. Dr. Deb lonzer at the Cleveland Clinic admits these techniques are tough to put into practice because the simple fact is no mommy wants to hear their baby cry, no matter what the time of day.