Family Forum / Parenting / Twins / December 2004

I'm not sure why you would object to the Ferber method.  Let me simply say that
it seems the most humane and compassionate way to help children learn to sleep!
We all (adults) have periods of wakefulness, when we hopefully have learned to
put ourselves back to sleep -- that's what we need to teach our children to do!
Ferber suggests going into the room, patting the child, saying "you are okay"
(I am paraphrasing his method, here), and continually reassuring the child that
she is capable of going back to sleep.  If you pick up the child, rock him/her,
sing, feed, walk around -- you are, in essence, saying "you need my help to go
back to sleep." The parents I've worked with, who have tried this method, have
said that the first couple of nights they may need to go into the room many
many times...but eventually, the child gets the idea, and the trips into the
room for reassurance dwindle down and then disappear.
Grandmom Gwen