Up to 50% of babies at 6 months of life are still waking up at night, and most parents have the expectation that a baby will be sleeping through the night at this point, so it's a common cause of stress for parents. Sometimes if a baby is up all night, it leads to issues during the day with behavior, and they cry more, and they're more fussy because they're tired, or they may just totally have their sleep cycle messed up, and they're sleeping more during the day, and they're up more at night, and so, of course, if this is happening to your baby, you want to know what you can do. And sleep-training is a very effective way to help teach a child healthy sleep habits.

There are a few different forms, including "crying it out" or a more graduated approach where you incrementally increase the amount of time before you go check on your baby at night or during wakings during nap time, or where you slowly wean yourself from your child where you start out in their room and slowly work your way towards the door until you're out of the room entirely. Whatever method of sleep-training you choose, sleep-training has been shown to be very effective. In fact, most studies have shown that more than 90% of the time, it's effective and both children and parents are sleeping better with some persistence and patience.

The effects of teaching a child healthy sleep habits (which starts early on during the first year of life) are beneficial not just in the short term, but also in the long term. And some parents are hesitant to sleep-train, because they've heard or they worry that sleep-training may affect their relationship with their child later on or it may cause emotional scarring. And research has also been done on this topic and has shown that parents have great relationships with their kids when they are 6 years old if they were sleep-trained. And it actually (during the immediate period surrounding sleep-training) has been shown to improve marital relationships, because parents are now sleeping, they're not always sleep-deprived, and it helps improve the quality of life for parents and children alike, because a baby is now sleeping at night, and that doesn't affect their mood during the day, they're less likely to be fussy and affected by being overly tired. Getting enough sleep basically helps everyone - parents and children, and so sleep-training is a good idea.

There are a few circumstances when a pediatrician may recommend against it, like when a baby is too young to be sleep-trained because they still need extra nighttime feedings, or if there are medical conditions that exist that necessitate checking on the child frequently, but generally speaking, sleep-training is great and it helps everyone to sleep better. If you have specific questions or concerns about your circumstances, talk with your pediatrician and they'll be able to offer you tailored information and advice. And if you have more questions in the future for me, feel free to ask them at Intermountain Moms on either our Facebook or Instagram pages, and recommend us to your friends and family too.