Dispelling Cry-It-Out Sleep Training Myths and What to Do Instead

Jennifer Rosier, Jennifer G. Rosier

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2026
• eBook ISBN:
  9781040753286
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Nursing

This book draws together evidence from psychology, neuroscience, anthropology, and human development to make a compelling case for why you shouldn't be using or recommending crying?it?out sleep training techniques with babies.

Dispelling Cry?It?Out Sleep Training Myths and What to Do Instead explains what normal infant sleep is like and explores the history and context of cry?it?out sleep training methods for infant sleep. It presents what research shows us about the impact of cry?it?out on babies' wellbeing and on attachment with their caregivers. It investigates how brain development is affected by sleep training and discusses why sleep training is developmentally inappropriate and often does not even work. This book ends with an in?depth exploration of alternative approaches to promoting good quality infant sleep.

This informative book is designed to support health, social work, and education professionals working with families and young children.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• About the Editor
• List of Contributors
• Introduction
• 1 From “Crying Expands the Lungs” to “You’re Going to Spoil That Baby”: How the Cry-It-Out Method Became Authoritative Knowledge
• 2 Is Consolidated Infant Sleep Normal? Why Night Waking Is Typical in Infant Sleep Development
• 3 The Evolved Nest: Sleep Training Violates Humanity’s Baselines for Child Raising
• 4 Trials, Tears, and Trust: Does Sleep Training Impact Attachment?
• 5 Self-Soothing or Self-Silencing? Debunking the Belief that the Cry-It-Out Method Develops Emotional Regulation
• 6 A Critical Review of Cry-It-Out Efficacy Studies
• 7 What to Do Instead of Cry-It-Out
• Index