letting kids cry themselves to sleep

Well, I always have had a problem with that too. I never thought it was wrong to rock my babies to sleep. After a while I would just take them into their room and give them a book and let them fall asleep looking at a book. Then after I knew they were asleep then I would go in and take their stuff and put it away, and make sure they were covered up. I always started at like 7:30 to get them wore down and in bed. This was when my oldest son was getting ready to start Kindergaten. I haven't had many problems getting them in bed since, and they no longer need a book or anything.

I have never let my children cry themselves to sleep. Maybe I'm lucky, I don't know, but my children didn't cry just to cry. There was/is always something wrong. Maybe they're hungry, wet, dirty or have gas. I'd change the diaper offer a bottle or give them gas drops and pat their backs until they calmed down and went back to sleep. I have two boys and I've never had to let them cry themselves to sleep. I can't stand to hear a baby cry. It breaks my heart.

My youngest is going on 3 months. She is usually pretty good on putting herself to sleep. I do not like to have my children to cry themselves to sleep if I can help it. I think it makes it harder for them to calm down. My middle child has asthma so when she was a baby & got really upset her asthma would get out of control.

I say it depends on the child and how old the child is. Most important, make sure the child is happy, healthy, dry and fed. I started putting my son down by himself when he was first born. As much as I loved rocking him to sleep, (I always did this at nap times), at night, I always gave him his bath and put him in his own bed. With my daughter, things were different. She had colic. She would cry for hours. I learned real quick that she slept much better laying on me. She still crawled into my bed when she was 4 and 5 years old. When she started school and she was a big girl, she no longer needed to be with me at night. My kids are grown now, and they have their own places, but I do miss those days. Now I wish I had rocked them for days.

I had a problem getting my oldest to go to bed by himself, but I hated to hear him cry. He was only eight months old when I got pregnant again, but I rocked him to sleep until it was hard for me to carry him up the stairs. It only took a week of letting him cry for him to go to bed by himself. With my second baby, I started right from the first putting her to bed by herself and there has never been a problem. Naptime still gets a lot of cuddles and if they fall asleep in my arms I just cherish the moment.

Well I think that all depends on what you are comfortable with. No one knows your child better then yourself. For me my daughter was almost a year before I tried the cry it out method. My wife was very anxious about it, but it was the only way in the end to get her to go to sleep without rocking her to sleep for an hour or two first. That being said though don't let them cry too much, there could be other problems then just not getting to sleep, as for how long is too long, well you know your child best, for me it started out at 5 minutes and worked up to 20 minutes at the longest.

I will not leave my kid to cry until she's asleep, I don't have a heart to do it. if she's crying I will just hold her until she stops crying, then I will accompany her in her bad and play with her until she falls asleep. and to teach them to fall asleep on their own, I think they will learn it by themself when the time is right, my guess is about 2 to 3 years old.

I think it depends on the circumstances ... if the baby is sick, hungry, teething, wet, scared, then of course you don't allow them to keep crying. As a parent it's our job to make sure that we protect our children to the best of our abilities. But, I also think that we need to teach them that they can't get away with things ... like throwing fits or manipulating a situation. It breaks my heart too to hear them cry, but I know that it is best for baby and for me to let them cry themselves to sleep so that they get adequate sleep.

We didn't really have to deal with DS (15 months) crying himself to sleep, but sometimes he's not happy with needing to sleep, even though he's tired. I don't remember exactly how we did it, but he's become comfortable playing in his crib on his own, so he'll just play a little to relax, then fall asleep. It's good for us, because he also likes to play a little on his own when he wakes up. Some days I'll listen to the monitor and he'll play for an hour or so before wanting to get up. And some days he'll play a little, then go back to sleep. Lets me sleep in! :-)

I think that it's about the time that you figure out what cry means what, around 9 months or so, that babies start to figure out how to get attention. Right now i have a young couple with a ten month old staying with us and the mom has been jumping up every time the baby cries and holds him all the time. She's only thirty six and has huge dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep. But since they've been here, I guess my calm grandma way has sort of rubbed off and they're starting to put him down and let him fuss for a while. I wouldn't let a baby CRY..really cry for very long. If they're crying, there's usually a reason, but I will let a baby fuss and pitch a little temper tantrum and put the earplugs in my ears and won't give in to them every time. I think if they cry a little while, but not more than thirty minutes before going to sleep. But any longer than that I would check on them and maybe rock them a little bit. Just make sure their needs are met and they're crying because they're wet or hungry. Sometimes they just get cranky from being taken all over the place or if they're tired. If you give in to them and hold them they never learn to sleep on their own. I was fortunate with all four of my kids. They went right to sleep at night and slept through from the day I brought them home.

I have never let my children cry themselves to sleep and I never will. I do not agree with it at all. It does not teach children to sleep it teaches them that their parents will not come to them when they need them to. It isnot a necessary evil, it is something parents do because they are too selfish to put themselves asside for a short while to care for their children. I am absolutely against it. Children cry for a reason, they need something. Whether it is to be held, to be comforted, just to not be alone. It is my job as a parent to meet my child's needs until they are old enough to do that on their own.

Even though I am not a parent I must say that sometimes it is important to discipline your children but then that decision is completely yours.... confused?? Wait let me explain, when a child is born he/she starts to observe almost immediately, as a matter of fact a chil is able to perceive and learn long before it is even born that is while it is in the mother's womb. I have noticed how pregnant women talk to their tummies and that is actually brilliant because they are already disciplining their children. Most parent go wrong by actually beginning to put their children to sleep from 7 pm all the way till 9. In my opinion, from its very first day the baby should be trained into being kept into bed at exactly 9 pm no matter what! My dad for example, as a child used to be kept to bed at 10 pm sharp and even now when the clock strikes 10 its ridiculous how he would immediately feel sleepy, even though he is an adult. Dad had very disciplined grandparent (yeah he was raised by his grandparent), anyway he has a full routine of when he sleeps, eats, wakes... all of it. Dad honestly works like clock work!! So well try doing that and if you have passed the new born stage you can make your children do stuff to tire them out for example activities that keep them engaged till their bedtime. I wish you parent all the best.. I have 2 younger siblings who I watched my mum nurse and take care of.. so I know that parenting is no piece of cake and there certainly is no manual on it. All in all I say go with whatever works, as long as you are not damaging or hurting your child. Good luck.

Man oh man...I became quite good at it! Having 5 kids, it got easier. Now some people may think this is mean, but unfortunately, you have to start teaching your children immediately. Within reason. Now as far as a sleep schedule goes, as an infant, they are important..so if it means letting them cry after doing everything else, then so be it. You should always make sure that everything else is done first of course. Feeding, diapers, playtime, tummy time and parental interaction. After all of those things have been done, and it's time for the baby to sleep, then crying is no big deal. As a mom, you have the ability to tell the difference in your childs cry's. You'll know if they're just crying because they wanna be held, or if something is really wrong. If the screaming goes on for too long, I would suggest checking the babies tummy for gas...(check to see how hard it is) and also maybe try a little rocking. Depending on how stubborn the baby is, and how patient the parent is play's a major role here. It's all in what you can handle and the ability to know the difference.

i think it is quite a commom problem for those parents ,who love their children very much.it is known to all all babies cry as they grow ,even when they grow into adults.hearing the babies cryig,indeed we will feel sad ,but i think it is necessary for us to leave them alone sometimes,which will help them grow better .however,the time should be controled in a limite ,in case someting bad will happen to the babies.

I'm sorry, but babies cry for a reason. I practice Attachment Parenting and am VERY against crying it out. Babies do not understand time, when they cry they need something.

I think that is depends on what you are comfortable , No one knows your child better then yourself. For me my daughter was almost a year before I tried the cry it out method. My wife was very anxious about it, but it was the only way in the end to get her to go to sleep without rocking her to sleep for an hour or two first. That being said though do not let them cry too much, there could be other problems then just not getting to sleep, as for how long is too long, and you know your child best, for me it started out at 5 minutes and worked up to 10 minutes at the longest if the kids is not sick.

as a parent you must be there to comfort the child and a as far as possible dont let the child fall asleep crying because if wesleep with good thoughts ie feeling happy we tend to get up feeling the same.

Everyone wants her chaild to grow normally and learn everything the kids needs to. But people hating hearing the crying of the babies. They do tricks and make them sleep. Noone to blame. You are right.

I just try to coax them, get them used to the idea of sleeping alone.

My girl is 10 month old and I have been trying hard to put her into the habit of sleeping on her own .. its a very important habit and has its effect on them lifelong .. they have to learn on their own and getting a peaceful sleep is also important .. i think if they cry so much before sleeping will the sleep be peaceful .. instaed I have tried the music way to put her to sleep .. i play light instrumental music in the background when I am putting her to sleep .. dim lights .. and now she has understood soft music and dim lights means Time to Sleep :) While sleeping on their own is important I think even the quality of sleep is equally important .. so crying them out would not give them quality sleep ..