Demystifying the Debate: Is Sleep Training Bad?

In the ongoing discourse, critics liken your baby's sleep to that of an elderly person with cognitive impairment, aiming to elicit an emotional response and fuel guilt about sleep training. However, we challenge this perspective, recognizing the capability of a tiny human to self-soothe.

The anti-sleep training community frames sleep as a complex puzzle, and we couldn't agree more. Our comprehensive approach considers your baby's temperament, feeding needs, sleep environment, family dynamics, sleep history, and more. No one-size-fits-all solutions; we embrace quick fixes if they genuinely address your concerns.

Explore the nuanced discussion surrounding sleep training and discover tailored strategies for your unique parenting journey

The anti-sleep training community say sometimes there is no problem to solve, and I couldn’t agree more!

If it’s not a problem for you, it’s not a problem…but if the anti-sleep training community tries to tell you, what you perceive as a problem is biologically normal and you should just suck it up, I disagree.

There is a big difference between biologically normal and optimal. We can work towards optimal with some simple strategies, you can avoid CIO, it’s not an all or nothing.

The anti-sleep training community will tell you a baby waking every 2-3 hours for a year is normal.

A year!

An entire 12 months!

You have to only sleep in 1–2-hour blocks of sleep for 12 months or more according to the anti-sleep training community…because this is normal.

It’s not abnormal for your baby to have not learnt to stop asking you to re-settle them to sleep every 2-3 hours at night, but they don’t need to eat every 2-3 hours unless medically indicated and they CAN learn to self-soothe themselves back to sleep.

That also is NORMAL, what they never admit to is that the baby who learns to self-soothe at night via sleep training, or a gradual reduction in settling (also sleep training in my opinion), and this baby who can re-settle starts to sleep through, they’re also NORMAL!

Somehow the anti-sleep training community has one view of normal they want you to know about, and you shouldn’t know the flip side which is also normal and probably a lot more optimal for all involved.

The anti-sleep training community will tell you learning to fall asleep independently doesn’t actually solve your sleep issues… yet the science 100% disagrees with them.

Falling asleep independently results in longer night sleep, longer naps, and more sleep in 24 hours.

They preach that babies want connection and support to fall asleep, only then with these 2 factors they will sleep longer.

Yet hunger aside the newborn months where babies get the most connection and are carried the most, in daycare the least, and are fully assisted and supported to sleep, they sleep the shortest cycles and wake the most frequently.

I agree that babies need to feel calm, connected, loved and supported, that is they need a healthy attachment in order to thrive.

Very few people are not aiming to achieve this as parents, these are the parents under government investigation for child neglect, not people who are seeking to sleep train and achieve better naps or nights.

Somethings in the anti-sleep training community really bug me.

For one, it’s an industry obsessed with going on the negative and shaming how others choose to parent.

They’re never content to just spread awareness of how they choose to parent, which is more than what they choose NOT to do.

Consider a personal trainer who was a big believer in weight training and strength training.

This is what they’re for.

Imagine if they spent 60-80% of their time telling everyone how bad cardio and stretching was rather than focusing on what they DO believe in.

Insecure much?

Or marketing?

Anyone in marketing will tell you, standing up against something and preaching why you are against that thing is great marketing. Helps you make money.

Yet the anti-sleep training community says the sleep training industry are the ones trying to fleece parents of their money.

Don’t be fooled, these slanderous posts on Instagram and Facebook are marketing.

Are they selling something?

Are they a business?

Yes?

It’s marketing.

Marketing based on making you as a parent feel shame, guilt, and remorse for wanting more than the biological norm or the biological minimum for your baby.

Shaming you for feeling exhausted after 10 months of waking 2-3 hourly at night… While your baby is allowed to be biologically normal, you have to be super human… super f%$ken human.

Excuse my language but to survive a year of waking every 2-3 hourly and sleeping in 1-2 hour blocks and not suffer from mental health difficulties and physical implications from this fragmented sleep for this prolonged time is super human.

All these points have been taken directly from actual posts on Instagram or facebook.

You don’t have to look to deeply to see these statements especially when they seek you out, yes you!

You following the hashtag #sleeptraining they’re here to tell you how wrong you are, and dish out a healthy dose of guilt and shame.

No thanks.