How Do You Define "Self-Soothing"?

Self-soothing is the ability to fall deep asleep with or without a pacifier and/or swaddling after becoming drowsy from parent's soothing efforts. Typically, the child is placed in a crib before he is in a deep sleep.

Self-soothing is absent when a child always falls deep asleep at the breast, in parent's arms, in a moving swing, and similar circumstances.

Variables might include the child's age, the presence of absence of colic, the soothing skills of the parents, the self-soothing skills of the child, the duration of preceding wakefulness, the timing of the bedtime after 6 weeks of age, the timing of naps after 3-4 months of age, and so forth.

If it is common for most parents to spend 10-20 minutes soothing before they put their baby down drowsy but awake, then what do you say to parents who spend much longer durations soothing their baby to sleep. Sometimes this might be viewed as unwanted but necessary (e.g. during colic or immediately post-colic) or interfering with the development of self-soothing skills in their baby or a symptom that something is wrong with the sleep schedule.

My impression is that self-soothing skills are a prerequisite for long-term healthy sleep habits and the earlier they are developed the easier it is for the entire family but remember, about 20% of babies (colicky) will have difficulty learning self-soothing until about 3-4 months of age.

What are your thoughts?

Marc

Filed under: Self-Soothing