Sleep is one of the essential blocks of life and without it negative cognitive and physical effects begin to manifest themselves rapidly. Without consistent and adequate sleep one can begin to see numerous effects, leading to a vicious cycle of tired days, sleepless nights, and emotional difficulties. There have been countless research projects, presentations, and studies that all show that an appropriate and healthy approach to sleep is undeniably essential for all age levels, but especially critical for infants and newborns. This leads us to one of the leading discussions of early parenting: how to best get their child to sleep consistently. Many different books and authors have attempted to tackle this topic from a variety of ideas, research and therefore have put forth many different avenues for parents to take in this regard. One pair of authors to note is Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam, M.D., and their book series On Becoming Baby Wise. In the first book, Ezzo and Bucknam highlight the importance of infant sleep, while also providing parenting guidance and suggestions to come alongside their theories. They (Ezzo/Bucknam) claim to offer, through their book, an “exciting infant managing plan that successfully and naturally trains children to sleep through the night before the age of eight weeks”, Through this, they state that you also receive a “positive prescription for curing sleepless nights and fussy babies”. While these claims do indeed seem daring, they are in fact supported throughout the text by testimonies of qualified doctors and also numerous personal testaments from parents. Additionally, the main ideas and strategies presented to parents in On Becoming Baby Wise match up with the implications of many popular theories of developmental psychology.
To start the book off, Ezzo and Bucknam take a step back to approach other factors that can be attributed to the discussion on infant sleep. They thoroughly point out that the child sleeping through the night is not the end goal or by any way the most important aspect of parenting. While getting the child to sleep is important, the foundation on which sleep and other behaviors are built is equally as important. A second point that branched off was to encourage parents to become child-oriented parents, but not to be child-centered parents. This idea of being very involved with the child, while also softly and strategically guiding in these formative weeks is very important. This parenting style helps to significantly raise cooperation and creates a peak environment for the growth of both parent and child, together. Instead of being driven to become the child’s ‘best friend’ by living by its every whim, parents are encouraged to embrace the role of parent by focusing on avoiding child-centered parenting and focusing on family unity and health, which in turn will lay a foundation that the child can confidently build upon.
The Strategy
On Becoming Baby Wise has a goal to introduce and explain an infant management plan called parent-directed feeding (PDF) to parents. PDF is a 24-hour a day strategy for meeting the child’s needs for structure and nurturance simultaneously. It consists of cyclical feeding, wake-time, and naptime, which helps to build and maintain hunger patterns to keep the child from waking up distraught, while not desiring food. The same amount of time should pass from one cycle to the next, while also keeping strict order of the three activities is vital. This approach is tailored toward preventing sleep-deprivation in mothers, while still very much cultivating healthy connections between mom and baby and caring for baby’s physical and emotional needs. Consistency is of singular importance, and PDF requires routine to be established as soon as possible. PDF is divided apart into four points: stabilization, extended night, extended day, and extended routine. Stabilization is the period of emphasis in this book, lasting from birth until week eight with the child sleeping through the night at the conclusion. During stabilization, cycles normally range from 2.5-3 hours, with less predictable wake times in the beginning. While yes, the goal is for the child to sleep through the night by the end of week eight; reaching this milestone between weeks 10-12 is still normal and acceptable. Ezzo and Bucknam assure that while you may yearn for flexibility, “The flexibility you desire will come, but give yourself time to develop your child’s routine.” (110)
A routine feeding schedule is the second point emphasized in On Becoming Baby Wise as it correlates in training children to sleep. The focus accentuated is not how the mother chooses to feed the child, either by bottle or naturally, so long that they do so in a routine to begin to build a hunger pattern in the child’s brain and body. However, eating is highlighted not just as a means for simply passing along nutrition, it constructs a system to learn what is best for the child and which responses by parents can best enrich the child’s growth and development. More specific advice on topics such as healthy growth indicators, routines for multiple children, responses to crying, and establishing helpful baby equipment are also provided by Ezzo and Bucknam. These different topics play into the bigger notion that a consistent routine with structure is vitally important in your child building to sleeping through the night. Throughout the text, their main advice for following a parent-directed feeding (PDF) schedule is rooted in the balance of nurture, sleep, consistency, and routine.
Based on the evidence presented throughout the book and the popular coinciding developmental psychology theories for infants, I believe that the parent-directed feeding approach is a very viable option for sleep training. The developmental theories of nature vs. nurture and attachment theory support the PDF approach. Ezzo and Bucknam strongly emphasize the importance of upbringing and how parents’ actions can direct outcomes, however the natural influences of development are also undoubtedly faced and addressed. An authoritative style of parenting is encouraged, high levels of care and love alongside of high foundations and boundaries.
Secondly, attachment theory as used in developmental psychology is greatly emphasized in On Becoming Baby Wise. Attachment is so vitally significant between mother and child due to the strength of that connection and attachment many times predicting the child’s friendships, language development, emotional regulation skills, cognitive ability, and emotional and behavioral problems. PDF is coordinated towards strengthening attachment between mother and child, which reflectively enhances a child’s overall development pattern.
Shifting from a psychological analysis to a more straightforward biological one, research found on infant nutrition and sleep cycles also support the parent-directed feeding approach. PDF puts a resolute emphasis on feeding and the regularity of schedules, which is also supported by current nutritional research regarding infants. Weight increases quite dramatically as an infant, with more fats needed to replenish the energy disbursed. Sleep during infancy is also exceptionally critical, emphasized additionally by the PDF strategy as well. Infants primarily have no day to night association, on average only being awake for less than two hours at a given time. A PDF strategy comes alongside this information very well, with Ezzo and Bucknam suggesting a cycle of 2 ½ -3 hours including naptimes.
In closing, both significant developmental psychology theories and recent data pertaining to infancy sleep support the approach of parent-directed feeding. My advice to parents preparing to raise a child would be to expect to use structure and routine, to focus on cultivation a child-oriented but not child-centered boundaries and family structure, and to truly embrace the ways that they can build the development of their child to be more positive. While I do believe in this approach to parenting, it is also important for parents to remember this is not the final say on what is correct or beneficial for every individual child. Just because a child doesn’t fit into a scientific mold of the ‘average’ developmental clock, does not mean your approach failed or that you as a parent are a failure. It is vital as a parent to give your child plenty of love and yourself plenty of grace as not everything will always ‘go to plan’. I exceedingly recommend reading On Becoming Baby Wise when beginning preparation for raising a child as it delivers a straightforward, healthy, attainable infant development approach that is supported by numerous psychological theories and research.
