Evidence-Based Alternatives to Ferber in Sleep Training

Key points

Ferber is the most-researched sleep training method, but parents generally really dislike it.

Alternatives exist but have not received research attention, despite parents’ difficulty with crying-it-out.

A present, supportive approach works and aligns with parents’ desire to support their infant while they learn.

Utter the words “sleep training” and a feeling of dread shoots through most parents. In popular culture, “sleep training” is often synonymous with leaving a baby to cry for longer and longer periods until they sleep—what research calls graduated extinction . Popular parenting advice calls it Ferberizing, pop-ins , the Sleep Wave, etc.

This method is based on behaviorism—the theory from the 1920s that babies are blank slates and learn only through experiences