How Can We Make r/sleeptrain A Better Sub for Sleepy Parents?

@tomfst Just to piggy back off of this... I think it may be helpful to mention how we may have modified one of the major sleep training methods to be a better fit for our LO specifically. Like Modified Monday. Maybe you follow Ferber 80% but you came up with adjustments for the last 20% that work better for you. It might help others who are struggling to find that perfect sleep training method.
 
@tomfst I love the idea of daily themed posts. Some of the other communities I'm part of use those very well. Ferber Friday? TCB Tuesday (or maybe we're over them, I never personally looked into that one)? Early Mornings Monday? No Silly Questions Saturday? I'm sure there are some much more creative ideas out there.
 
@withwonderingawe I think themed posts are great. I would love to see something like Sleep Schedule Saturday. This way we could see how babies in a similar age range compare. Maybe help parents adjust their schedule a little bit if things start to seem “off” with sleep patterns.
 
@shiftybroccoli Remove all posts asking for free copies of copyrighted materials and eliminate the rule that prohibits talking about sleep training before 4 months. That rule is not supported by research. Set up an autobot that asks posters to provide details about their problems and include their baby’s schedule and bedtime routine.
 
@ronv This is my huge pet peeve too, asking for free copies of stuff. I understand not everyone can afford $$ but there are so many free resources out there, and it's just icky to facilitate this.

Love the autobot rule, as I often find myself asking "what age? what's your routine/schedule" etc, since sleep deprived parents don't remember those bits.
 
@ronv Got you on the copyrighted materials and the automod about providing details, that will make a big difference. I will do more research about the 4 months rule. We were working with the best info we had at the time of starting this sub which was that babies under 4 months shouldn't be expected to go 12 hours without a feed. Our definition of "sleep trained" is 11-12 hours of night sleep with no parent interventions. Thanks for the feedback, we will look into it all.
 
@shiftybroccoli I think that definition should be made explicit then. My definition of sleep trained is a baby falling asleep independently at naps and bedtime. I kept night feeds/wakes for months after sleep training.
 
@shiftybroccoli I agree with getting rid of the 4 month rule. I'm not saying promote CIO or night weaning, but parents with kids under 4 months need help and guidance too. Some skills can be learnt before 4 months (like self soothing), some issues can be tackled to help reduce night wakings and lengthen sleep stretches (not eliminate waking all together). Things like wake windows and nap/bedtime routines, SITBACK, reccomendations for sleepwear (sacks/swaddles), white noise machines and how loud (or for our kid he loved lullabies!).

Maybe something like "advice / suggestions must be age appropriate, any reccomendations for CIO methods before 4 months may be removed".
 
@inheretic Yes I like this. If sleep training is about age appropriate encouragement of sleep, then cool. If sleep training means CIO then obviously that's a problem before 4 months.

I like the " pre training" category, as a related point.
 
@shiftybroccoli I'd encourage us/you to shift the rule based on that definition then! I'm a PLS user and they certainly don't define sleep training that way, and they've started supporting parents in moving toward independent sleep as early as 2mo. By that they mean an independent bedtime and maybe a 3-4 hour stretch before the first feed! Which could be GREAT for parents, but I'm not allowed to mention that because of the rule.

I mean, hell, neither of my kids has EVER slept 12 hours overnight so....I think a better definition of "sleep trained" would simply focus on a baby/toddler having the ability to put themselves to sleep without assistance/sleep associations.
 
@shiftybroccoli You’re welcome. Maybe the key is to distinguish between sleep training and night weaning. Night weaning (no feeds) should only be done after a doctor has okayed it, but sleep training (teaching a baby to fall asleep independently) is a separate issue. The right age for sleep training is still somewhat debated, but many highly respected sleep specialists (Weissbluth, for example) support sleep training from a very young age.
 
@ronv Exactly we are sleep training (Training our bby to go to sleep without our assistance) per our pediatrician but are not night weaning, which is a whole other thing separate from sleep training. Most sleep training methods even say not to night wean at the same time as sleep training.

Also, there are ways to prime baby for an easy transition before 4 mo, and i don't think discussion about that should be discouraged. It's like if you say your baby is under 4 months people just parrot, "no sleep training before 4 mo" and that is often not helpful and the post isn't even asking about cry it out, etc.
 
@artos2
It's like if you say your baby is under 4 months people just parrot, "no sleep training before 4 mo" and that is often not helpful and the post isn't even asking about cry it out, etc.
Click to expand...

Agree, there are ways to gently start to encourage independent sleep early, just very slowly building that skill up, without going to full blown sleep training.
 
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