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Infant Independence and Sleep

But is this really an independence skill? It seems simple and obvious enough, and it could very well be of the first steps towards an independent child.

One of the unexpected bits of advice we were given leading up the the birth of our child was to avoid routinely putting our baby to sleep. A registered nurse instructed us that “if baby doesn’t learn to sleep on her own when she’s young, it will only get harder as she gets older. Put her to bed when she seems tired or drowsy, not after you’ve lulled her to sleep in your arms.”

That’s not to say we didn’t often hold and cuddle her until she dozed off, us sitting in a chair rocking her gently when she was crying or comforting her to help her find rest. We did those things, too.

As the linked article argues in a little more detail [click here] young infants need to learn to fall asleep on their own. But is this really an independence skill? It seems simple and obvious enough, and it could very well be of the first steps towards an independent child. After all, one only needs to think of the rituals and habits we all have as adults — brushing our teeth, reading before bed, or counting sheep — to realize that we have fundamental skills that allow us to find sleep on our own terms. Most of us don’t rely on others to get some shut-eye.

Baby may need to learn this skill, too. In other words, do infants need to learn to fall asleep on their own to set the foundations for future independence?

I did more digging and realized the answer is a little more complex than this. Now, keep in mind that much of the research prepared on infant sleep is linked directly to SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) and purely psychological research is rare and often outdated. But groups studying SIDS often have a side-note or two on their observations of sleep patterns and general infant development.

For example, a 2003 nursing study from Australia examined sleep arrangements looking at co-habiting caregivers and children. It seems to suggest that sleeping is an important part of determining our personal development and that how we sleep is key in establishing social values. It says nothing of infant independence but instead hints at the value of solitary arrangements: “The analysis presented in this paper suggests that in sleep arrangements, a complex social locale is revealed, an elaboration of carers’ values and understandings about infants as developing persons, juxtaposed with their own desires and needs.” [1]

I also located an American study from 1998 that actually does provide strong evidence for the link between independence and sleep habits. “The results showed that solitary sleepers engaged in more complex bedtime routines, and had more longstanding and stronger attachment to security objects and sleep aids, than did co-sleepers. Infancy precursors to co-sleeping in early childhood were a history of breastfeeding, night feedings in the parent’s bed, and returning to sleep in the parent’s bed.” [2] Of course it could be argued that “attachment to security objects” is a black mark against independence. In my personal opinion, however, I would defend the notion that attachment to a physical, inanimate object is a step closer to independence than is attachment and reliance on another person. This study also suggests that so-called “solitary sleepers” reveal themselves as truly independent sleepers in early childhood, not needing to sleep alongside parents.
Skepi 2

Ultimately, I located a pediatric study that answers the question with yet another question. “This review presents cross-cultural aspects of children’s sleep behavior in industrialized and complex modern societies and provides a basis for understanding dimensions and mechanisms of cultural differences. We submit that it is the interaction between culture and biology that establishes behavioral and developmental norms and expectations regarding normal and problematic children’s sleep.“[3] Avoiding concrete answers altogether, the authors suggest that the values and the norms we expect from children are relative to culture and society, anyhow. After all, what is independence but what we claim it is?

I’m not sure these are satisfying answers to my initial question: do infants need to learn to fall asleep on their own to set the foundations for future independence? And actually, I think the answer is a big heaping helping of “it depends”; it depends on the baby and it depends on the parents. And because that likely seems as though it is something of an escape for me, I’m going to weigh in with my own opinion: I don’t see any evidence that it can hurt. All other care-giver factors aside, teaching an infant to find his own method to sleep seems to be a stepping stone towards the short term goal of an independent sleeper and the long term goal of an independent thinker.

And isn’t that what this is about?

[1] Jennifer Rowe (2003) A room of their own: the social landscape of infant sleep, Nursing Inquiry 10 (3), 184–192.
[2] Marie J. Hayes et al., (1998) Early childhood co-sleeping: Parent-child and parent-infant nighttime interactions Infant Mental Health Journal, Volume 17, Issue 4 , Pages 348 - 357
[3] Oskar G. Jenni, et al. (2005) Children’s Sleep: An Interplay Between Culture and Biology, PEDIATRICS Vol. 115 No. 1 January 2005, pp. 204-216

The SkepDad Blog is meant to casually reflect on questions surrounding parenting and raising kids to become critical thinkers by asking questions and examining parenting ideas with a skeptical eye for facts and science. Each article is one dad's personal opinion, backed (where relevant) by literature and published research, or otherwise based on personal experiences and insights. SkepDad welcomes balanced discussion, comments, and ideas.

September 6, 2007 by Brad
Filed as: The Three Eyes

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