We read the trials behind each way to settle a baby. Tap a method to see what they found.
Five more trials of it are under bedtime fading, sleeping in their room and fading your help, because each one compared it with that method.
BetterSleep problems
53 of 76 sleep problems cleared at 2 months
156 mothers of babies aged 6 to 12 months in Melbourne. 36 of 76 cleared in the families sent a sheet on normal sleep. By 4 months the difference was too small to be sure of.
Hiscock and Wake, BMJ, 2002Mothers knew their group and reported the sleep problems themselves. Read it
BetterSleep problems
39% still had a sleep problem at 12 months, against 55% in usual care
328 mothers whose babies had a sleep problem at 7 months. Nurses taught controlled crying, or camping out to mothers who chose it. 15.4% of these mothers had depression symptoms when their child was 2, against 26.4% of the others.
Hiscock and others, Archives of Disease in Childhood, 2007Mothers chose their method, so the results aren’t split by method. Read it
No harm foundLater on
No difference at age 6
225 families from the 2007 trial. Children’s emotions, behaviour, sleep, stress and closeness to their parents matched in both groups, and so did the parents’ mental health.
Price and others, Pediatrics, 201231% of families didn’t take part at age 6. We read the summary, because the paper is paywalled. Read it
MixedNight wakings
4% had a severe sleep problem, against 14% in the comparison group
235 families of babies aged 6 to 8 months in Vancouver. 117 were taught controlled comforting in one class, and 118 had a class on safety. Movement monitors counted as many wakings in both groups. Babies on it went back to sleep more often without calling a parent.
Hall and others, BMC Pediatrics, 2015Six weeks of follow-up. Parents knew their group. Read it
BetterFalling asleep and wakings
Faster to sleep, with fewer wakings
43 babies aged 6 to 16 months in Adelaide had controlled crying, bedtime fading or sleep advice. Attachment and behaviour matched in every group a year later.
Gradisar and others, Pediatrics, 2016We read the summary, because the paper is paywalled. Read it
BetterBedtime and nights
Checking and cry it out did equally well
43 children aged 16 to 48 months in New York. Both beat a waiting list, and mothers found checking easier to keep up at night.
Reid, Walter and O’Leary, 1999Two months of follow-up. We read the summary. Read it
BetterNight wakings
Fewer wakings than with no plan
33 children aged 6 to 54 months. Cry it out and scheduled awakenings both beat a diary-only group over 8 weeks. Cry it out worked faster in week one.
Rickert and Johnson, Pediatrics, 1988Several children came from the same families. We read the summary. Read it
No harm foundAttachment
No link with attachment at 18 months
178 babies in England whose mothers said how often they’d left them to cry. Davis and Kramer replied that 178 was too few to rule out a small effect, and the authors agreed it couldn’t spot a 10% difference.
Bilgin and Wolke, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2020It watched what families did and taught no method. Read it
A concernStress hormone
Cortisol was raised on day three
25 babies of 4 to 10 months on a five-day hospital programme had stopped crying by day three, and their cortisol was raised.
Middlemiss and others, Early Human Development, 2012No comparison group and no reading from before. We read the summary. Read it
BetterNight wakings
Wakings fell from about 4.4 to 3.2 a night
50 babies aged 9 to 24 months wore movement monitors. A parent slept in the baby’s room for a week, or checked every 5 minutes from outside. The two did as well as each other, and the biggest change came on the first night.
Sadeh, 1994Every family used one of the two methods, so nothing compares them with doing nothing. Read it
BetterSleep
Anxious babies did better with a parent there
91 babies aged 9 to 18 months in Tel Aviv. A parent slept on a mattress by the cot for the first week, or checked every few minutes. Sleep improved with both and held 6 months later.
Kahn and others, Sleep, 202029 of 91 families didn’t finish. Read it
BetterSleep problems
Both worked within 4 months
16 families with babies of 6 to 18 months in Sydney. A parent pretended to sleep in the room before going to the baby, or checked from outside. Nearly all had fewer sleep problems 4 months later.
Matthey and Črnčec, 2012We read the summary, which gives no group sizes. Read it
BetterFalling asleep
Asleep in 12 minutes, down from 21
206 babies aged 7 to 18 months, and 134 of them had a bath, a massage and quiet time every night for two weeks. Wakings fell from 1.6 to 1.0 a night, and mothers’ mood improved.
Mindell and others, Sleep, 2009Johnson & Johnson paid for it and supplied the products. Read it
BetterNight wakings
Fewer wakings, and mothers slept better
123 babies aged 3 to 18 months, some with a massage at bedtime for two weeks and the rest without. Time to fall asleep and the length of sleep didn’t change.
Mindell and others, Sleep Medicine, 2018We read the summary. Read it
No differenceSleep
A routine taught at the 12- and 15-month checks
86 families took part, and 46 of them were taught the routine.
Mindell and others, Frontiers in Sleep, 2025A pilot. Read it
BetterFalling asleep
Bedtime fading for one week
15 babies of 6 to 16 months. Time to fall asleep fell a lot. The summary reports a drop in night wakings for controlled crying only.
Gradisar and others, Pediatrics, 2016We read the summary, which gives no minutes. Read it
BetterBedtime tantrums
Tantrums at bedtime fell as much as with checking
36 toddlers aged 18 to 48 months. A positive routine with a later bedtime cut tantrums as much as checking did, and those parents reported happier marriages.
Adams and Rickert, Pediatrics, 1989It counted bedtime tantrums and nothing about the night. We read the summary. Read it
BetterNight waking
Less night waking after a home lesson
21 mothers and babies in Turkey had a 90-minute lesson in week 4 on swaddling, holding, shushing and swinging. 21 more had none.
Öztürk Dönmez and Bayik Temel, 2019The summary gives no figures. Read it
No differenceSleep and crying
A 30-minute video of the 5 S’s
Parents of newborns in America watched it, or a newborn care video instead. 35 of 51 families finished.
McRury and Zolotor, 2010Many didn’t use the method as taught. Read it
BetterNight wakings
Babies on it woke least
41 babies of 4 to 12 months in Adelaide. Parents patted, then used their voice, then moved toward the door. Two other groups used controlled crying or carried on as usual, and sleep length didn’t differ.
Blunden, Osborne and King, 202210 families left after hearing their group. The method is the lead author’s own. Read it
BetterNight wakings
Fewer wakings than with no plan
33 children of 6 to 54 months. Parents woke and settled them 15 to 60 minutes before their usual waking, then phased those wakings out. They woke less than a diary-only group over 8 weeks.
Rickert and Johnson, Pediatrics, 1988A small trial. We read the summary. Read it
UnknownCamping out alone
17 mothers used camping out
Mothers could sit with their baby until asleep and withdraw over three weeks, in place of controlled crying.
Hiscock and Wake, BMJ, 2002Its results weren’t split from controlled crying. Read it
MixedCrying and mood
Crying fell from 114 to 60 minutes a week
465 mothers at a Brisbane clinic joined at about 5 months, and 91 of them answered at 12 months. Depression scores fell too.
Crawford and others, 2022Its comparison group of 14 mothers wasn’t chosen by chance, and babies cry less as they grow. Read it
No differenceSleep
Possums lessons in Istanbul
183 babies of 6 to 12 months. Night waking fell in both groups, and more Possums mothers were still breastfeeding.
Öztürk and others, 2021The summary doesn’t say the groups were chosen by chance. Read it
BetterSleeping through
All 13 slept midnight to 5am by 8 weeks
26 breastfed newborns. Parents gave a feed between 10pm and midnight, stretched the night feeds and made night different from day. 23% of the other babies slept through.
Pinilla and Birch, Pediatrics, 1993Three changes at once, with 13 babies in each group. We read the summary. Read it
MixedSleep
Parents didn’t keep the late feed up
610 newborns in Britain. About 10% more babies in the programme slept 5 hours or more at 12 weeks than without it.
St James-Roberts and others, 2001We read the summary. Read it
No differenceSleep problems
No difference at 6 months
802 families in Dunedin in four groups, and two of the groups had a class in pregnancy and a home visit at 3 weeks. Movement monitors counted 8% fewer wakings, which the authors call too small to matter.
Galland and others, BMJ Open, 2017We read the summary. Read it
BetterNight sleep
35 more minutes of night sleep at 8 weeks
291 first babies in Pennsylvania. Nurses taught a calm routine and waiting a few minutes before resettling a baby. By age one both groups slept the same.
Paul and others, Pediatrics, 2016Sleep wasn’t the trial’s main question, and mothers reported it. Read it
No differenceBabies’ sleep
Fewer parents with depression symptoms at 6 months
781 babies in Melbourne. A booklet and DVD at 4 weeks, a call at 8 weeks and a group at 13 weeks. 7.9% of parents scored high for depression, against 12.9%.
Hiscock and others, Pediatrics, 2014We read the summary. Read it
No differenceSleep
A nurse meeting, a booklet and three calls
246 first-time mothers in Canada, and 123 of them had the programme. Babies’ longest night sleep on movement monitors matched at 6 and 12 weeks.
Stremler and others, BMJ, 2013Sleep data for 87% of families. Read it
BetterSleep
1.3 hours more sleep a day at 6 weeks
346 newborns in South Australia. A nurse visit at 2 to 3 weeks and a book.
Symon and others, Medical Journal of Australia, 2005The lead author wrote the book. Read it
No differenceCrying and mood
A review of sleep training before six months
It found no drop in crying, no fewer later sleep problems and no protection against postnatal depression.
Douglas and Hill, review, 2013We read the summary. Read it
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