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ARTICLES:
Ian St James-Roberts, Marissa Alvarez, Emese Csipke, Tanya Abramsky, Jennifer Goodwin, and Esther Sorgenfrei
Infant Crying and Sleeping in London, Copenhagen and When Parents Adopt a "Proximal" Form of Care
Pediatrics 2006; 117: e1146-e1155 [Abstract] [Full text] [PDF]
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[Read P3R] Unresponsive nighttime parenting causes infant stress
Regina A. Lauderdale   (20 June 2006)

Unresponsive nighttime parenting causes infant stress 20 June 2006
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Regina A. Lauderdale,
Stay-at-home Mom
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Send letter to journal:
Re: Unresponsive nighttime parenting causes infant stress

nina{at}deepeddy.com Regina A. Lauderdale

I read the report "Infant Crying and sleeping in London, Copenhagen and When Parents Adopt a 'Proximal' Form of Care" with great interest. However, I was dismayed to see that the data is presented in a misleading fashion and may lead to advocating parenting practices that are not in the best interest of children.

The author states "As used by proximal care and Copenhagen parents, infant demand parenting is associated with less overall crying per 24 hours. However, the proximal form of infant-demand parenting is associated with more frequent night waking and crying at 12 weeks of age. Copenhagen infants cry as little per 24 hours as proximal care infants but are settled at night like London infants at 12 weeks of age."

Dr. St.James-Robert's implies that the Copenhagen group's approach achieves the best of both worlds: less crying, and better nighttime sleeping. And, in an interview reported on NPR (<http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5452458>, Dr. St.James-Roberts advocates taking the Copenhagen approach, advising that at six weeks, parents should "Move over to something that is setting more limits and introducing more routines and that will then help babies learn to sleep through the night from about 12 weeks onward."

But if "Copenhagen infants cry as little per 24 hours as proximal care infants but are settled at night like London infants at 12 weeks of age", then they must be crying more during the day.

Dr. St.James-Roberts's results are not surprising, though his conclusions are. Infants whose parents are unresponsive at night will indeed adapt: by giving up on the environment that disappoints and retreating into sleep. However, neuroscientists know that the increased stress hormones generated during this experience of abandonment have a negative effect on the growing brain, with long-term costs in terms of both physical and mental health. In fact, parenting infants with the goal that they -- quote -- "sleep through the night" is contrary to the goal of raising children who are physically and emotionally healthy, and can reach their maximum potential for a fulfilling life. It is unfortunate that research continues on how to get infants to "sleep through the night" without consideration of damage that might be caused depending on the method employed.

It is unfortunate that in testing his hypothesis that "infants who received proximal care would be more likely to wake and cry at night at 12 weeks", Dr. St.James-Roberts's ignored neuroscientific discoveries about how a young child's brain develops in correlation to parental responsiveness.

Nina Lauderdale Mother to a 2 year-old daughter

Conflict of Interest:

None declared