Nighttime Parenting and Attachment: A Role for Maternal Responsiveness?
The question of whether and how nighttime parenting affects attachment is still unclear. I review a study that helps elucidate at least part of this issue.
The question of whether and how nighttime parenting affects attachment is still unclear. I review a study that helps elucidate at least part of this issue.
The premise behind extinction sleep training is that infants (and toddlers) are being taught to "self-soothe"; however, this ignores key points of what self-soothing abilities can be expected from children and how distressed they are at the time of separation. Instead of focusing on these extinction methods, gentler methods that respect where the child is developmentally should be considered.
New research examines the effects of acute stress on cognitive functions in infants. Contrary to the idea that "a bit of stress is good for them", this research finds that stress inhibits flexible thinking.
When you talk about stress and sleep training, you often get two polarized views: Either the stress is so great it has to cause irreparable harm or it's fine or even beneficial. Yet neither really captures the whole story.
For the majority of human history, we have shared sleep with our infants which has led some researchers to speculate that this is related to the development of secure attachment, but this has yet to be studied... until now. The results may surprise some people.
It seems that messages on bedsharing differ depending on where you are. If everyone is looking at the same evidence, why are they coming to different conclusions? A look at the research suggests not everyone is looking at it the same way...
I get a lot of people angry that I speak out against extinction sleep training because it "worked" for them. I thought I'd start a post that allows me to respond publicly to these criticisms so I don't have to repeat myself over and over.
New research looks at cortisol patterns in infants, toddlers, and children as they adapt to new daycare situations. The findings aren't encouraging, but should be considered in the larger framework of research on child care.
Two new pieces of research support the idea that we need to be including evolutionary breastfeeding when looking at feeding outcomes. Without that, we fail to get the whole picture.
Many of us are aware of the positive effect of delayed cord clamping on iron levels and red blood cell count, but new research suggests there may be even longer term effects worthy of consideration.