# Baby Sleep Training Approaches Compared by Age

> AAP, Taking Cara Babies, Happiest Baby, RIE and Ferber, by age.

Stage: baby - Topic: Sleep - Page: https://www.askcladle.com/guides/baby/sleep-approaches-compared

Grounded in: the AAP's safe sleep policy and "Getting Your Baby to Sleep"; Magda Gerber's RIE approach; Cara Dumaplin's Taking Cara Babies; Dr. Harvey Karp's Happiest Baby (the 5 S's); and Dr. Richard Ferber's Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems. Summarized in Cradle's own words, not quoted; none of these sources endorse Cradle.

Reviewed: 2026-10

## TLDR

- Birth to 3 months: safe sleep first and no formal sleep training; build habits like full feeds and a day-night difference.
- Around 3-4 months sleep often gets worse as cycles mature; that's a normal stage.
- From about 6 months, options include Ferber check-ins, full extinction or gentler RIE-style changes. Pick what fits your family.

## Birth to about 3 months

- AAP: safe sleep first; no formal sleep training in the newborn months.
- Taking Cara Babies: habits rather than crying - full feeds instead of snacking, short wake
  windows, a clear day-night difference, swaddle and white noise, practice going down awake.
- Happiest Baby: the 5 S's to calm crying - swaddle, side or stomach hold (in arms only, never for
  sleep), shush, swing (gentle rhythmic motion), suck.
- RIE (Gerber): sleep is something a baby learns to do; keep a calm, predictable rhythm and a
  quiet place to sleep, and pause to listen before stepping in, while responding to real distress.
- Ferber: not meant for newborns.

## About 3 to 6 months

- Sleep often gets worse around 3-4 months as sleep cycles mature; it's a normal stage.
- Taking Cara Babies' formal course is aimed at about 5 months and up.
- Ferber suggests waiting until around 6 months, when the baby is healthy, growing well, and the
  pediatrician agrees they can go longer at night without a feed.
- Some families start gentle approaches such as the chair method (sitting by the crib and moving a
  little further away every few nights).

## From about 6 months

- Ferber's graduated approach: a calm routine, down awake, brief boring check-ins at gradually
  longer intervals without picking up or feeding.
- Full extinction ("cry it out"): not returning until morning.
- RIE: change one thing at a time, tell the baby what will happen, stay calm and confident;
  crying with a parent nearby is communication.
- Research has not found long-term harm from graduated or extinction methods, and none is
  required. Pick what the family can do consistently; keep safe sleep rules and check with the
  pediatrician first.