No Sleep for Brooklyn: Should Baby Get to “Cry It Out”?

Photo by estrojenn.

Does your neighbor’s bundle of joy = sleepless nights for you and everyone else in your building?

Recent proud parent Willregistersoon asks on the Park Slope Message Boards: “We just had a baby about a month ago (first one, boy). We live in an apartment building. I’ve always been abnormally concerned with keeping quiet and being courteous and considerate to my neighbors wherever I’ve lived. But now, with the baby, this is proving much harder…No neighbors have said anything so far – and even if they do say something, what can I actually do? I’m just dreading the inevitable night(s) where we try letting him ‘cry it out.’ “

Well, at least you asked… BrooklynJack replies: “Thanks for your consideration. If he does wake in the middle of the night and you let him cry it out, please, please take him to the living room. My downstairs neighbors let there child cry it out in the bedroom, just under where we are (trying) to sleep. Sorry you have to have a bad night, but why must I?”

Parents: Never mind the neighbors… should you let junior scream till he’s spent? Linusvanpelt says yes: “It’s not just hard to stop a crying baby, it’s inadvisable…Going to get the crying baby in the middle of the night teaches him to cry every time he wakes up… which is worse for everyone’s sleep in the long run.” Apparently there are also studies that show that babies who learn how to soothe themselves to sleep end up being more self-secure and confident adolescents and adults.

Take heart, neighbor of crying infant: at least you can look forward to a good night’s sleep…13 years from now.

Park Slope Parents: Cry it out on the Park Slope Message Board