Ferber Method - Good Night Pediatrics

The Ferber method, or Ferberization, is a technique invented by Dr. Richard Ferber to solve infant sleep problems. It involves "baby-training" children to self-soothe by allowing the child to cry for a predetermined amount of time before receiving external comfort.

"Cry it out"

The "Cry It Out" (CIO) approach can be traced back to the book "The Care and Feeding of Children" written by Dr. Emmett Holt in 1895. CIO is any sleep-training method which allows a baby to cry for a specified period before the parent will offer comfort. "Ferberization" is one such approach. Ferber does not advocate simply leaving a baby to cry. More extreme methods, such as Dr. Marc Weissbluth's extinction method, are often mistakenly referred to as "Ferberization", though they fall outside of the guidelines Ferber recommended. Some pediatricians, however, feel that any form of CIO is unnecessary and damaging to a baby.

Ferberization summarized

Dr. Richard Ferber discusses and outlines a wide range of practices to teach an infant to sleep. The term ferberization is now popularly used to refer to the following techniques:

• Take steps to prepare the baby to sleep. This includes night-time rituals and day-time activities.
• At bedtime, leave the child in bed and leave the room.
• Return at progressively increasing intervals to comfort the baby (without picking him or her up). For example, on the first night, some scenarios call for returning first after three minutes, then after five minutes, and thereafter each ten minutes, until the baby is asleep.
• Each subsequent night, return at intervals longer than the night before. For example, the second night may call for returning first after five minutes, then after ten minutes, and thereafter each twelve minutes, until the baby is asleep.

The technique is targeted at infants as young as four months of age. A few babies are capable of sleeping through the night at three months, and most are capable of sleeping through the night at six months. Before six months of age, the baby may still need to feed during the night and it is probable that the baby will require a night feeding before three months.

Ferber made some modifications in the 2006 edition of his book Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems. He is now more open to co-sleeping and feels different approaches work for different families, children & situations.

Criticism

Crying is associated with physiological stress in the baby in the short term, and some pediatricians do not recommend techniques like the Ferber method or Cry It Out as a result. However, there are no long term data showing ill effects from these methods, and the practice parameters and guidelines for pediatric associations tend to support the Ferber method as an option. Co-sleeping, a common alternative, has its own risks and benefits.

In popular culture

• Robert De Niro's character in the movie Meet the Fockers tries to utilize the Ferber Method in teaching his grandson.
• In the Modern Family episode Up All Night, Cameron and Mitchell are seen trying to ferberize their daughter Lily.
• In the Raising Hope episode Sleep Training, Hope's grandparents try to sleep-train her.
• In the Mad About You episode The Conversation, Jamie convinces Paul to go one night with the Ferber method. Through the process they confront the moral and psychologic ramifications.
• In the White Collar episode Taking Stock, Mozzie accuses Diana Berrigan's nanny Karen of being a Ferberizer.