Chair Method Sleep Training 101

Chair Method Sleep Training 101

Here's the breakdown of the Chair Method of sleep training in case you want to get your baby or toddler sleeping through the night!

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TRANSCRIPT:

Hi, I'm Jilly I'm a pediatric nurse, lactation consultant, and a mom of two and I help
tired parents get their babies and toddlers sleeping well so they can truly love this phase of raising babies.

The chair method can also be known as the Camping Out Method or the Sleep Lady Shuffle. The basic idea with this method is that you stay in your little one's bedroom the first few nights of sleep training so that you can be close to them and provide a form of reassurance and comfort as you teach your and independent sleep habits.

With other methods of sleep training you might leave the bedroom on the first night for a period of time for your little one to learn to fall asleep on their own, but with the chair method you don't.

You spend the first nights camping out in your baby's bedroom to give both of you reassurance that they can do it and that they're safe as they learn to sleep on their own.

On the first night, rather than helping your baby fall fall asleep in a way that you normally do like by feeding them or rocking or padding or lying down together, instead at the end of your bedtime routine you would place your baby in the crib awake and you would at that point teach them how to fall asleep on their own.

The first few nights you would be sitting in a chair which is why it's called the chair method and your chair would be pretty close to your baby's crib with the most traditional form of the chair method parents would not really intervene, they wouldn't really do hands-on comforting or verbal reassurance.

It depends on your little one's age and your situation and their personality and how big of a change this is for them. You can certainly give more hands-on and more verbal reassurance in MY sleep programs (link above!)

But in the traditional form of chair method you would just hang out quietly for a few nights. If you have an older baby or toddler they would know that you were in the room and that should help comfort them - not always, but it should.

After a few nights of that, you would move your chair to the middle of the room for a few nights so you're still in the room.

After a few nights of that you would be sitting near the bedroom door for a few nights and then you would start leaving the bedroom for them to learn to fall asleep on their own without your presence.

In my 10 years of helping families I found the chair method to be a really effective method of sleep training and it works best in certain situations I found that it works best when little ones are going through separation anxiety.

Also it's good for parents who just aren't ready to leave the bedroom on the first night / for parents who are really nervous.

Who is the chair method not ideal for:
Spirited or energetic little ones, especially toddlers. Although for us parents it might seem like it's reassuring that we are in the room with them, really spirited little kids tend to get really angry or they get really distracted and they just want to play.

Some parents want more customized guidance and step-by-step plans for implementing the chair method and they usually have questions like:

- where exactly should I be sitting in the room?
- what exactly should I be doing not doing?
- what happens if my little one stands up in the crib and is reaching for me to pick them up?
- what if they're reaching through their crib bars and they're trying to engage with me?
- what do I do when I move my chair and they end up crying more?

If this is you, just know that in my sleep programs we give step-by-step nightly guides and we also show you how you can customize the chair method to suit your little one. We

[vinnisatija]

Thank you so much for this video. You touched on why it may not be the right method for spirited toddlers who want to engage with you. What can you do to gently calm them down and to not have that engagement

[aniazambranonavarro]

Thank you so much for this information and clarify when this method can and cannot work. Also, I have a question. I practice co-sleeping with my 8 month baby and we are ready to start with the chair method. However, I’m not sure what is better.. start first with nap time and bed time later, viceversa, or apply the method for nap and night time at once? Thanks!

[laurend]

My 10 month old gets a bottle and rocked to sleep. He then wakes up between 2am - 4am and sounds like he's starving. I give him a bottle and he will sleep until about 6am. How do I know if I need to change his bedtime routine or is he just hungry?

[sarahwalters]

So we stay in the room but we don’t touch the baby or speak to them?

[juliec]

I’m going to be out the door tomorrow night, what if she cries when do I intervene ???? Do I? I don’t want her to cry 😢