Dr Richard Ferber was the first to propose the idea of ‘controlled crying’ in 1985.  Since then it has taken on many names such as, cry it out, self-soothing, sleep training, crying down and many more.  Some techniques vary slightly in the details but they all work along the same basic principal as Ferber first proposed.

There are few baby-related issues that evoke as much controversy as this one.  Some big names in the field frequently have fiery exchanges because of their conflicting points of view.  Many will remember Gina Ford and Dr Miriam Stoppard for example, who had a fierce debate on The Today Programme over the issue.  

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