NURSES are advising parents to let infants cry for up to 20 minutes at a time to get them to sleep better.

Research by the Murdoch Children's Research Centre in Melbourne has shown that the controlled crying technique is successful with babies more than six months old.


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Researchers assure parents it is safe - and it works.

But many other experts say it is dangerous and cruel.

Maternal and child health nurses around Victoria have been trained in the technique, among other forms of baby-settling measures.

In cases where they judge it appropriate, they will guide parents on how to use controlled crying.

The technique teaches babies to fall asleep by themselves. Parents are told to, at six months old, let them cry for two, four, six, eight, 10 and up to 20 minutes at a time, returning to comfort them briefly between each period.

Anna Price, PhD researcher at the Centre for Community Child Health at the Murdoch centre, said the aim was to teach babies to put themselves to sleep.

"Parents who use the technique have children who sleep better up to two years of age, but the effects are strongest at one year," she said.

"And mothers' depression symptoms were considerably reduced even two years later. There is no evidence of harmful effects."

But Cindy Davenport, from Safe Sleep Space and a maternal and child health nurse, advocates a more gentle approach.

"Often parents can't work with controlled crying - they don't like to listen to their babies cry," she said.

"I am quite surprised it has been given the stamp of approval - it doesn't sit very comfortably with parents."

Pinky McKay, one of Melbourne's leading baby sleep experts and author of Sleeping Like a Baby, said:

"It may indeed work; however, the trade-off could be an anxious, clingy or hyper-vigilant child or even worse, a child whose trust is broken."

The Australian Medical Association supports the Murdoch position. But the Australian Association for Infant Mental Health says controlled crying is "not consistent with what infants need for their optimal emotional and psychological health".

But Ms Price said parents could rely on the Murdoch study, involving 328 Melbourne mothers from 2003-05, which found there was no difference between the behaviour and emotions of children whose parents used controlled crying.

"Eighty-five per cent of parents who used it said their relationship with their child was better, and none said worse," she said.

LET THEM CRY

ASHLEY Thonemann realised it was time to change her routine when baby Bailey, eight months, refused to go to sleep without being rocked or being given a bottle.

The family were exhausted, and decided to try controlled crying.

"We only did it for a little while and it worked," Ms Thonemann said.

She said that at first it had not been easy using controlled crying.

"It does feel really mean," she said. "But it's worked well and now he'll only cry for a couple of minutes at the most before he goes to sleep."

NO CRYING

KAT Song Son has tried leaving son Jayden to cry, but has not had much success with the technique.

"It depends on what I'm doing. Sometimes I'll leave him for a couple of minutes," Ms Song Son said.

"But he just doesn't stop crying by himself."

Ms Song Son said she believed all babies were different.

She said she and her husband had tried leaving their son to cry, but Jayden would cry until he made himself sick.

"I'm sure it works for some people, but it doesn't work for him," she said