Comments on: Cultural Differences in Baby and Toddler Sleep

By: Danielle

Danielle — Thu, 21 Mar 2019 20:14:03 +0000

In reply to Adriana. Hi Adriana, Thank you for visiting The Baby Sleep Site, and for sharing your experience with us! I'm so glad to hear you've found a way to sleep that works for your family - that's the most important thing :)

By: Adriana

Adriana — Wed, 20 Mar 2019 14:17:22 +0000

Hi, interesting article. I’m from Romania living in Canada. In Romania the maternity leave is 2 years, paid 85% for the first year and less in the second. We do have 1 year in Canada but the pay is not so great :70 for the first 6 months and 55% for the rest. I have 2 kids 5 years and 9 months and I was told to do the sleep training and to put the babies on their own crib in their own room and the importance of a sleep schedule. Well… They have their rooms but my 5 years old boy still sleeps with my husband and my baby girl with me. I’m very afraid of sids and i take all the necessary precautions but co-sleeping works for us. It’s against my DNA to leave my kids cry. I really can’t. I was raised by my parents, my sister, my godmother, my cousin and sometimes my grandparents and I was always sleeping with my sister 🙂 I was so lucky.

By: Neosha

Neosha — Sun, 10 Jun 2018 00:15:49 +0000

In reply to Zara. @Zara - Thank you for stopping by our sleepy little village and for your comment. Yes, it's so interesting how different baby and toddler sleep can be depending on the culture you're in! In the States, we, too, promote the Back To Sleep campaign but know they do it so differently other places. We find it quite fascinating! Please keep reading, Zara, and hang in there!

By: Zara

Zara — Tue, 05 Jun 2018 01:26:40 +0000

This was interesting
I came across this site because I was looking into side sleeping for newborns
My mum tells me in Asian countries the baby is laid on the side to sleep in case they r sick but here in the UK there is the “back to sleep” campaign where the emphasis is placed greatly on having the baby laying on their back. However I have found with my colicky baby that sleeping on the side helps baby sleep better! I wondered whether other cultures have a back to sleep recommendation or if other cultures were more relaxed?!

By: Janelle Reid

Janelle Reid — Tue, 15 May 2018 19:27:36 +0000

In reply to Amanda Campbell. @Amanda Campbell, thank you for sharing your story with us! We are so glad to hear you found what worked best for your family.

By: Amanda Campbell

Amanda Campbell — Tue, 15 May 2018 08:21:11 +0000

It was refreshing to read your unbiased approach to co-sleeping. My youngest is 10 yo now but the horrors of sleep training are still fresh! By the time he was 2 I had decided to ignore all ‘professional’ advice and sleep anyway he wanted to. This resulted in a child who slept between Mummy and Daddy (a hand on each of us!) Until he was at least 6. His older sister (by 14 months) had co-slept until she wanted a toddler bed at around 18 mos. I remember being so bone achingly tired and desperate in the long months that I tried to adhered to this rigid sleep training that had been indoctrinated by health professionals. I so wish that your approach had been more acceptable then. Our beautiful son, who is on the Autistic spectrum, just needed to know that his loving parents were next to him. Still now, some nights, he still does! I truly believe, as parents, we have the inalienable right to decide what works for our little clan, without apology. Thankyou for your guidance for parents, who, for some are as desperate as I once was. Be strong, be brave and let your heart lead.

By: Nicole Johnson

Nicole Johnson — Thu, 15 Mar 2018 15:47:38 +0000

In reply to Angela Baumbach. @Angela Wow! Thank you so much for sharing your family's story and sleeping arrangements that worked for you! And, congratulations on raising your granddaughter in a way that was right for her. Thanks again for stopping by and sharing!

By: Angela Baumbach

Angela Baumbach — Thu, 15 Mar 2018 08:09:00 +0000

We are very retro to our country’s culture. We’re in the U.S.. My husband and I have raised 20 teen foster children and officially adopted 2 girls. Our oldest daughter decided to return to her bio-family and ended up on drugs. I got a call a year ago saying that she had a baby and couldn’t keep her. I had 24 hours to get ready for a baby! My husband had been recovering from major surgery and was placed on disability. We’ve been taking care of his mother in our home, she’s had some health issues. I’ve been staying at home taking care of them and finishing up my doctorate. My youngest adult daughter still lives with us. Because the baby was born with meth in her system, we decided to keep her as calm as possible. She also ended up being a Velcro baby and could never be put down without serious bouts of crying. We all decided that we would take turns cosleeping with her. It was simply amazing! She’s 1 now, developmentally normal and is learning independence at a pace comfortable to her. The social workers would throw a fit if they found out that she has not spent a night in her own crib! I’m now a social sciences PhD and know this was the right call for her and for all of us. I am so relieved to see your organization advocating sleep strategies that work for the family; not those culturally assigned. I wish families felt more freedom to choose alternatives.

By: Janelle Reid

Janelle Reid — Mon, 05 Mar 2018 16:08:29 +0000

In reply to Jasmine.

@Jasmine, Thank you for reading the article and for leaving a comment! I am sorry you felt we were pushing the Western way of sleep training on cultures that do things differently, as that was not our intention. Baby Sleep Site’s approach to sleep training is very different than may other sleep trainers in that we DO want to value the culture and will help families through whatever they personally see as a “problem”. One family may only want to help with short naps, but want to continue co-sleeping and nursing on demand through out the first year and beyond, while another family may see the reverse as an “issue”. It is all subjective and we just want to help the family with what they want help with. We believe that you (the parent) know your baby best and we will help you where you are experiencing challenges and want to see a change. With all of our work done with international families, we are blown away with all that we’ve learned! I personally love the approach to a more laid back parenting style and have incorporated both into my parenting philosophies but even within that, have taken a totally different approach between my two children because all babies are different – even in the same family. 🙂
I hope that clarifies a little of our heart behind the article! Thank you for reading!

By: Jasmine

Jasmine — Thu, 01 Mar 2018 09:25:23 +0000

The article was interesting, but you are definitely selling the idea that sleep training can be more effective than a more natural approach. I don’t find this fair or helpful.
Parents have been raising children for thousands of years with a relaxed approach and overall a loving family, but now “sleep training” is more effective?
This is entirely wrong.
For those that believe sleep training is valuable, they are welcomed to it. But to those who agree that the Asian/Eastern approach is much more suitable, they should be welcome to it as well, without reproach or insinuation that their method is wrong.
Glad I quit this site. I googled foreign methods of sleep to only read a sleep training propaganda article.