Will sleep training affect my child's attachment to me?

Will sleep training affect my child's attachment to me?

Gary Feldman (Medical Director, Stramski Disorders Center, Miller Children's Hospital ) gives expert video advice on: Will sleep training affect my child's attachment to me?; What are common mistakes during sleep training? and more...

Sleep training will not affect your child's attachment to you because children attach better during conscious hours, during the daytime, as that's when they're interacting with their parents and that's when they are spending quality time with their parents. Babies are doing things, parents are saying, "What a great job you did", or they're building something and mom says, "Oh, wow, that's such a good thing you did", or if they're bringing something to a parent, "Look what I made", and mom says, "Wonderful, wonderful". So there are many rich encounters that take place during the day, which will not take place during the night. The fear that parents have about not holding their child at night affecting attachment is unfounded as this plays such a small role, and when a child is sleeping better at night, the quality of interaction between child and parent in the day far outweighs, by far, those concerns.