What is the "Gradual Extinction" method of sleep training?

What is the "Gradual Extinction" method of sleep training?

Gary Feldman (Medical Director, Stramski Disorders Center, Miller Children's Hospital ) gives expert video advice on: Which method of sleep training should I use? and more...

The Gradual Extinction method is putting a, setting up a normal sleep routine and getting a child to go to bed without you doing anything to help them; without you doing anything. You then stay in the room with the child, but when you stay in the room with the child while they're lying in the bed or fussing, I might add, or standing up at the rails and banging on the rails, the point is you stay in the room, but you do not interact with the child. You just are there so that they can see that you're there, and they will be fussing and crying to try and get your attention. The important thing is you do not give them attention. The only thing they're getting is that you are there and they can see you, that's the only benefit that they're getting from you being there. And you have to stay there until that child falls asleep. Now that can be anything from thirty minutes to two hours or more. It takes, that's why it's a much longer process and once they fall asleep then you can leave the room. Then when they will invariably wake up during the night naturally looking for you because looking for their old habit, you have to go back into the room so that they can see that you're there- sit in the chair or sit on the floor, whatever you do, sit in the room, sit quietly, do not interact with the child until they fall asleep: then you can leave. So you'll do that however many times in the first night. The next night what you do is you simply move the chair one or two feet further away from the crib and you'll repeat exactly the same process that you did the night before. So the goal is that on succeeding nights you will have to go back into the room less frequently and for less length of time and you will eventually migrate to a chair or whatever way you sit, out of the room.