Pavlov’s dogs paved the way to help your baby sleep. In fact!
Anyone who has heard of Ivan Pavlov or his experiment with his dogs can appreciate the benefits of conditioning. Simply put, Dr. Pavlov trained his dogs to salivate at the sound of a bell by simply ringing the bell constantly before feeding them. Over time, the dogs got used to the schedule and eventually associated the bell with food. Easy, right? The bell was a “feeding signal” and the dogs reacted accordingly upon hearing it.
“That’s great…but I don’t have a dog drool problem. I have a baby sleep problem!”
It’s the same concept! Sure, your baby is NOT a dog, but you should similarly condition him. You should review your baby’s evening routine and select “sleep cues” that you can use to help train your baby to know when it’s time to go to sleep and respond by noticing that he is tired and mentally preparing to go to sleep . .
What a great concept, huh? However, be careful because it is not as easy as it may seem. There are two main components that you must get right or it just won’t work.
First, you should have a consistent schedule planned for your baby. This is monumentally important because:
- a schedule = consistency
- consistency = predictability
By consistently following the same evening schedule every night, your baby will be able to predict what’s coming next and will eventually figure out that her cues mean it’s time to go to sleep.
Second, you must select signals from your schedule or create them if they do not exist. One of the cues my wife and I use (and still use) with our three children is bath time. Each of our children knows that when it gets dark and we start talking about bath time, it’s time to start our nightly routine. After the bath, we change into our pajamas and go over a few other sleep cues, all of which reinforce our schedule and let our kids know it’s bedtime.
And that’s how Dr. Pavlov and his dogs can help you condition your baby to sleep through the night.