By Norine Dworkin-McDaniel from Parents Magazine

When my son, Fletcher, was around 8 months old, I started dreading bedtime. Each night I’d steel myself as I put him in the crib, where he’d start wailing like an abandoned child. Even though I knew that he was fine — not hungry or thirsty or wet or sick — this drama broke my heart. I often caved and brought him back downstairs, letting him snooze with my husband and me while we hung out on the couch. Despite my good intentions, I’d fallen into a classic sleep trap like so many rookie parents.

“Moms feel terrible about letting their baby cry,” says Heather Wittenberg, Psy.D., a child psychologist on Maui. “Many say, ‘I’m not going to be like my mother and put my baby in the crib, close the door, and ignore her wails.’ But some of us take it too far and think it’s awful for babies to ever cry. Then we end up with a sleep problem.”

Did we ever! I needed guidance — and maybe some backbone. Sound familiar? Learn gentle yet effective techniques for getting out of this and other sleep snags.

Find out how your baby is developing.

Read the full post on British American Household Staffing’s website: http://bahs.com/news/detail/five-things-to-avoid-when-sleep-training-your-baby