Infant Sleep at Le Petit Elephant: Why We Do Not Support Cry-It-Out Methods

Written By Milli Pintacsi

At Le Petit Elephant Nursery and Preschool, our infant program is guided by one core belief: babies deserve to feel safe, heard, and responded to, especially when they are distressed. For this reason, we do not support cry-it-out sleep training methods, including the Ferber Method, and we do not enroll infants who have been sleep trained using these approaches. This decision is intentional, values-based, and grounded in decades of child development research.

Babies Cry to Communicate

Crying is an infant’s primary language. Babies cry to express:

  • Hunger or discomfort

  • Fear or uncertainty

  • Overstimulation

  • A need for closeness and regulation

Current neuroscience shows that infants are not developmentally capable of self-soothing. Instead, they rely on calm, responsive adults to help regulate their nervous systems. This process is called co-regulation, and it is a critical foundation for lifelong emotional health.

When babies are left to cry without comfort, their bodies experience elevated levels of cortisol (the stress hormone), even if they eventually fall asleep.

What Research Tells Us About Cry-It-Out

While cry-it-out methods are often described as “effective,” research suggests that:

  • Babies may stop crying, but stress levels can remain high

  • Repeated unresponded crying can interfere with secure attachment

  • Secure attachment is linked to stronger emotional regulation, resilience, and social development later in life

In other words, silence does not equal calm. At LPE, we believe that sleep should come from safety, not surrender.

Why This Matters in Group Care

In a licensed early childhood setting, our responsibility extends beyond one child as we must also protect the emotional well-being of the entire infant community.

We will never:

  • Leave a baby to cry unattended

  • Ignore distress to preserve a schedule

  • Use withholding comfort as a sleep strategy

These practices are not aligned with:

  • Best practices in early childhood education

  • Infant mental health research

  • Title 22 licensing expectations

  • The ethical standards we hold as caregivers

Babies who have been sleep trained through crying it out often experience significant distress when reintroduced to responsive care, which can lead to prolonged dysregulation for them and their peers, creating an atmosphere not ideal for group care.

What We Do Support

At Le Petit Elephant, we practice gentle, responsive sleep care, including:

  • Individualized sleep rhythms (not rigid schedules)

  • Holding, rocking, and comforting

  • Predictable routines with flexibility

  • Strong, trusting caregiver relationships

We do not “teach” babies to sleep. We support them until they are ready.

Our Enrollment Boundary

Because of our philosophy and our commitment to infant well-being, LPE does not enroll babies who have been sleep trained using cry-it-out or Ferber-based methods. This boundary is not about judgment. It is about alignment.

Families who choose LPE are choosing:

  • Attachment-based care

  • Emotional responsiveness

  • A program where babies are always heard

We believe deeply that these early experiences matter and we honor that responsibility every day.

Parent-Friendly Research & Reading

For families who would like to learn more, we recommend the following accessible, research-based resources:

Milli Pintacsi
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Our Infant Care Philosophy at LPE