This means just that parenrs wean the child from the dependency without any intervening steps. This can be quite a shock to the child and the parents. When the child wakes during the night and calls out or cries, he is ignored. Ignore means ignore. Parents should not respond in any way, either by calling out, reassuring, ordering him to go back to sleep, threatening, feeding, cuddling, tucking may cry the rest of the night. This is obviously the difficult part for one or both parents; one or other is likely to weaken, not being able to bear their child being so upset.
The next night, if the scenario is repeated, the child will cry a little less, and the night after that even less until, in a short space of time, he stops altogether. The problem will be cured as soon as the child is convinced that his parents will not pay any attention in the middle of the night. The next morning the child should be praised for the fact that the parents did not have to attend to him during the night. Again, to allow the child to cry for a couple of nights and then give in just makes the problem more difficult to deal with the next time.
*162\90\8*
