"Sleep training" covers a range of methods with very different levels of parental involvement, all aimed at the same outcome: helping a baby learn to fall asleep independently, without being fed, rocked, or held to sleep every time. None of these methods is universally "correct" — pediatric sleep specialists generally agree that the right method is the one a family can apply consistently, since inconsistency (switching methods mid-way, or applying a method only some nights) is what most reliably prevents progress, regardless of which method is chosen.
This is general background information, not medical advice — sleep training isn't recommended for very young infants, and any concerns about a specific baby's sleep, health, or readiness for sleep training should go through your pediatrician first.
Cry It Out (Extinction)
The most intensive method: after the bedtime routine, the baby is put down awake and the parent doesn't return until morning (or a set time), regardless of crying. Proponents point to it typically producing the fastest results, often within a few nights. Critics point to the intensity of the unmonitored crying period as the hardest part for many parents to tolerate, and some choose a gentler method for exactly that reason.
This is the method most parents report as hardest emotionally to follow through on, even when they've decided in advance to use it.
Ferber Method (Graduated Extinction)
A middle-ground approach: the parent puts the baby down awake, then checks in at gradually increasing intervals (for example, 3 minutes, then 5, then 10), offering brief, low-stimulation reassurance without picking the baby up. The intervals extend both within a night and across successive nights. This method aims to reduce the intensity of cry-it-out while still teaching independent settling, and tends to take a bit longer to show results — often a week or so of consistent nights.
Chair Method
The parent sits in a chair next to the crib until the baby falls asleep, then moves the chair a little farther from the crib every few nights, eventually out of the room entirely. This method offers continuous physical presence, which some parents and babies tolerate much better than any checking-in method — but it's typically the slowest of the structured methods, often taking two to three weeks or more to reach full independence.
No-Tears Methods
A broad category covering approaches that avoid any planned crying — gradually reducing parental involvement in falling asleep (less rocking each night, moving from holding to patting to voice-only comfort) over a period of weeks rather than nights. This is the gentlest approach in terms of moment-to-moment distress, but it's also generally the slowest to show change and requires the most sustained parental consistency over the longest stretch of time, since progress is incremental rather than a clear before/after.
How to Choose
Rather than researching which method is "best," it's more useful to ask which method you and your partner (if applicable) can apply consistently, every night, without switching methods partway through. A gentle method applied inconsistently for six weeks is typically less effective, and more exhausting for everyone, than a firmer method applied consistently for one week. Whatever method is chosen, a consistent, predictable bedtime routine beforehand — same steps, same order, same closing song — supports it regardless of the sleep-training approach layered on top.