Using behavioural techniques such as ‘controlled crying’ to get babies to sleep doesn’t appear to have negative consequences for children’s later emotional and behavioural development, according to new Australian research.

In their study of 225 six year olds who received behavioural intervention as babies to help them to sleep, researchers from Murdoch Childrens Research Institute assessed the health of the children, including their emotional wellbeing and relationship with their parents.

They found that children who had been exposed to behavioural interventions, including controlled crying, suffered no discernable negative effects on their emotional or behavioural development, or in their relationships with their parents, when compared with children who had sleeping problems as babies but received no intervention.

Lead researcher Anna Price said that the study would reassure parents that using techniques like controlled crying to get babies to sleep was not harmful to their children.

She added, “Without intervention, sleep problems are also more likely to persist into childhood, potentially leading to behavioural and cognitive problems including aggression, anxiety and attention and learning difficulties.”