Karen has had a very very busy week. She feels like she's Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz and been transported in a tornado to some other place.

After all there's no place like home...no place like home...

OK Karen snap out of it and back to reality!

On Tuesday I was hoping for a bit of R & R before I went to do my Baby Led Weaning Seminar in Alexandria.

I looked at the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) online and the headlines screamed out at me  'For crying out loud: study backs baby sleep strategies'

http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life/for-crying-out-loud-study-backs-baby-sleep-strategies-20120911-25p2a.html

I skimmed over it and retorted to my 'significant other', "Well I shan't be doing a blog about that! Way too controversial." and other words to that effect.  I think Twitter, hate mail and Trolls got mentioned!!!

Get the picture. Karen likes a nice quiet life. She's not keen on rocking the boat, but then suddenly finds herself in the middle of it! 

Then the phone call arrived whilst wrestling with the washing machine and a bathroom floor flooded with water. A journalist asking for comments on the SMH article. I somehow found myself agreeing to go on The Ben Fordham Show on drive-time, 2GB to discuss the research article!

http://www.2gb.com/index.php?option=com_homepage&id=63&Itemid=259

I'd met Ben previously, whilst helping his sister-in-law Liz and brother Nick with their gorgeous baby Maisie who was a little bit 'allergic' to her cot and sleeping in it! Have a look at my testimonials, she's there!

And after reading the article I felt quite strongly about giving the families out there something to cling onto, in the way of help and strategies. It fitted in with my way of working and it was a longitudinal study over 6 years.

http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life/for-crying-out-loud-study-backs-baby-sleep-strategies-20120911-25p2a.html

http://www.mamamia.com.au/parenting/news-is-controlled-crying-safe-for-babies/

So here it is in all it's glory...the 2GB podcast! Karen's first foray into Talkback Radio, 2GB in Sydney, Australia and The Ben Fordham show.

http://podcasts.mrn.com.au.s3.amazonaws.com/benfordham/20120911-crying.mp3

What I found most interesting is that we're still using the term Controlled Crying.

When I think of the term 'controlled crying' it evokes images from the 60's and 70's, where parents did literally close the nursery door on a crying baby, walk away and not go back till morning. 

That does not happen nowadays.

Or it shouldn't.

It is sooo important to respond to any crying baby, especially a young baby and especially if the cry is escalating. 

So I think we should stop using the word Controlled Crying. We are getting lost in semantics, rather than dealing with the real issue of how to successfully help parents support their babies to achieve healthy sleep patterns.

I would rather use the words Checking Routine or Comfort Settling, rather than Controlled Crying. I think it describes sleep training/strategies that we use for babies over 6 months so much better.

What do you think? Feedback please...