My Mom’s Surprising Attempt at Sleep Training for My Baby

A mother found herself in a distressing situation when, against her preferences, her own mother attempted to sleep train her three-month-old daughter, Lila, by confining the infant in a room. Lila’s eager grandparents, excited to spend time with her, had arranged a crib in the spare room, oblivious to the fact that the baby still slept in her parents’ room. Faced with the challenge of maneuvering the crib through the door, the woman accepted the compromise, reassured by the belief that they would be able to hear Lila’s cries.

Tensions heightened as the grandmother, in disagreement over the sleep training, took it a step further by locking Lila in the room. Faced with panic, Lila’s mother frantically searched for the key to comfort her daughter, but her own mother insisted on letting the baby cry it out. The woman’s father stepped in, demanding the key and advising his wife to leave their daughter alone.

In the aftermath of the incident, the woman’s mother labeled her a “helicopter parent,” implying that she shouldn’t rush to comfort Lila every time she cried. Distraught by the experience, the woman made the difficult decision to forego future overnight visits, asserting her own parenting approach that does not involve locking the baby in a room.

On Reddit, the community voiced collective concern over the grandmother’s actions, deeming it a perilous and unsuitable method for sleep training. Numerous users empathized with the woman’s choice to prioritize her daughter’s well-being over future visits, underscoring the potential hazards linked to locking a baby in a room. The incident served as a poignant reminder of the significance of respecting parents’ choices and boundaries in matters of child-rearing practices.