The 5-10-15 method

The progressive waiting method, more commonly called the 5-10-15 method, aims to help a baby fall asleep alone, without their parent present. It came about in the 1950s with Dr. Richard Ferber, a paediatrician in Boston. This technique can be used from the age of 4 months up to 18 months.

The goal remains for the baby to learn to fall asleep by themselves, independently. The bedtime routine has to be followed to the letter. You then put your baby down in their bed and close the door in order to reduce stimulation as much as possible.

The progressive waiting technique

The first night

The parent does not stay in the room with the baby: they leave it. The baby will probably start to cry. That is when you apply the progressive waiting time before going back in:

• wait 5 minutes, if you can;
• then 10 minutes;
• then every 15 minutes after that.

During these visits, do not pick the baby up or talk to them: keep what you do to a strict minimum, as quietly as possible. Gently settle the baby back in their bed, cover them if needed, stroke them softly, then leave the room again.

If 5 minutes of crying feels too long to you, you can go more gradually, according to your tolerance: start with 1 or 3 minutes of waiting, then 5 or 8 minutes, then 15 minutes. You also have to take your own limits as a parent into account. You then adapt the waiting times, but always with the same steadiness and the same consistency. You go back to see the baby every 15 minutes as long as they are crying and not asleep.

It is recommended that the father and the mother take turns with the baby, especially if the mother is still breastfeeding during the day. Experience shows that crying often lasts less long when it is the father who goes in rather than the mother.

The first night is likely to be trying, because the baby does not yet understand what you are trying to do. They are reassured by an occasional presence while learning that they now have to find sleep on their own. Crying is normal: it is their way of expressing themselves and showing their displeasure.

The second night

You keep up the evening routine to start the night's sleep. When you put the baby down, you leave the room as you did the night before, but this time you wait 10 minutes before going back in, if they cry. For a shorter wait, you can go back after 5 to 7 minutes, then add 5 more minutes each time, up to 20 minutes in a row. After that you repeat every 20 minutes, for as long as the situation requires.

The third night

The third night is usually easier. You go through the evening routine again, put the baby down awake in their bed, leave the room and wait 15 to 20 minutes. Very often, the check-in visit will not be necessary, because the baby will already be asleep.

As the technique is repeated day after day, the baby understands that they now have to fall asleep alone, and they manage it faster and faster, both at bedtime and when they wake during the night. Once night sleep is well established, you can put a routine in place for naps: it differs from the bedtime ritual, but it calls for the same regularity and the same repetition.