The route of parenthood is not without its difficulties and, occasionally, divergent views on the best ways to raise a newborn. In the first few months of life, babies only cry to communicate, which makes it difficult for parents to understand what they need. There is no one-size-fits-all method for raising children; instead, every parent raises their children in a different way.
In this story, a grandmother chose to intervene on her own behalf for her granddaughter Lila. Even at three months old, Lila had a fantastic set of lungs that allowed her to make loud cries. Even though they lived hours away, her maternal grandparents were excited to finally see her. But the grandmother’s ability to travel was restricted by a knee replacement surgery, so physical distance remained an obstacle. Meanwhile, the grandfather could not drive at all due to his eye problems. The woman, her fiance, and baby Lila travelled to see the grandparents after many video chats and persistent demands for a visit.
As Lila’s grandparents were ready for her birth, excitement was in the air. They were unaware that Lila still slept in her parents’ room, but they had set up a big wooden cot in the spare. The mom was unable to be with her daughter since the cot was too big to fit through the door and there was no bed in the guest room.
Satisfied with their setup, the woman and her fiancé assumed that they could hear Lila’s cries from the guest and spare rooms next door. They had no idea that the evening would raise a controversial topic related to sleep training.
The woman’s mother suggested that the following day they start Lila’s sleep training, letting her cry herself to sleep. The mom, however, felt uneasy about the concept because she thought her daughter was still too young for this practise. That night, things took a worrying turn when the infant started crying five minutes after being put to bed. When Lila’s mother discovered the door was locked, she became frightened and frantic to go to her upset daughter.
Lila’s mother responded by letting her cry it out and carrying on with the sleep training that she was helping with. The family’s discord increased when the father insisted that his wife open the door. The father of the woman urged his wife to give their daughter some space.
After the incident, the woman’s mother contacted to ask when the next overnight visit would be and to highlight the cot that they had bought for Lila. But the woman’s deep mistrust stemmed from the horrific incident, and she no longer wanted to spend the night with her parents.
The mother made it clear that she planned to raise Lila according to her own parenting style, which did not include putting the infant in a room alone to wail. Lila was a premature baby, born closer to two months than three, she added.
Many readers have voiced their worries about the grandmother’s conduct in response to this tale, highlighting the fact that putting a baby in a room is not only a potentially damaging sleep training technique, but also unproductive. The parents of the affected child must now determine how to proceed in their child’s best interests as a result of the serious gap caused by the betrayal of trust in their family.
