Behavior management of infant sleep disturbance.

Seven babies who woke often at night were taught to sleep longer.

Parents used graduated extinction plus stimulus control.

They waited longer each night before picking the baby up.

A night-light and soft toy signaled bedtime only.

The team tracked wakings across homes for many months.

All babies cut night wakings by a lot.

The gains lasted up to two years.

Parents also slept more and felt less stress.

Lejuez et al. (2001) used the same extinction logic on attention-based tantrums.

Both studies show that withholding reinforcement drops the behavior fast.

Sobsey et al. (1983) warned that parent-training gains often fade.

The 1990 sleep study answers that worry by tracking 24-month follow-up.

It adds long-term proof that parents can keep results when you build clear steps.

You can give exhausted parents a simple plan tonight.

Pair a short wait-time ladder with a special bedtime cue.

Track wakings on a phone app and review each week.

The study says gains stick, so your brief coaching can save months of call-backs.