Silent Return WITHOUT Limits

If you are uneasy or unable to close your child's door, you can use Silent Return with NO limits. With this strategy, if your child exits their room after the bedtime routine, you silently return them to their room and then leave. You will do this as many times as necessary until they stop exiting. As you might imagine this can be VERY tough on parents, but can be effective when done consistently.

Things to know:

• You must do the returns as "Sleepy Mommy/Daddy" - no talking, emotion, eye contact, picking up, tucking in, kissing, hand holding, etc.
• If possible, try to stop at their door frame to avoid entering the room again.
• Accept that this can be very tough and may take a long time. But if you are consistent, and do not break character, it can work.
• This might entail 100 silent returns one night, 60 the next night, 30 the next night, etc.
• If you (and any co-parent) are 100% consistent, it can be effective.
• This is not taught as one of the primary strategies in the course because it can be very taxing on parents and often leads to parents being worn down and eventually giving - either losing their temper or giving the child extra comfort. If this happens, it strengthens the child's resolve and can increase exits; so it's important that this is done consistently in order to be effective.