Quiz results: Camping out sleep training for children ages 3 and up

"Camping out" is a great sleep training technique that is gentle and works across a wide range of ages (from 6 months of age through early school age.

For older children, you stay in their room in a chair and slowly move yourself out of the room, edging further to the door every few days.

In the middle of the night, you can either just repeat bedtime, or just quickly do what you need to soothe your child back to sleep.

Here are the other techniques I recommend in this age group:

Note that if your child doesn't need you to fall asleep but wakes up at night, medical issues (such as obstructive sleep apnea, eczema, asthma or constipation) can be to blame. Make sure you check in with your pediatrician before starting sleep training.

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Note that picking the correct sleep training technique is only a small part of your journey to sleep success. If you want to know what to do BEFORE sleep training, and where the technique fits in, check out my Sleep Training Starter Kit which is free to all (free) members.

Originally published March 2026. Last reviewed/updated by Dr. Craig Canapari, MD in March 2026