What is the Difference Between Self-Soothing and Self-Settling?

What is the difference between these two bad boys? They often get confused so let’s hash it out.

Self soothing is all about regulating our own emotions such as learning to stop crying or settle down after being upset. We can be learning to self soothe until adulthood so when it comes to babies and sleep, self soothing is something they learn overtime and isn’t connected with their sleep at all so we can’t expect our babies to do this.

Self settling is learning to fall asleep by yourself without any help. This doesn’t mean that your baby has to do this in their own room, completely on their own. You may be in the same room, talking to or holding your baby’s hand soothing them but you won’t physically be rocking them to sleep or feeding them to sleep, for example. This also doesn’t meant that there is anything wrong with rocking or feeding to sleep if it’s working for you. Self settling comes over time just like self soothing.

I hope this has helped!