There are several things to keep in mind. If you are married, both parents must agree to "spot" the other. It makes little sense for either of one of you to not get sleep. You are both going to be losing sleep. Unless, one of you an insensitive human being. After you know that one of you will be with the child while the other is sleeping, you must acknowledge that a screaming child never justifies hitting or hurting the child.

It is never their fault whether they are in pain or just completely restless. You should have a separate room for the child. As tempting as it is, putting their crib in the parent bedroom is the beginning of a dependent relationship that will come back to bite the parents.

It is also good to have a rocker or some comfortable chair in the child's room for the parent that will be in their while trying to comfort the baby. Music is also a good idea, but not a requirement. It can be very soothing, but at the same time can become a crutch for the child that will make putting it down harder once you do not have music later.

It is probably best for the parents to trade off during a single night, but circumstances can often mean that parents are trading off nights. Either way, be sure to not blame the other parent for the situation as well. If the mother is breast-feeding, it can be the single best way to soothe a child, but many parents are not. Even if she is, fathers should not rely on it to put their child to sleep.

The single best piece of advice for fathers to soothe their child trying to get it back to sleep is to face the baby towards your left elbow. Placing its chin in the crook of your elbow and holding it up from underneath with your arm sticking out between its legs.

The pressure created from the child's position relieves the colic if the child is suffering. For some reason, it also seems to sooth a non-colic baby as well. The cradling action seems to sooth and is probably a more natural position for a younger child. Give it a try the next time your baby is screaming its brains out. Rock a little and this will more then likely help you out with your little one.