The Complete Idiot's Guide to Sleep Training Your Child

My daughter isn't the type of child to sleep or go to sleep on her own. I wanted something that could allow me to see the methods that are out there without having to purchase each and every book (which, I will confess, I did anyway). This book did a great job explaining the different types of 'sleep training' from cry it out to a no-cry sleep solution. Not all babies respond the same way to each method so this book allows you the chance to see the differences.

I purchased this book because I needed to make a little sense of the (what seems to be) million different sleep training methods. My 6-month-old daughter was not going to bed until 11 and would wake up an average of 8-10 times a night before waking up at 7 in the morning. I wasn't really familiar with a lot of the sleep training methods;most of what I knew was hear-say. I didn't know which method to use and which book to purchase, so I decided to start here. This book gives you a quick run-down of the most popular sleep training methods. I loved all of the side information in the book, and overall, it was a very interesting read. I think that it is a great book if you just want to learn the basics of the methods or if you need a place to start, but it is not the book that will give you all the tools you need for using one of the methods. I would recommend this book for researching which method seems to suit you, and then purchasing the actual book for the sleep training method of your choice.

My daughter had trouble sleeping from the start, but I was initially overwhelmed by all the different sleep books. This book was a great place to start, since the authors summarize a lot of the sleep training ideas out there. They discuss the different philosophies behind "cry it out" and "no more tears" sleep training methods, and then they summarize a lot of the ideas in these two camps. It's also a very quick read, which is great for sleep-deprived parents! The methods they discuss come from books including On Becoming Babywise: Giving Your Infant The Gift of Nighttime Sleep, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems: New, Revised, and Expanded Edition, Sleeping Through the Night, Revised Edition : How Infants, Toddlers, and Their Parents Can Get a Good Night's Sleep, Sleeping Like a Baby : A Sensitive and Sensible Approach to Solving Your Child's Sleep Problems, Nighttime Parenting: How to Get Your Baby and Child to Sleep, The Baby Sleep Book: The Complete Guide to a Good Night's Rest for the Whole Family (Sears Parenting Library), and The No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night. They discuss the nuts and bolts of how to implement each method and the advantages and disadvantages of each approach, as well as the stories of parents they found who tried the different methods. I found it interesting, for example, that although Elizabeth Pantley's "No-Cry Sleep Solution" sounds great (who wants to hear their baby cry?), Pantley does not have the experience with sleep research that most of the other sleep book authors do (she is not a doctor or scientist), and the Idiot's Guide authors were not able to find any parents who had tried this method and had success (and they explain why it could actually reinforce sleep problems). They also discuss ideas for combining some different methods, as well as when this won't work. One caveat: Don't expect to get a full picture of any given sleep researcher's ideas from the short summaries given here. For example, they describe the "ignore it" approach advocated by Marc Weissbluth, and you might conclude that Weissbluth's book is just about leaving your baby to cry, but I have also read his book and he is very clear that "sleep training does not equal cry it out." He does advocate letting your baby cry if that is what is needed for her to learn to put herself to sleep, but he also describes techniques for avoiding sleep problems in the first place.

I just finished reading this book as a refresher for our toddler. The book was actually kind of validating. The first year we read lots of different experts (sears, ferber, the baby whisperer, etc.) but it's been about a year since we pulled out any new books. This book is nice because it summarizes the various approaches and acknowledges there is no one-size-fits-all. We ended up with a hybrid approach (first 6+ months co-sleeping, then "no-tears" and a teeny tiny bit of "cry-it-out"). This book does a great job of synthesizing all the approaches into simple language and directives. Personally I've become a believer that babies figure out how to self soothe without the cry-it-out approach. We've always done a bedtime routine that finished with lots of snuggling and a very drowsy baby placed gently in her crib. I remember vividly the first night Bailee said to me, "crib", and then went right to sleep on her own. Nice.

Idiot's Guide to Sleep Training For Your Child by Melissa M. Burnham, Ph.D., and Jennifer Lawler, Ph.D. is well worth buying. Dr. Burnham is an Early Childhood Education and the book is highly acclaimed by Dr. Judith Owens, director of a Childhood Sleep Disorders Clinic. Using the unusual approach of considering all the options thoughtfully and with great insight, the authors discuss the pros and cons of every method of helping your child sleep through the night naturally. Of course, every parent is aware there are many different "experts" who tout different methods, and these guides come and go almost as fads, but this book discusses each and how and when it might be useful, while stressing the importance of selecting one method that works for the parents' philosophy and the household and then sticking to it so as not to confuse the baby or young child. There is also a special section dealing with special needs children and a section on using Yoga, Massage, and other physical techniques. The book is organized with easy to find selections that are pertinent to each situation and Melissa's own note about each method is highlighted. The book is excellent and would make one of the best possible new baby gifts