Sleeping Through the Night, Revised Edition: How Infants, Toddlers, and Their Parents Can Get a Good Nights Sleep

Product Details

Right after "Is it a boy or a girl?" and "What's his/her name?," the next question people invariably ask new parents is "Are you getting any sleep?" Unfortunately, the answer is usually "Not much." In fact, studies show that approximately 25% of young children experience some type of sleep problem and, as any bleary-eyed parent will attest, it is one of the most difficult challenges of parenting.

Drawing on her ten years of experience in the assessment and treatment of common sleep problems in children, Dr. Jodi A. Mindell now provides tips and techniques, the answers to commonly asked questions, and case studies and quotes from parents who have successfully solved their children's sleep problems.

Unlike other books on the subject, Dr. Mindell also offers practical tips on bedtime, rather than middle-of-the-night-sleep training, and shows how all members of the family can cope with the stresses associated with teaching a child to sleep.

Product Reviews

(5 stars) - helpful
have read most of this book and am waiting to put recommendations into action. will update.

(5 stars) - Best parenting book we own
Not only will baby sleep and be in a better mood but so will you!!!! This is a fantastic book on how to help your child put themselves to sleep. Parenting is all about teaching kids skills and sleep is no different.

The book is easy to read and offers parents research to back up what is written. At the same time, it's not too cerebral. There are real stories (short, helpful ones) that back up what most parents really are experiencing. This left us feeling like "yes! That's what WE are experiencing too!" Our baby is a breastfed baby who would nurse all day and night if he could. Now he naps (asleep in 5 or 10 minutes with no tears) and is doing well going to sleep at night. It was no cake walk but I prefer two tough nights to an endless number of no sleep for me!

The other reviews say it well- be prepared to stick to your guns the first two nights. Go in and check every 5 minutes if you want. But just dont sabatage it by picking them up. Like any new skill... there are growing pains and we should not rescue them from those experiences. Instead we support and celebrate the successes. I especially love the part about why we should NOT just let them "cry it out." Very good information. The only thing I didn't see in the book was swaddling. I would like to know the Dr.'s take on that.

Best parenting book we own (there are a lot) and I just bought it for a shower gift. It's fantastic. Happy sleeping!

(1 stars) - better books for sleep
I got this book because I thought this was the title of a recommended book, I read about half and it didn't really help with what I need right now. My baby is 7 weeks and I needed something that would help now; this book is more geared towards toddlers and up.

I would recommend Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. It is a great book and also recommended to me by several people. It speaks specifically to the age of your child starting from newborn.

(5 stars) - THIS IS THE ONLY BOOK ON SLEEP YOU NEED!!!!
As a first-time mom (and psychologist), I brought and read five books on sleep until getting this one- the only one that actually helped!!! It is the most comprehensive, clear, and practical book if its kind and parents across the country should bow down to Dr. Mindell for her ability to guide you along the path to getting your infant (and thus, yourself) to sleep through the night!!

(5 stars) - What a relief to find this book!
No one knows like a sleep-deprived parent, the frustration of several wakings a night, pulled from deep sleep to attend to a crying infant for an hour or more, only to get a brief respite before doing it all again...several times a night, for weeks and months...

We tried several "no cry" sleep solution ideas. My daughter was happy. She didn't cry. But she didn't sleep for long, either. (We were too exhausted to cry.) It was only when I lay awake and listening in on my husband's "shift" one night as he rocked her, sang to her, played the mobile, etc etc, that I "got" that this was a game - to her, the goal was to keep us busy entertaining her. In her mind, all our antics had nothing whatsoever to do with her getting to sleep and staying alseep for an extended period of time. Nothing that we were doing was teaching her that she needed to go to sleep and stay asleep. On the contrary, we were training her (or was she training us?) to demand endless rocking, songs, feeding and general entertainment, at regular intervals, throughout the night. Every night.

Finally I read this book. WHAT A GODSEND! The instructions are clear and simple, and best of all, you can adapt them to a degree to suit your family. There are some key things that you must do (or not do) but this is not a harsh "shut the door and listen to them scream for hours" approach. It is a moderate, calm, "here are the rules, dear, and we still love you" approach that WORKED! It went almost to the letter how the author describes, except that we had less crying than she says is typical. Given that our daughter was 9 months and had been ruling the roost regarding sleeping for all that time, we were utterly amazed that within 2 weeks we were all sleeping through the night.

When I had my second child he was also a poor sleeper by nature. Being much more strong-willed than my daughter I was very apprehensive about trying out the technique on him. Once again, we did it to the letter and within 2 weeks, we were all sleeping through the night.

When we are at our children's friends houses or birthday parties, the topic of "does your child sleep through the night" invariably arises and when we say that both of ours, at 1 and 3, sleep through the night every night, we quickly find ourselves surrounded by a group of exhausted parents picking our brains. We just recommend this book, because if you do it, it works!

Don't be afraid to just implement the book as it says. It is not at all unkind to the child, it just asks you to set a boundary and stand by it (which is what all the child care experts say we should do with our children). The author points out that not sleeping is a behavioural issue and if it's treated as such, then, like any other child behavioural issue, you can resolve it quickly and easily. Yes, you do have to tolerate a small amount of screaming (we had to put up with a total of about 50 minutes spread out over 3 nights for each of our children). But you are giving your child the gift of being able to sleep for an extended period. They need it just as much as you do. That small amount of crying has led to years of peaceful sleeping.

If you are seriously sleep deprived and need to just cut to the chase and do what works, get this book.

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