Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child

Rating:
Summary: Not my kid
Review: This book was nothing but a waste of my time. Apparently after reading this book my wife and I came to the conclusion that our son will be a high school dropout and career criminal. We tried every step in this book from beginning to end and our son is more confused now over bed time and naps then he ever has been. He is screaming from 7 PM till 5 AM now but according to Dr Weissbluth the "average" child will only cry for 45 minutes before he puts himself to sleep and if you "let him cry" this amount of time will decrease to nothing over time. Well, our child used to cry for about 2 hours before, he now average 6 to 7 hours of crying a night. Also is this Dr trying to scare new parents or what? He might as well come out and say that if your child doesnt follow his guidelines for healthy sleep he/she will grow up to be a serial killer without a doubt....We did not find any usefull info in this book for the sleep problems we are having with our son and are out $15 for it. Not everything is as black and white as the good Dr would like to believe, maybe he should have researched some children who actually have "severe" sleep problems like my son instead of just referring to this "average" child constantly.

Rating:
Summary: Happy Patients
Review: My daughters are both patients of Dr. Weissbluths and I can't imagine their lives without him. As a chronic insomniac, I now know why I don't know how to fall asleep as an adult. I was never left to cry it out. My girls are fabulous sleepers, they wake up happy and always well rested after each nap or bedtime. They both have 5:30 bedtimes which leaves time for myself and my husband. We're also well rested and ready for them the next day. Anyone, who says that this book doesn't work hasn't given it a chance. I wouldn't deprive my children of food, I won't deprive their brains of sleep.

Rating:
Summary: The only thing that worked
Review: People who criticize this book for being "just another 'cry it out' book" or inhumane have obviously not read it thoroughly. Dr. Weissbluth does address how babies must be taught to soothe themselves and that this often involves some tears (usually more from the parents!); however he offers varying degrees that parents can accomplish this - even assuring parents that attending to all crying is an option (although not as effective). Before we read this book, our 4-month-old son did not nap for more than 45 minutes, and only if I was lying beside him on our bed. He is now the King of Naps (in his crib) and it is all due to this great book. He also sleeps 10-13 hours EVERY NIGHT!!! I now give it as a shower gift to all of my friends and I am always thanked profusely!!

Rating:
Summary: Sleep, precious sleep!
Review: After reading the book and implementing the strategies, we have a child that is sleeping to her needs! I decided to come on here and see what others were saying about it and I was shocked by the few negative reviews. After reading those, I determined that those that viewed this book negatively either did not read this book or did not get what the dr was trying to say (and who cares about the quality of how its written if it works!!).
Letting your child cry it- the dr clearly states that if at 4 months you are NOT comfortable letting your child cry it out, then don't. He just encourages you to come back in another 8-10 months to try it out. And the book is SO much less about crying it out than stressing the importance of consistency and sleep.
I've seen this book work for other children, it's working for mine, I can't give it enough stars!!!

Rating:
Summary: Wish I had read this book BEFORE my son was born!!
Review: This book is an absolute must for any parent! I bought it when my son was 6 months old and wish that I had gotten it sooner. It was tough the first couple of days when "teaching" him how to take naps and sleep at night by himself, but he is now almost two and still naps for two hours during the day and is in bed by 7:00pm each night. He sleeps until 6:00am-6:30am, but I don't mind getting up a little bit earlier since my husband and I now have more time for ourselves before we go to bed. I have used this book countless times as our son as gotten older and just recently referred to it during his transition to a "big boy's" bed. As parents, we couldn't have kept our sanity without the advice of Dr. Weissbluth. KUDOS!! I highly, highly recommend this book!

Rating:
Summary: The Best Book Ever
Review: This book is Great! I highly recommend this book to every parent out there. If you follow Dr. Weissbluth's plan your child will develop the best sleep habits you can hope for. We bought this book with our first child and after following the sleep plan, it changed her whole temperment. And now she is 4 and half and still takes one nap a day for 2hrs and is alseep by 8:00pm. Now we have 19 month old twins and they take two naps a day and are in bed for the night by 6:30pm and they wake up around 6:00am! We tell all our friends with children to get this book. I only wish all parents would follow Dr. Weissbluth's useful advice!!!

Rating:
Summary: This book is horrible--nasty and cruel
Review: Of course children need to sleep. Duh. What a novel concept for a book. But they also need security. Forcing them to cry it out in a dark room alone is *not* going to teach them independence. Insomnia is on the rise for kjids in the 8-12-year-old age range, and lots of researchers and therapists think it's because the kids were left to cry it out (the "method" in this book) instead of learning gentle, peaceful ways to fall asleep. Of course there are going to be people who post about their great success with this method. tehre are also plenty of us who have used gentler methods to teach our kids to fall asleep without any crying, fear, and distress. It's not a choice between this and never sleeping. It's a choice between using the quick and easy way (Weissbluth) or the longer, gentler, more effective way that won't cause later problems.

Rating:
Summary: WEISSBLUTH WORSHIPER
Review: Our friends did us the GREATEST favor by sending us this book BEFORE our son was born. We have a 10-month-old son who is the happiest and most well-rested kid on the block. If the techniques are followed from the beginning you will not have to endure such lengthy crying spells. There have only been a few instances when we have had to let him cry. I can assure you there has been absolutely no psychological effects. My son smiles at me as I lay him down (wide-awake) as early as 6:00 pm. He then sleeps peacefully for over 12 hours and is still smiling at me when I return to his room at 7:00 AM. He also takes two solid naps a day. My kid LOVES his crib. The whole family is well-rested and happy.

Rating:
Summary: This is it, guys
Review: Our third child was a good sleeper as an infant but along the way we unintentionally introduced some bad habits that made him dependent on us to put him to sleep. At age 11 months, he needed us to rock or walk him to sleep for each nap and at bedtime, and if he awoke soon after he was placed in his crib, we had to start over. On a recent vacation, my husband got up with him twice in the middle of one night and spent an hour and 45 minutes trying to get him down on one of those wakings. Back at home, I tried to "Ferberize" the baby using my memory of Ferber's book Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems, putting him in his bed awake and then going in periodically to soothe him. This did not appear to be working, I think because he felt that his passionate, hysterical crying was responsible for bringing me back into his room. After a couple of days, I purchased Weissbluth's book, and implemented his recommendations immediately. That was just last night, and already what a difference! I put our little guy in his crib awake last night and he went to sleep after only 30 minutes of half-hearted crying and slept through the night. I also used Weissbluth's recommendations to establish some nap times, and the baby has slept soundly during both naps today after mild "noise" in his crib of less than half an hour each time. The whole family is celebrating!

Rating:
Summary: might be well researched, but horribly written
Review: For the sleep deprived parent, this book is useless. It is not well indexed, and it is virtually impossible to find information quickly and easily. The author has a rambling style, making it difficult for the not-well-rested parent to read. There is probably good advice in the book, but i couldn't find it. I highly recommend "THE NO CRY SLEEP SOLUTION" by Elizabeth Pantley. It is a MUCH better book-- well indexed, concise, and detailed. (And doesn't have to address what to do if your child throws up from crying so much-- it's not part of the method.) Only buy "healthy sleep habits" if you have the time to read a 500 page book and have a good highlighter.