Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful advice
Review: My twin boys were two years old and had wonderful sleep habits,but thatchanged when we moved into our new house. They fought going to bed at night, we thought it was time to move to big beds. That only made matters worse. For 4 months we struggled with them constantly gettting out of bed at bedtime and waking in the night. Finally I bought this book. What a life saver! Dr. Ferber's techniques are wonderful and teaches the child that they have a part in what happens. We were unprepared for toddler bedtime troubles, but this book explained everything. Thanks Dr. Ferber for the wonderful sleep and pleasant bedtimes we spend with our boys.
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Summary: Pediatrician Most Recommended Method to solve Sleep Problems
Review: Richard Ferber, MD, has many years of experience in sleep disorders from his work in the field. (As is listed in the description the book is based on Ferber's research as the director of Boston's Center for Pediatric Sleep Disorders at Children's Hospital.) His book is by far and away the text most recommended by pediatricians. Don't let the fact that it was published in 1986 scare you away. It should reassure you that even though it was published way back in the 80's and still is a popular book.
The transition from awake to sleep is a learned skill just like many other skills that an infant learns whether it be talking or playing. The infant looks for guidance from its parent(s). If an infant learns to make the transition from awake to sleep by walking, rocking, feeeding, co-sleeping, etc. they will expect that to be reproduced when they awaken @ night. Adults have learned to roll over and go back to sleep after a loud noise, a bad dream, etc. because they have the skill to self soothe and return to sleep. Using Ferber's method is not going to teach an infant anything other than self soothing. It will not make them feel unwanted if they are well attended and shown affection during the regular waking hours of the parent.
For those who promote co-sleeping keep in mind that a 1999 study by the Consumer Product Safety Commision estimated that an average of 64 young children die each year while sleeping in the bed with their parents or another adult.
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Summary: "Cry It Out" equals child abuse
Review: Sleep deprivation is one of the most difficult things I've had to go through with my daughter. However, nothing in this world could make me leave her alone in a crib to cry. If something works, does that make it right? Are we forgetting what the point is here? The child is what matters, not the parents' schedules. And what you are teaching your child by letting him/her "cry it out" is that this scary world into which he or she was born is not a secure, comforting place. Babies don't cry because they are manipulating us! They don't even know they are separate from us. They don't develop a working concept of self and other until later in life. They cry because they need comfort; i.e., they need their mother's arms. Just because we don't understand this need does not mean that it isn't a valid physical and emotional need. If you want your child to grow into a secure, trusting, emotionally stable human being, try attachment parenting (a cute label for what comes naturally). Read Dr. Sears instead...he will speak to your heart and remind you of why you became a parent in the first place.
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Summary: It worked for us
Review: My husband and I were reluctant to try the "cry it out" method with our son, who will turn 5 months old in a matter of days. He is very independent already, he had a pattern where he would go down at night for 2 hours then wake up every hour to hour and a half from then on, and the only way I could get him back to sleep was nursing and then co-sleeping with me in our spare bedroom. I told my husband we have to try something. We originally tried the "No Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley. We tried this for over two weeks, but it seemed to make things worse not better..so finally about 5 days ago, while the Feber book was on its way to us, we decided to try the crying out method with what little we knew via internet postings, and boy were we suprised. We thought for sure we would have a battle on our hands, but our son took right to it, the first night he cried for 15 minutes, slept for 4 hours, cried for about 5 minutes and then slept for 6 more hours. The next night it was even better, crying for not more then 15 mintues and then slept with one waking for a total of 10 hours. As of this posting he slept from 8:00 pm-5:00 am going to sleep with only minor fussing, I then nursed him at 5:00 and he slept for another 2 1/2 hours.Once I received the book, I read it and realized we had done things right and were on the track to getting our child into healthy sleeping patterns. I do agree that Ferber does not talk alot about naps and how hard it is, I have yet to get him to sleep in his crib with crying it out, right now he sleeps on the couch next to me for the time being, and we decided that this is ok as he is sleeping so much better during the nights, I can watch him on the couch during the day times. I definetly recommend Ferbers methods, it is worth the small price to pay for the "cry" time as in a matter of a week or two you can be sleeping through the night
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Summary: It works - again, and again
Review: I had "ferberized" my daughter at 8 months old, and it worked beautifully. She went from waking up 4-5 times per night to sleeping peacefully for 11 hours. Then a trip to Europe with the resulting jet lag & strange surroundings ruined the situation. I felt bad about letting her cry in a strange bed & also about waking up my hosts, so I got into the habit of taking her to bed whenever she cried. Bad idea! Back home, the crying and co-sleeping of my now 15 month old continued, until nobody got any sleep anymore. Finally, I had enough and re-ferberized her. Admittedly, the first night was very hard, now that she is actually crying out for "Mommy!" and "Daddy!" But by night 3, things quieted down considerably, and last night (night 5) she slept without a peep from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. - a blissfull ten hours. If you don't remember what 10 hours of uninterupted sleep feels like & what it does for your general disposition, then you owe it to yourself to read this book!! The reason I don't give it 5 stars is that Ferber did not talk enough about the fact that getting the naptimes to work can be a lot more trying with some babies. At 8 months, my baby fought me so hard on the naps that I gave up. (if you're curious, search for my old review). The good news is: it didn't matter. Apparently she made such a distinction between night sleep and nap sleep that I could rock & sing her down to her naps, and still have her go to sleep alone at night without fussing. Even now, my daughter goes down readily at night, but cries terribly at naptime if I try to just lay her down. Ferber never mentioned babes like that.
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Summary: Wait a second!!!
Review: What a second here...all of you parents that started to Ferberize your child at 2 mos, 3 mos, 4 mos...did you even read the book?? The minimum age is 5 MONTHS! There is a reason for that...trust between child and parent is being built in those first few precious months. Don't disregard that for the sake of your own sleep!! Besides, sleeping through the night is initially a developmental milestone; give your baby a chance - you may not ever need to use the advice in this book. That said, bad habits can develop in older infants, and the method outlined in this book really does work.
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Summary: The only indespensible book for new parents
Review: Nothing can ruin your quality of life like a baby's poor sleep habits, which are almost always the result of poor parenting habits, like rocking or feeding a child to sleep -- and then repeating the process every time he wakes. Forget all that. Read this book -- not even the whole thing, just selected passages -- and you will quickly understand the hows and whys of children's sleep. To me, that was much more important than the mechanics of Ferber's step-by-step method, which I didn't follow by the letter anyway. This book taught me how to let my children learn to fall asleep on their own, which is as necessary as allowing your child to fall down while he learns to walk. I only wished I had Ferberized my twins at 3 months rather than 5 months. I just didn't know any better. Fortunately our pediatrician set me straight ("No child ever died from crying," she said). Then I read Ferber, and it all made sense. Long story short: my twins have been on a predictable sleep and nap schedule since 5 months, when I began putting them to bed awake with a brief routine/song that let them know it was time to sleep. What a pleasure it was raising them after that. They're 32 months old now, and continue to nap 3 hours in the afternoon and sleep 10-11 hours at night, always happily going to sleep by themselves. The knowledge you gain from the Ferber book gives you the confidence to build healthy sleep habits in your children. This is simply a must-read book -- for both parents.
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Summary: Works Beautifully!! It is worth the effort!
Review: My daughter is four years old and still not sleeping through the night or falling asleep on her own. So, I asked a Doc at work if he had any suggestions for helping her sleep patterns and he recommended this book. I read chapter 5 and applied the door closing technique. It worked the very first night and the next night she slept through the whole night without coming into our room once! Her daytime behavior has improved dramatically. Celeste is happier, respectful and calmer. I owe my sanity to Dr. Saroa and Dr. Ferber! Thankyou!
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Summary: a warning! choking hazard!
Review: this is a method that works for a lot of people, and worked partially for us, too. BUT at one point our son started choking! thank god we were right there and helped him unblock his passages. what if we were not as attentive? if you decide to use ferber, MAKE sure this is a completely controlled environmet and be right outside the door any time you are letting your child cry NO MATTER the hour.
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Summary: exhausted mother
Review: THIS BOOK WORKS! I didn't believe it could work but it did. My husband and I have been using the book now for ten days. Before we began following Ferber's suggestions, our five month old awoke crying every hour. Now she sleeps from 8 pm to 7am, and only wakes up once to drink a bit of formula. She has also learned how to nap--we simply put her, awake, in her crib when she seems tired and she falls asleep. Some babies need to be taught how to sleep, and if you follow this book, your baby will learn how to sleep, and how to comfort herself back to sleep. Yes there will be some crying, but I feel it is better for my daughter to cry for a week on and off at nights, then have months of crankiness because she isn't getting enough sleep. When you realize that this method is actually best for the baby, harder at first then giving in and letting your child sleep with you, that she will learn good sleep habits for her entire life, it makes it all worth it. It has totally tranformed our family.
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