Rating: 
Summary: The lost touch with your husband book.
Review: Although Ms. Thevenin claims a 1987 copyright on this book, I read it (or an earlier version) in the mid-to late 70's. I was so inspired by her that I tossed the crib. My husband and I slept with all three of our children. Each new one kicking the other out at about age two. Its hard enough maintaining a secret, intimate, sexual relationship when kids come. With a "family bed" it is impossible. We became a "family" but really lost our desire for each other. Maybe the bed sharing did not cause this, but for many years now (my "kids" are 23, 21, and 18) I have wondered how much it contributed to our divorce. We parted friends, but not lovers. My advice: go the "American" way and be selfish about your relationship with your husband. The kids are terrific, but they leave. Hopefully, he'll stick around. Marty
Rating: 
Summary: Salvation for all!
Review: As very young parents, we were forced by circumstances to put our first child's crib right up against our bed in our room. I made the crib mattress level with ours, dropped the railing on the side against the bed, lashed the legs of the two together, and filled the small gap with a few old towels. Well, he never slept in the crib itself (it filled with toys and stuffed animals), but its presence made it safe for him to sleep with me in bed on that side, and NOT between me and my husband. We did it this way again when our daughter was born years later, though we didn't have to. I recommend this to everyone expecting a baby. Between this and breast-feeding, we avoided nearly all the problems other new parents moan about, like sleep dep, colic, earaches, and bedtime tears (my daughter never cried AT ALL til she was 3 or 4 months old!). And no, our sex life was never hindered. Happy babies sleep SOUNDLY! This book came out the same year my son was born, and i discovered it a year or two later...it was not the source of the idea for me, but it saved me many times from "expert" opinions that what we were doing was wrong! It is a bit dated and yes defensive, but bear in mind, in 1978, in a major metropolitan hospital, i had to FIGHT to be allowed to breastfeed at all! Our son is now about to graduate from college with honors; both children are very secure, focused, and wise people, with none of the self-destructive or reckless characteristics common in youth. I do attribute this LARGELY to the family bed approach.
Rating: 
Summary: Good book about theory, but no practical help
Review: Great book about the theory behind having your children sleep with you - but if you know that's what you want but want some practical help about where to make love with your partner and about getting the child to sleep when you're not ready for bed, etc. etc. this is not the book - I'm still looking for one.
Rating:
Summary: an excellent and important book for all parents!
Review: I bought and read this book after my son was born in March of 1998. Both my husband and I felt re-assured with our decision to keep our son in bed with us aftering reading THE FAMILY BED. Cameron will be one year old in a couple of weeks. He is a happy, affectionate and well adjusted baby. With my husband who works away from home during the day, evening and bedtime are the quality time for both my husband and my son to spend together. Cameron loves getting ready for bed at night because he enjoys cuddling up in the comfort of both his parents. We also have a ritual of reading and singing to Cameron before bed. I truly believe that this is the reason why Cameron is so very close to his father. My husband also feels better being away at work during the day because he still gets to enjoy sharing quality time with our son in the evening and at night. I recomend this book highly and have often included Ms. Thevenin's book along with the shower gifts to all my friends and colleagues.
Rating: 
Summary: Poorly Written
Review: I found this little gem on my mom's shelf while looking for something to read. My son is 6 months old and he has slept with me since the day he was born - even in the hospital. After a few sleepless nights of sitting up to breastfeed, I finally realized that lying down to nurse was wonderful. So - to the book. My parents had all of their children but me sleep with them. (Mom says she was "reading a different book" with me). Once they discovered LLL and co-sleeping that was it for them. It was wonderful to finally read the book that changed their minds, even at a time when the "experts" were against co-sleeping.
The author does a great job of laying down why the family bed is the best place for children. Just as breastmilk is the BEST food, co-sleeping is the BEST thing for kids. She never says it is the best thing for parents...but that's the point. Being a parent is about sacrifices...but who better to sacrifice for than this sweet wonderful little person who is yours to raise into a BIG wonderful person.
For the money, this book is a great WHY book. I agree with other reviewers that not a whole lot of HOW is found. If you are already a co-sleeper and want something to give to your parents or in-laws to explain WHY...this is great.
Rating:
Summary: found on mother's shelf
Review: I found this little gem on my mom's shelf while looking for something to read. My son is 6 months old and he has slept with me since the day he was born - even in the hospital. After a few sleepless nights of sitting up to breastfeed, I finally realized that lying down to nurse was wonderful. So - to the book. My parents had all of their children but me sleep with them. (Mom says she was "reading a different book" with me). Once they discovered LLL and co-sleeping that was it for them. It was wonderful to finally read the book that changed their minds, even at a time when the "experts" were against co-sleeping.
The author does a great job of laying down why the family bed is the best place for children. Just as breastmilk is the BEST food, co-sleeping is the BEST thing for kids. She never says it is the best thing for parents...but that's the point. Being a parent is about sacrifices...but who better to sacrifice for than this sweet wonderful little person who is yours to raise into a BIG wonderful person.
For the money, this book is a great WHY book. I agree with other reviewers that not a whole lot of HOW is found. If you are already a co-sleeper and want something to give to your parents or in-laws to explain WHY...this is great.
Rating:
Summary: I LOVED this book!!!
Review: I just finished reading "The Family Bed" and what a relief it was! This book relieved much of the guilt I had felt for not instantly knowing how to parent my children in the ways that I would have chosen had I been better informed and more strongly supported. The edition I read is the 1976 one that I got from the La Leche League library. I am definately going to buy a new copy and buy copies for several friends. This is definately a wonderful book for new parents. I have told several friends about it and they are all anxious to read it next! As to the comments made by another reviewer that she is too traditionally Christian in her viewpoint, I didn't find this to be the case, even though I am not a Christian, nor traditional. I found her views refreshing and uplifting. I also felt that the question of "marital relations" was well addressed, merely presenting what other couples have chosen to do (which did not include having sex with the child). Other, more bizarre cultural practices were touched on, but not put forth as suggestions. The author is a La Leche League leader and a mother who shares some wonderful insights, suggestions, and loving support of attachment parenting techniques with the reader. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: I LOVED this book!!!
Review: I just finished reading "The Family Bed" and what a relief it was! This book relieved much of the guilt I had felt for not instantly knowing how to parent my children in the ways that I would have chosen had I been better informed and more strongly supported. The edition I read is the 1976 one that I got from the La Leche League library. I am definately going to buy a new copy and buy copies for several friends. This is definately a wonderful book for new parents. I have told several friends about it and they are all anxious to read it next! As to the comments made by another reviewer that she is too traditionally Christian in her viewpoint, I didn't find this to be the case, even though I am not a Christian, nor traditional. I found her views refreshing and uplifting. I also felt that the question of "marital relations" was well addressed, merely presenting what other couples have chosen to do (which did not include having sex with the child). Other, more bizarre cultural practices were touched on, but not put forth as suggestions. The author is a La Leche League leader and a mother who shares some wonderful insights, suggestions, and loving support of attachment parenting techniques with the reader. I highly recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Co-sleeping should be the preferred approach for parents...
Review: I read this book and my wife checked out another book on the same issue. The single most thing that amazes my wife and me is that there is even a debate about co-sleeping. We grew up in a different culture and co-sleeping is the most common approach every parent uses in our culture. Some use a variation where they put the crib in their bedroom right next to their own bed. Look, we can't generalize. I believe that there are 2 key variables involved in this decision. First, the sleeping "stability" of parents. If parents are not all over the bed at night, child is relatively safe. We bought a king size bed just before our daughter was born to make sure that all 3 of us had plenty of room in bed. The second variable is the child. Our daughter is very energetic and she wouldn't stay in a crib for 5 seconds if we are not around. Our next door neighbor's son, on the other hand, can sit in his stroller for all day with a pacifier in his mouth and not complain. This kid sleeps in his crib in a separate bedroom and doesn't cry at night. Ultimately for us, it boils down to one thing - we are crazy about our girl and want to enjoy every possible moment with her. Then why in the world would we leave her in a crib by herself? That's why we believe that all parents should consider co-sleeping option because we think it's best for the child. (Culturally, another thing that leaves us bewildered is why women don't breastfeed even when all the medical research touts its benefit to the child, including a recent Danish research that found breast-fed children to have higher IQ. But this is for another review...)
Rating:
Summary: Co-sleeping should be the preferred approach for parents...
Review: I read this book in 1978, while I was pregnant for my first child. It fit so perfectly with my own thinking and also gave me much more information. This gave me the ability to defend my own family bed practice. I grew up being one of nine children. We were all welcome to our parent's bed. So it seemed normal to me. I was so glad to actually read a book about it. Recently, I bought this book to give to my niece at her baby shower. She really enjoyed it, too. It is written in an easy-to-read way with just enough historical facts to make it credible. I will give it as a gift to young mothers again.
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