Rating: 
Summary: An excellent book.
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.
Rating: 
Summary: 2003 research shows DANGER for shared bed!
Review: I read this book in 1982 just before my first child was born, and we followed its suggestion of having our baby sleep with us, as we did for our second child some years later. We thought it was wonderful!
Fast-forward to 2003: new research published this month in the journal Pediatrics...shows this startling conclusion:
"Reported deaths of infants who suffocated on sleep surfaces other than those designed for infants are increasing. The most conservative estimate showed that the risk of suffocation increased by 20-fold when infants were placed to sleep in adult beds rather than in cribs. The public should be clearly informed of the attendant risks."
I would advise every parent of infants to become familiar with this study!
Rating: 
Summary: This book made me doubt my decision of having a family bed
Review: I was looking for a book to help me with my decision of having a family bed. Not to read a woman's tirade about how poorly Americans are raising their children. She also states that children who aren't loved, are sexually frustrated and that sex should not be a priority in your marriage. This woman needs to wake up and realize that a happy marriage usually wants to have sexual relations with the partners -because they love each other, not b/c they are sexually frustrated and unloved children. I was so disappointed with this book. Save yourself the time and the 10 dollars. Invest in Dr. Sears.
Rating:
Summary: worst book you could read on this subject
Review: Many sane people advocate parents' sharing a bed with their kids--William Sears, for example. (In fact, it works great for some families, and very poorly for others, depending on both the parents and the kids. Keep an open mind, and see what works best for your own family.) Tine Thevenin is *not* the author to read if you want a sane defence of this practice, however, nor practical tips, either. For example, when asked the most common question, "where do the parents have sex if their kids share their bed?", she goes off on a tirade about how Americans are so sex-obsessed--why would you want to have sex with your spouse, anyway?--and then talks about how it used to be considered okay to have sex in front of kids, or even *with* them, if you can believe it. What a ridiculous way to defend co-sleeping! Why not just suggest another room, or something? Thevenin is strongly against the use of contraception--it's morally wrong--of mothers' working outside the home, etc.--and thinks you should be, too. All in all, this is among the worst books I've ever read. If you want a better book on the subject, go read one of Sears' baby books, instead.
Rating: 
Summary: Refreshing & Needed
Review: My son was three months pre-mature. He stayed in the NICU for 2 full months before he was allowed to come home. He came home attached to many machines and monitors. The 'good' nurses in the NICU quietly approached me one by one to urge me to let my son sleep in our bed. It was as though they were messengers of secret information. One nurse highly recommended The Family Bed. I didn't get the book and my son didn't sleep with us. Then one night, his monitors went off continually. I thought it would be the night he died. To comfort him, we brought him to bed with us....all 4.9 pounds of him. His monitors never went off again. I went out and bought the book. I read it with great interest. It was easy to follow. The author was obviously passionate about bringing children into the 'family' bed. It was moving and compelling at the same time. The basic point I got out of the book was this....who do you want your children attached to? The teddy bear? The blanket? The passifier? Or, do you want them attached to you? We live in a society that wants kids, but doesn't want to be bothered by them. They grow up looking for 'what' to trust instead of 'who' to trust. I know have three children. All three have slept with us. Our bed is the 'safe' place. They are 6, 5, & 3. None of them still sleep with us except when they need to. This is a great book if you are wondering why you should consider loving your kids so much as to let them sleep with you at night.
Rating: 
Summary: Only adequate
Review: The author obviously has an axe to grind, so her discussion is one-sided. I read my sister's copy of this book, as she practices the family bed. She also has children who can ONLY be put to bed by their parents lying down with them. Since we have this great thing called electricity many parents prefer to stay up a little later than their children, but the children grow to rely on the parental snuggling to fall asleep. It makes the children difficult to put to bed when babysitting for them (or in this case, impossible!) Also there is some silly "historical" type chat that seems anecdotal and unscientific. I can't wait until therapists get these family bed kids on the couch! What will we learn about parental reliance on their children for filling their emotional needs?
Rating:
Summary: This book could save the world!
Review: The Family Bed is an extraordinary book which taught us much more than simply sharing sleep with our child. It helped us to "get it" that children can and should be trusted, and that they deserve to have their needs met with love, understanding, and compassion both day and night. It would be difficult to find a more important book for parents, or, indeed, for anyone who cares about the future of our society. It is "the" gift for new parents. Jan Hunt, M.Sc., Director The Natural Child Project
Rating:
Summary: There have got to be better books out there
Review: This book basically gave me all the reasons why cosleeping is a good idea (which I had already decided). What it didn't do was give me any help at all at dealing with the difficulties we encountered. I needed advice on helping my child not to stay attached to my nipple all night, just because I was there, how to get him to sleep before my bedtime, and how to maintain intimacy with my husband, particularly while dealing with the first two problems. All of these have solutions that we continue to work out for ourselves, but this author's comments were not helpful. Being told that sleep wasn't really that necessary, or that I don't really need a sex life was not going to make my husband supportive at all, and I wasn't too happy about it either. Try elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Good Primer on the Philosophy of Co-sleeping
Review: This book is a great introduction to the benefits of the family bed and sharing sleep with your children. The author is very passionate, and she has a lot to say about attachment, teaching children to depend on people rather than objects, and creating a laid-back, responsive, and loving environment. I can see where some people may be turned off by her intensity, but I find passion refreshing.
I disagree with those people who found the book to be "creepy." Nowhere in the book does Thevenin advocate sex with children, nor does she advocate foregoing sexual intimacy with one's partner. What she DOES do is reference other cultures and how they treat sexuality and the family bed. She also gives parents (albeit just a little) information on how to maintain sexual intimacy while sharing sleep with their child(ren). She also mentions co-sleeping as a form of PREVENTION for incest and sexual abuse... not as a way of encouraging it. This book, while heavy on philosophy and the "whys" of co-sleeping, does lack helpful and important information on making the family bed a reality. There are snippets here and there of practical information, but it certainly isn't a manual. If you're looking for a good reason to put your baby in bed with you, then this is your book. If you're looking for a how-to guide, look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Good Primer on the Philosophy of Co-sleeping
Review: This book is a great introduction to the benefits of the family bed and sharing sleep with your children. The author is very passionate, and she has a lot to say about attachment, teaching children to depend on people rather than objects, and creating a laid-back, responsive, and loving environment. I can see where some people may be turned off by her intensity, but I find passion refreshing. I disagree with those people who found the book to be "creepy." Nowhere in the book does Thevenin advocate sex with children, nor does she advocate foregoing sexual intimacy with one's partner. What she DOES do is reference other cultures and how they treat sexuality and the family bed. She also gives parents (albeit just a little) information on how to maintain sexual intimacy while sharing sleep with their child(ren). She also mentions co-sleeping as a form of PREVENTION for incest and sexual abuse... not as a way of encouraging it. This book, while heavy on philosophy and the "whys" of co-sleeping, does lack helpful and important information on making the family bed a reality. There are snippets here and there of practical information, but it certainly isn't a manual. If you're looking for a good reason to put your baby in bed with you, then this is your book. If you're looking for a how-to guide, look elsewhere.
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