Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child Reviewed

My son is six months old, and I can honestly say that six months ago I never thought about the sleep habits of babies. Everyone says "all babies do is eat and sleep", which was true for about the first two weeks. He spent the next two weeks much more awake, but I didn't see the impending problem. Everyone who met my son commented on how "alert" he was. I remember a phone call to my mom when he was a month old where I was bragging about how he'd stay awake and just look around. I saw this as a clear sign of genius.... Then one day my son woke up and decided to never go back to sleep. (This is only a slight exaggeration.) We'd spend more time putting him to sleep than he would stay asleep, and putting him down was not an option. We still have sleep issues, but now I'm much more aware of the facts of baby-sleep, what I can to do help him sleep, when I'm doing something unhelpful, and where to turn when I'm stumped.

I have read many, many sleep books from some of the big-names of parenting advice from Ferber to Sears and all those in between. During my readings I have come to the conclusion that no one book or style is going to address every question and situation and should not be applied point-blank to every child. Almost every book has at least some great ideas that could be used to improve a sleepless situation. One of the best resources in my ever-growing sleep library is, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Dr. Marc Weissbluth.

The format of "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" is similar to many other sleep books. The first section explains the "anatomy" so to speak of the way a child sleeps. Part two discusses the role of the parent and how you're responsible for directing your child's sleep and how you can do that to the best advantage. The final section discusses special circumstances that come up from time to time.

"Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" stands out from the other books due to amount of information about children's sleep habits and how a child's need for sleep changes in accordance with their age, temperament, and stage of development. He defines healthy sleep in a way that makes and also makes the parent feel as though this is something that can obtained, and supports the parents in their quest to have a healthy, happy, well-rested child. Dr. Weissbluth also makes note of the negative effects that come from being chronically sleep-deprived and that is a very thought-provoking section.

Personally, my husband and I are against letting a child of any age "cry it out" and so it was with reluctance that I picked up this book to read. I did so finally out of desperation borne of sleeplessness as I knew that Dr. Weissbluth supports this method. I read this book with an open mind because a friend had fabulous results with it and because like I said I knew we needed help. We ended up using a modified method of his plan, which works great for us.

What I found in "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" was a wealth of information on healthy sleep habits, what healthy sleep looked like, and finally validation. Everyone I turned to would tell me that my son would "sleep when he's tired". I had become very frustrated because I was spending my days with this child and I could tell that he was tired and yet he was not sleeping. Finally, I found someone who seemed to understand that I knew my child and I knew that he was miserable when he was tired, but simply wonderful when he was well-rested. "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" (seems to say it all right in the title) gave me the facts that I needed so I could know instead of guess at how much sleep my son needed.

Dr. Weissbluth freely admits in "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" that he is an advocate of the "extinction method" of teaching a child to sleep. This means that you follow the guidelines for when it is appropriate and you put your child to bed and ignore all crying. An important note here is that he does NOT recommend letting a baby younger than six months old cry himself to sleep except under extenuating circumstances.

In addition to letting a child cry "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" includes tips for every age of child geared to "No Cry" and "Maybe Cry". He does address parents who are not comfortable with this method, but the suggestions geared to them seem to be not as in depth or well-researched. For a parent who needs additional resources to help their child sleep without tears I suggest "The No-Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley. Dr. Sears also addresses sleeping without tears in his books, but his writing tends to be more moral support than helpful suggestions, though he does have a few.

According to Dr. Weissbluth these are the components that make up "Healthy Sleep" and thus are your goals as you help your child learn how to sleep.

Sleep duration: night and day
Naps
Sleep consolidation
Sleep schedule, timing of sleep
Sleep regularity

Some of the features addressed by Dr. Weissbluth in "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" that make him stand out from others books are the sections that include co-sleeping, breastfeeding, returning to work, and having a sick child. What is also useful is that at the end of each section he has an "Action Plan for Exhausted Parents" which is basically a bulleted list of what you need to try if your child fits into the category. Another feature that we found helpful were the examples that he listed from parents who have been there before. It's encouraging to read how things worked out for them and that if nothing else there is light at the end of the tunnel.

"Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" is a book that is full of information about how sleep works, why your child needs sleep, and what you as a parent can do to help them get their sleep...allowing you to get some in the process. While not all parents support the practice of letting their child cry it out, he does give some alternate solutions, which while not as in-depth are helpful. Still, this book should not be written off because of that fact because the amount of information that can be gleaned from this book is too good to miss.