Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems: New, Revised, and Expanded Edition – CLV Author: Visit Amazon's Richard Ferber Page | Language: English | ISBN:
0743201639 | Format: PDF
Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems: New, Revised, and Expanded Edition – CLV Description
Review
"Kirkus Reviews" Welcome news for exhausted parents.
About the Author
Richard Ferber, M.D., is an associate professor of neurology at the Harvard Medical School and director of the Center for Pediatric Sleep Disorders at Children's Hospital Boston. He lives in Newtonville, Massachusetts.
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- Paperback: 464 pages
- Publisher: Touchstone; Rev Exp edition (May 23, 2006)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0743201639
- ISBN-13: 978-0743201636
- Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
- Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
My wife and I tried for a while the ideas presented in the "no-cry sleep solution" without success. After months of lots of cry and no-sleep problems (both for our son and for ourselves), I decided to read Ferber's book. Because we were concerned about the "cry-it-out" method, I also did some research on what is known in the scientific literature. Here is a summary of my findings:
1- there are several published studies showing that cry-it-out (extinction) and graduated extinction methods are effective in solving sleep problems. Almost no controlled and detailed scientific studies support the "no-cry sleep solution" methods.
2- there is no hard evidence that letting your child cry-it-out causes long-term problems (unless you're ignoring real medical problems).
3- there is evidence that a child's sleep deprivation leads to impaired cognitive development.
4- cold-turkey cry-it-out (extinction) requires more maintenance than graduated extinction, the method proposed by Ferber.
5- Parents using graduated extinction to solve their child's sleep problems bond with their child more than parents whose child does not sleep through the night (true attachment parenting).
The above considerations led my wife and I to try Ferber, since it is in our son's best interest that he sleeps well. I should emphasize that Ferber does not support the "cold turkey" cry-it-out method, where you just let the child to cry to sleep. Instead, he supports the periodic check and reassurance of the child, to let him/her know that you're there for them (graduated extinction).
Ferber's book was very easy to read, even for a tired parent. I followed his recommendation, and read the whole book before attempting any treatment.
I never thought I'd say this, but I'm here to say, I think the book 'Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems' (aka Ferber Method, "Cry It Out" Method) is the most misunderstood book out there! Here's my story:
JP is my first baby. I thought I would be a 100% "attachment mom". I've read Dr. Sears books and I definitely thought that this was the parenting style for me (and still do in most aspects) I was NEVER going to be one of "those moms" that let their baby cry themselves to sleep. The thought of "crying it out" made me feel so bad - I didn't want MY baby to think I had just abandonned him to sleep alone. So for the first 6 months, I rocked, cuddled and fed JP to sleep (and enjoyed every minute of it!). We definitely formed that strong attachment I was waiting for. This worked great for us both - at first. He was sleeping through the night around 8 weeks and kept it up until around 4 months. Then he started fighting bedtime and was waking very, very frequently. Unfortunately, it wasn't just me he was attached to - he was also attached to his bottle and rocking chair! Nothing we did could get him back to sleep - short of feeding/rocking. Even that only lasted a short time, we were getting up several times a night and everyone in the house was exhausted - baby included. I would love to always rock and cuddle my baby to sleep but it was starting to create problems. :(
I was desperate to do anything. I read the No Cry Sleep Solution, Sleep Lady Book, everything I could get my hands on. All of these things had valid points - they just didn't seem to be working for me! Finally, I broked down and read the Ferber book - Solve your Child's Sleep Problems. Like I said before, I did not set out to be a CIO mom. Not only did I not want to do it, I didn't think it would work!
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