Books
There are many books out there that prescribe different solutions for infants and children who have trouble sleeping. One of the solutions might even be right for your child and family – or have information and components that help you craft an approach of your own.
But no sleepless parent has the energy to read all those books, so we’re doing it for you. Below are the books we’ve read along with a summary of the approach so you can decide quickly whether it’s the one for you.
And when you find the right one, you can click on the linked title and order it directly from Amazon.com!
If you have a book to recommend that’s not listed here,
please e-mail admin@childrenssleepproject.com.
The Sleep Book for Tired Parents by Rebecca Huntley
This book overviews reasons kids don’t sleep well and four approaches to changing their habits. It’s aimed at helping the reader figure out the best approach for their specific child and family. Recommended for: Parents who do not yet know why their child doesn’t sleep well and/or which approach will best fit their situation. Not Recommended for: Parents looking for a specific off-the-shelf approach to implement immediately.
The Sleepeasy Solution: The Exhausted Parent’s Guide to Getting Your Child to Sleep from Birth to Age 5 by Jennifer Waldburger and Jill Spivack
This book provides a strategy for improving children’s sleep quickly (it promises results in less than one week), backed up by developmental and psychological information that helps parents understand the basis of the strategy. We liked this book because it helps parents understand why it’s okay for a child to cry during the process of learning to sleep well. Covers ages 4 months to 5 years. Recommended for: Parents wanting to know why a particular strategy is recommended and who can tolerate some crying during the process.
Good Night, Sleep Tight by Kim West with Joanne Kenen
This book provides a strategy for improving children’s sleep in about two weeks. Though it doesn’t promise no crying, it advocates an approach that has the caregiver moving away from the child gradually in an effort to help the child adjust, over several days’ time, to the reality of sleeping independently. Covers ages 0 to 5 years. Recommended for: Parents of children who have difficulty accommodating a quick separation and/or who wish to minimize the amount of crying involved in the process.
The No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night by Elizabeth Pantley
This book is for parents who want to help their babies, toddlers and young children learn to sleep better while avoiding tears. It integrates solutions for families who have various sleeping and feeding arrangements, including co-sleeping and breastfeeding. It also addresses — very specifically — how to gently release a child from its “sucking-to-sleep” association and gives suggestions for other scenarios, such as moving children from family bed into crib, managing sibling beds and more. Recommended for: Parents who cannot tolerate crying as part of the sleep-learning process.
More reviews coming soon on the following books:
Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child by Marc Weissbluth
The Baby Sleep Book: The Complete Guide to a Good Night’s Rest for the Whole Family by William Sears, Martha Sears, Robert Sears, and James Sears
Sweet Dreams: A Pediatrician’s Secrets by Paul M. Fleiss
The Happiest Baby on the Block: The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Baby Sleep Longer (DVD) by Dr. Harvey Karp
On Becoming Baby Wise: Giving Your Infant the Gift of Nighttime Sleep by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam
The 90-Minute Baby Sleep Program: Follow Your Child’s Natural Sleep Rhythms for Better Nights and Naps by Polly Moore
Baby & Toddler Sleep Solutions For Dummies by Arthur, MD Lavin and Susan, MA Glaser
Twelve Hours’ Sleep by Twelve Weeks Old: A Step-by-Step Plan for Baby Sleep Success by Suzy Giordano and Lisa Abidin
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Sleep Training your Child by Melissa Burnham, Ph.D. and Jennifer Lawler
The Baby Whisperer (Vol. 1) by Jennifer Saunders, Joanna Lumley, Julia Sawalha, and Jane Horrocks
For more books and products to help your child sleep better, check out our Children’s Sleep Store.
