Product Description

Most new parents quickly and sadly discover the difficulty of getting a child first to go to sleep, and then to sleep throughout the night. Dr. Fleiss, a noted family pediatrician for more than 30 years, shares his secrets for discovering a child's natural sleep patterns, developing positive bedtime rituals, nutritional and lifestyle aids to sleep, and how co-sleeping affects normal growth and development.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #704363 in Books
• Published on: 2000-12-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

About the Author
Paul M. Fleiss, M.D., a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at the UCLA School of Medicine, was the subject of the film The Good Doctor, starring Michael Gross. His private practice boasts a roster of celebrity patients including Madonna's daughter and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Customer Reviews

Good Basic Info, But No Practical Help
First I'll say that I am a great respecter of Dr. Fleiss and his work - I've found him incredibly helpful in my career as a mommy. But this book was a big disappointment. I have 2 children [a toddler and a preschooler] who are very poor sleepers. I bought this book hoping for some help in getting them to sleep better. It was useless to me, unfortunately.

This book contains a great explanation of how babies and children [and even grown ups] sleep. It is very supportive of the 'family bed' or 'co-sleeping' and very 'attachment parenting' oriented. This would be a wonderful book for an expecting or brand new mother who doesn't know what to expect concerning how her baby will sleep.

But if you already have a child who has a sleep problem, you will find very little of practical use here. Dr. Fleiss promises to tell you how to get your child to sleep in a healthy way, but what he offers are very simplistic, common sense ideas that any half way intelligent parent would probably be using anyway. [ie: don't give your kid caffeine; dont feed your kid a whole bunch of junk food; don't let your kid watch TV right before bed; have your child sleep in a hygenic, insect free room; make sure your kid gets exercise; dress your child in comfortable clothes - or no clothes - for bedtime; don't give your kid drugs or alchohol to make them sleep!! etc].

For those of us already doing all these common sense things, there is nothing else suggested. Dr. Fleiss assumes that any parent who does these things will have a child who sleeps blissfully all night [or as much as is age appropriate]. This simply isn't true in many cases.

He also includes some more strange things - for example, he tries to build a case that circumcision causing nightwaking. First of all, there is no research that actually supports this. Second of all, my daughter and my intact son are both horrible sleepers. [And I know lots of circumcised boys who sleep great]. Third, if you are reading this book, you have probably *already* made the decision on whether to circ or not - and if you have, there's not anything you can do to undo it. So this really isn't helpful at all. He also maintains that non-flammable polyester causes cancer and so does television. [I haven't seen any research to back these claims...while he may be right, I'm uncomfortable that this is stated as 'fact' and not 'theory'.]

He also seems to go 'off the deep end' a bit in some of his other suggestions. One thing I found particularly odd was the section on co-sleeping where he suggests just explaining sex to your children [because they can handle it at any age, no matter how young] and the kids will probably just leave the room when they see mom and dad start getting 'affectionate'. Hello? Not in my house anyway.... I think I'll allow my babies and preschoolers to hold on to their innocence a bit longer, thanks.

Overall, I did not find this book useful. You might have better luck with _The No Cry Sleep Solution_ by Elizabeth Pantley if you have a frequent night waker of your own. She offers concrete ideas and solutions that are completely lacking here.

Very Informative Book!
Very informative book. As far as I'm concerned, Dr. Fleiss and this book are a godsend. It taught me a lot about my baby's needs. This book is wonderful. It first explains a child's sleep pattern and why some children don't sleep through the night then gives you ways to help your child learn to put himself back to sleep. It worked wonders for us. I am finally getting some sleep after only 1 week of using these techniques. Our son was waking three to four times a night, although, nursing him when he woke in the middle of the night did not work for us. My baby has slept through the night for the first time ever! He can put himself to sleep without my assistance in less than ten minutes, and takes the longest naps he ever has (an hour or more each)! I've told everyone of my friends about this book...I couldn't reccomend it with more enthusiasm. It has changed our lives forever. I have one happy, well-rested baby.

My husband and I are committed Christians and we really appreciated the conservative, family-oriented approach that Dr. Fleiss takes. We also like that the book is packed full of information on sleep at all ages. He even provides helpful information on helping older children and teenagers to sleep! We really recommend this book to any parent who would like more sleep. It's a easy to follow program with a lot of information so you understand why it's so important for your child to sleep through the night.

Lovely Book!
Wow! What a wonderful book! I was delighted to find this book on amazon.com after reading several of Dr. Fleiss's excellent articles on childcare in parenting magazines. This is just the best book on sleep that I have ever read. I love how Dr. Fleiss beautifully combines compassion and sensitivity for children and solid scientific facts. The step-by-step approach is just great. My child already sleeps well, but after reading the book, I can see how the fascinating information in this book will help me help my child maintain his good sleep patterns. Bravo, Dr. Fleiss!