Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems. New, Revised, and Expanded Edition

Customer Reviews

not applicable for all babies

2008-08-01
I bought this book thinking it would solve my six month old's sleeping problems but made them worse. The progressive waiting and not picking up my kid when she was crying made her very mad and unable to sleep. After 2 weeks of working on the Ferber method she cried for 3 hours straight. I don't have a problem with Ferber's ideas and principles but there isn't a chapter on what to do if his way doesn't work. A little egotistical on his part that he didn't include a chapter on failure.

Just do it!

2008-07-29
As the wife of Harvard Sleep Researcher, imagine my disbelief/distress when my 4-month old was only able to fall asleep via nursing and stay asleep by resting on my chest. My husband suggested the Ferber method and provided me with numerous studies supporting the idea that a little crying is not harmful and WILL NOT make a child insecure, as long as the child is loved and attended to while awake and alert. I resisted his suggestions and was willing (even though I dreaded each evening because I went to bed at 8:00 with a child on me and woke to nurse 3-4X per night)to wait until my son was 6 months to "Ferberize." Last Saturday my husband encouraged me to try the program for 3 nights and thank goodness we did! The first night was tough, but on night 2 our child slept from 8 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. with only 6 minutes of crying and last night he slept from 7:45 until 6:30!!! And he is napping longer during the day and is happier and more playful than ever. I feel like I have freedom again, this method is helping my child and me to have a happier life!!

One note, since we will be traveling for most of August, we have decided to have our son sleep in his pack and play for three nights before we leave town, since he will be sleeping this way for several weeks. We also have prepared ourselves for a few nights of "re-adjustment" when we return from our trip.
Remember: Be strong, be flexible and sleep will happen!!!!!!!!

Ferber Fearers - Fear No More! Or at Least Read First

2008-07-23
I stumbled upon this book during an early-morning routine of trying to find some "magic sleeping pill" for my feisty almost 2-year-old. I loved the synopsis of the book, but balked at it being "FERBER"! Like a Pavlovian response, I'd been trained to run from the "cry-it-out" guy. Long story short, that's not what he's all about and actually has a very reasonable and balanced approach to sleep problems. Admittedly, I'm not through the entire book yet, having needed to jump immediately to my child's specific sleep problem, but I am encouraged by the progress made so far and besides, his writing style is great--easy to read and really funny and informative. Can't wait to finish the book...after I catch up on my own sleep!

it works!

2008-07-19
I bought this book after trying the "no cry sleep solution" which wasn't working. After reading this book and finding out I was actually doing more harm than good by nursing or rocking my daughter to sleep I felt better about letting her cry for a while. Knowing I would be checking on her made me feel better too. So the first evening I put her down and she cried a total of 2 hours before falling asleep with me checking on her every interval as in the book. The second night she fell asleep after 13 mins and the third night after 1 min of just noises not crying. The first day for her naps I did the same and she fell asleep after 8 mins each time with only 1 check. The second day only 5 mins and third right away with little crying. Now a week later she is sleeping 7 hours straight at night and only waking for her feed (she is 4months old) and naps she doesn't cry at all just falls asleep when I put her down. She is so much happier now too that she is not tired from a lack of sleep.

I would definitely recommend following this method to anyone, I know how hard it is hearing the cries but they are cries of frustration at not knowing how to fall asleep rather than needing you I believe.

Very helpful for a tired momma

2008-07-14
This book was extremely helpful in getting my little one to fall asleep on his own and stay asleep. I was never aware of his negative sleep associations prior to reading that chapter-but it makes perfect sense.

A must read

2008-06-04
Does your child

Have difficulty falling asleep?

Wake in the middle of the night?

Suffer sleep terrors, sleepwalking, or nighttime fears?

Have difficulty waking for school or staying awake in class?

Snore, wet the bed, or head bang?

In the first major revision of his bestselling, groundbreaking classic since it was published twenty years ago, Dr. Richard Ferber, the nation's foremost authority on children's sleep problems, delivers safe, sound ideas for helping your child fall and stay asleep at night and perform well during the day.

Incorporating new research, Dr. Ferber provides important basic information that all parents should know regarding the nature of sleep and the development of normal sleep and body rhythms throughout childhood. He discusses the causes of most sleep problems from birth to adolescence and recommends an array of proven solutions for each so that parents can choose the strategy that works best for them. Topics covered in detail include:

Bedtime difficulties and nighttime wakings

Effective strategies for naps

Sleep schedule abnormalities

A balanced look at co-sleeping

New insights into the nature of sleep terrors and sleepwalking

Problems in setting limits

Sleep apnea, narcolepsy, bed-wetting, and head banging

Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems offers priceless advice and concrete help for a whole new generation of anxious, frustrated, and overtired parents.

Don't believe the naysayers 2008-05-23
The sleep method in this book works! Our baby would only sleep in her swing comfortably, and she was getting a flat head, so we wanted to transfer her to her crib and have her sleep through the night. I was worried about using Ferber, since you hear such awful things about the "letting them cry" method. Well, that's not really an accurate characterization. At first you don't let them cry more than 5 minutes - I know people say that this is so hard to do, but it seems worth it for you to have your sanity and your sleep - which makes you a much better parent (at least it helped me). And I think it was better for her than being strapped swaddled in her swing for the night! In any case, we had one pretty sleepless night in which we followed Ferber's directions oulined precisely in chapter 4. The second night, we put her to bed and she slept through night (she was a little under 4 months of age). She is also breastfed, and according to our pediatrician if she can sleep through the night, there is no need to wake her to feed. She's now almost five months, and regularly sleeps from about 9PM to 7AM, and we don't have to go into her room. She cries for about 4 or 5 minutes when we put her down to sleep, then falls asleep and stays that way. Even if she wakes up and babbles a bit,she puts herself right back to sleep. Within two weeks of starting the "ferberizing" we also were able to take her out of the swaddle (4 months is Karp's recommended time to start trying to get rid of the swaddle if the baby seems ready). All in all, I think Ferber's book is great for getting your infant on a schedule at a young age - and I think it's much easier to do it earlier rather than later (if at all possible, since I know that not all babies are ready to sleep through the night at 4 months).
I plan to use his method again if her sleep patterns change or she has trouble sleeping through the night in the future. And it's NOT inhumane at all, if that's what you are concerned about - she wakes up and smiles at me every morning! 5 minutes of crying certainly isn't going to do anyone any harm! Not even 15 or 30 minutes (the max time he says to go without picking them up - and 30 minutes only comes on day 7, by which point I think the majority of kids have regulated their cycle already!).
Thanks, Dr. Ferber!

The only book that helped us see results 2008-05-19
This was the last book in the line of many many books that I read...I kept putting it off for fear that "Feberizing" my child would cause him great harm. But my son was still waking up many times a night and seemed ravenous each time. Even my pediatrician couldn't explain why my son kept waking up...he said it sounded like we were doing everything right. After reading the new expanded edition, I find it hard to believe why Ferber has such a bad rap as being harsh. There are several different approaches listed in the book and they all use love and care....with a little bit of crying (we had NO luck after months of the "No Cry Sleep Solution"). This is the only book that showed me the real problem with my son's frequent night wakings...he needed to be weaned off of his nighttime feedings. It is working...I can't believe it. After 4 months of sleep training, something is finally working. Every baby is different and other books might work for other people...but I am so thankful I finally picked up this book.

Co-sleeping mom and dad are now Ferber converts 2008-05-14
My husband and I co-slept with our daughter for 14 months, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Those months were really great, and I think during the early months it's a life-saver for mom to get some sleep while nursing all night.

I still think 4 months is too early to "sleep train," but maybe 14 months is too long for some parents to wait. There's probably a middle ground somewhere, but nevertheless I feel like by 14 months our daughter was really ready to sleep on her own. We both read Ferber's book, picked a week when we didn't have many other responsibilities, prepared for the worst - and then.

Easy. She barely cried - 22 minutes total (broken up into 3, 5 then 10 minute intervals) - to begin with, woke up twice the first night, crying even less each time. The second night was easier, the third night she slept 10 hours without a peep.

Now, she prompts us when it's time for sleep by getting her toothbrush and book. Bedtime is easier that it ever was even during co-sleeping, when it sometimes took me an hour to get her to sleep!

We are now 1 month post "sleep training," and most nights she has slept straight through the night. The few times she has woken up, she either falls back asleep after 2 second of crying, or goes right back to sleep when my husband reassures her. Mostly she is just quiet as a mouse.

Yes, we are all getting better sleep, but it's even larger than that. She is happier during the day, she seems MORE confident than before. I think some of the bad experiences with Ferber are due to 1) not actually reading the book 2) not following the instructions in the book 3) doing it too early - i.e. expecting a 4 month old to sleep through the night 4) doing it too late - i.e. when the child can get out of their crib.

I can't recommend this book enough. Dr. Sears is great, I read his books too, but frankly it is so obvious that Ferber is the expert on sleep. Cosleep early to make breastfeeding easier, but by all means give your child the skill to fall asleep on their own when they are ready.

Finally Fast Asleep!!!! 2008-05-08
My 19 month old son started waking at 3am almost every night when he was around 17 months and is awake for about 2 hours while we rock him back to sleep. Then, 2 weeks ago he started freaking out when we would put him in his crib awake and tried to climb out immediately. I knew this was a safety hazard and I decided to move him to a toddler bed. I realized that with my worry of him climbing out, I was rushing in to get him back to sleep. These late nights and middle of the morning wakings have taken their toll on all of us, but my biggest concern was for my son. I could see in his tired little face that he wasn't getting enough sleep and it just wasn't healthy for him. The toddler bed turned into another challenge because he thought it was a fun game to run around his room while I tried to catch him. If I put him on his bed, he just jumped right off and thought that was funny, too. Finally, out of desperation, and him not taking anything I said seriously, I started researching different methods to use to get him to understand this is serious and that he needs to go to sleep when I tell him. You can't reason with an 18 month old regarding bed times and why they need to go to sleep. And my son obviously had figured out I was in a predicament and he was in control. (oh, and the other thing is that we could no longer rock him to sleep either, he thought it was a great game to pretend he was sleeping on our shoulder and then pop his head up and smile at us - this game could go on for hours!) So, I debated and finally decided to try the Ferber Method. And let me tell you, the first night, he screamed and banged the door and stomped around his room. He was very upset and angry. And if I wasn't so tired myself, I probably would have given in, but I'm glad I stuck to it. I waited 5 minutes, went back in, then 10 minutes, then back in, then in the next 10 minutes, he quieted down and fell asleep on his rocking chair, I moved him to his bed and he slept through the night. The next night I did the 5 minutes again (I didn't feel right extending it longer the way the book says to), then 10 and this time by the end of the first 10 minutes he had quieted down and settled in for the night - with much less drama. Then, last night (our 3rd night doing this) he yelled, banged the door and was asleep all within 3 minutes! And every night he's slept straight through until morning. He's always been a happy, fun kid, but there was a special calmness and he just seemed to feel better yesterday. He's listening to me more during the day and we had so much fun together without as many power struggles. I think because he's getting uninterrupted sleep, he can function better during the day. If you read the Ferber book, what he says makes so much sense - and really, because you are going back into the room to let your child know you're still there, tending to him, caring about him, it's a humane way to set limits with your child regarding bedtime. If you have a super active, independent, smart toddler trying to get the upper hand with you at bedtime, my experience with the Ferber method is that it's worth a shot. And you can start with much smaller increments of going in to check on your child than the standard 5, 10, 15.... I also asked advice from my friends who have older kids who are well behaved, nice children. And funny enough at some point in the toddler years, they all tried some version of the Ferber method!