Sleep: What Every Parent Needs to Know

Edited by Moon, an internationally recognized expert on sudden infant death syndrome and safe sleep, this informative resource incorporates the expertise of more than 20 pediatricians and covers numerous issues regarding how to create and maintain healthy sleep habits in children. Moon points out that sleep is second only to feeding when it comes to parents’ concerns about their babies (if baby is not sleeping, she observes, neither are the parents). The book is divided into two sections: “Ages, Stages and Phases” and “Childhood Sleep Challenges.” Part one guides readers from the first year of life through adolescence, with chapters along the way about toddlers, preschoolers, and school-age kids. Parents will recognize such familiar AAP advice as putting babies to sleep on their backs as a SIDS-prevention measure, not letting babies fall asleep at the breast or bottle, and taking a middle path on sleeping arrangements (room sharing but not bed sharing). General advice is accompanied by suggestions for hands-on tactics; for instance, the aptly named “Vanishing Chair Method” helps parents wean their children from having parents present at bedtime and can also be used as a monster-management technique to deal with children’s fears. Readers will find answers to a comprehensive array of sleep-related questions in this commonsense and “evidence-based” guide. (Sept.)