Sleeping Through the Night, Revised Edition

How Infants, Toddlers, and Their Parents Can Get a Good Night's Sleep

By: Jodi A. Mindell PhD

Narrated by: Susan Boyce

Right after "Is it a boy or a girl?" and "What's his/her name?," the next question people invariably ask new parents is "Are you getting any sleep?"

Unfortunately, the answer is usually "Not much." In fact, studies show that approximately 25 percent of young children experience some type of sleep problem and, as any bleary-eyed parent will attest, it is one of the most difficult challenges of parenting.

Drawing on her 25-plus years of experience in the assessment and treatment of common sleep problems in children, Dr. Jodi A. Mindell provides tips and techniques, the answers to commonly asked questions, and case studies and quotes from parents who have successfully solved their children's sleep problems. Unlike other books on the subject, Dr. Mindell also offers practical tips on bedtime, rather than middle-of-the-night-sleep training, and shows how all members of the family can cope with the stresses associated with teaching a child to sleep.

©2005 Jodi A. Mindell (P)2018 Tantor

Actual science and practicality

Reading this book, helped us to get our daughter through a really challenging toddler age sleep regression. We are all sleeping much better now. This is the book that our friend, a child sleep psychologist, read in graduate school. It’s easy and accessible here. No PhD required. I loved reading a book that had a lot of minds and passion behind it, and wasn’t fixed on trends, but on healthy, compassionate sleep science. 

Horrific method that reminds child abuse

I’m deeply troubled that this book was recommended to me by our pediatrician. I sincerely hope many parents do not follow its guidance. The idea of leaving a newborn—who just entered this world, completely dependent on you, looking to you for safety, love, and comfort—alone in the dark to “learn” to fall asleep on their own is heartbreaking.

One chapter described a child crying so hard they vomited, and the recommendation was to clean them up but not pick them up. Another story suggested simply shutting the door and leaving the child alone in the room. This is what we’re calling “sleep training”?

To me, this isn’t training—it’s abandonment. Imagine being scared, crying out for help, and no one comes. That’s not developmentally sound; it’s traumatizing. And for what? So the parents can sleep uninterrupted? That’s not a good enough reason to ignore a child’s basic emotional needs.

This kind of approach is what leads to long-term emotional and psychological issues. Please, if you’re a parent considering this method, at least research other options. Understand the long-term consequences before trading your child’s trust and emotional well-being for a short-term convenience.

cry it out

this is just another book about the cry-it-out method said it wasn't but it is I do not believe in leaving my child to scream and cry 4 any amount of time don't buy this book.