April/2000
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ON BECOMING BABYWISE |
| Healthy, full-term babies can sleep seven to eight
hours continuously at night by seven to nine weeks of age, the authors
of this book contend. Whether a particular child achieves this milestone,
they assert, depends primarily on the approach the parents adopt for
feeding. Feeding? Yes, the authors say, because feeding reflects the parents' general expectations and beliefs about what is best for a child. Feeding on demand, they argue, puts the baby at the center of the universe and creates a demanding, often fussy child, who sleeps poorly. They contrast it with "parent-directed feeding," or feeding on a schedule, roughly every three hours, which they say teaches the baby his or her place in the family and fosters development of a child who is self-reliant, happier, sleeps well, and is optimally alert in waking hours. This book's view is diametrically opposed to that outlined in Nighttime Parenting, also reviewed this month. Both books use the term "attachment parenting," to describe a parent's quick response to the baby's cries. In the Sears' book, that is deemed a positive and nurturing act. Ezzo and Bucknam use the term pejoratively. Sears thinks it is fine to nurse or rock a baby to sleep. Ezzo and Bucknam say that is a mistake. They assert this practice makes the baby view the mother as a "prop" for getting to sleep. They maintain it is likely to make the baby take longer to develop predictable sleeping and waking behavior. They call for feeding, followed by wake-time, and then by sleep, starting by the end of the baby's first week of life. These differences highlight the dilemmas new parents face. How do they decide whom to believe? As a start, they can assess the author(s)' qualifications. The second author of this book, Robert Bucknam, is a pediatrician. But the primary author, Gary Ezzo, has no medical training. He is identified in the book as associated with an organization called Growing Families International. In fact, he and his wife run that group, which draws on the Bible to support its child-rearing advice. This book contains multiple references to church-going and makes certain assumptions that may make some readers uncomfortable. Readers who wish to know more about the Ezzos' group, however, will have to do some sleuthing on their own. Type in the organization's name at any Internet search engine, and you will find that some theologians and physicians dispute both the Ezzos' Biblical interpretations and this book's parenting recommendations. One critic calls its approach "detachment parenting." Addressing only the feeding and sleeping issues here, the question remains: what is the best way for parents to help their baby thrive? The American Academy of Pediatrics Guide to Your Child's Sleep, as an example of consensus medical opinion, calls for feeding the newborn baby on demand. The AAP notes that it's normal for newborns to fall asleep while feeding or being rocked. The AAP encourages parents to start putting the baby in its crib awake at about six to eight weeks, so the baby learns to provide self-comforting and to fall asleep on its own. In short, the AAP advocates a compromise, urging parents to accommodate to their newborn child's needs, yet to provide an environment conducive to both optimal sleep and waking behavior. The AAP approach has plenty of evidence to support it. Many books by sleep professionals advocate similar tactics (See other reviews in this column from October 1998). New parents who wish to become "babywise" would be wiser to look at books other than this one. |
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