SLEEP: HOW TO TEACH YOUR CHILD TO SLEEP LIKE A BABY

SLEEP: HOW TO TEACH YOUR CHILD TO SLEEP LIKE A BABY
Tamara Eberlein
New York: Pocket Books, 1996
216 pages, paperback, $5.99
ISBN 0-671-88038-1

Reviewed by Lynne Lamberg

"There's no universal panacea, no one 'right' solution to children's sleep problems--only solutions that feel right to an individual parent," writes health journalist Tamara Eberlein.

In her book, part of a Child Magazine series for parents, she presents many options, even some that are contradictory. The book is aimed at parents of children from infancy through the early school years.

Eberlein interviewed some of the nation's leading authorities on children's behavior and children's sleep. These experts included T. Berry Brazelton, MD; Mary Carskadon, PhD; Ronald Dahl, MD, Richard Ferber, MD, author of the best-selling Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems; Jodi Mindell, PhD, author of Sleeping Through The Night; Amy Wolfson, PhD, and others.

She also talked with other parents, and includes numerous personal anecdotes and practical tips on bedtime battles, managing middle-of-the-night awakenings, and what to do when kids get scared in the night.

One chapter focuses on where children should sleep, with a thoughtful overview of the pros and cons of permitting a child to sleep in the parental bed. Parents who eagerly welcome a newborn to their bed, Eberlein notes, may be less enthusiastic down the road. "A kid climbs into the king-size bed only once or twice a week, which wouldn't be so bad except that, for Pete's sake, he's 10 years old and isn't enough enough already!"

A strong feature of the book is its attention to special situations: poor sleep that follows an illness, siblings that share sleeping quarters, babysitters, traveling, the aftermath of divorce, nightmares, sleepwalking, and bedwetting.

Various sections throughout the book are informed by Eberlein's own experience. She is not only a parent of young children, but also a parent of twins, born nine weeks prematurely. Her son weighed three pounds, and her daughter, two pounds, at birth. It's no surprise, therefore, that Eberlein also includes substantive information on the unique sleep patterns of preemies.

The book includes a list of books and articles for further reading.