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SWEET DREAMS:
A PEDIATRICIAN'S SECRETS FOR YOUR CHILD'S GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP
Paul Fleiss, M.D., and Frederick
Mansfield Hodges
Los Angeles: Lowell House, 2000
Paperback, 168 pages, $14.95
ISBN: 0-7373-0494-4
Reviewed by Lynne Lamberg
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It's 3 a.m., and your baby is wailing. It's not easy at such times to "consciously and joyously immerse yourself in the beautiful, privileged experience of being the parent of a newborn baby," as the authors of this book advise in a section on night waking in newborns. Much of this book reads more like a sermon--a rambling and preachy sermon--than the practical self-help manual it purports to be.
Paul Fleiss, M.D., a pediatrician, and Frederick Hodges, a medical historian and writer, spend considerable space addressing what may be non-issues for most parents. In an early chapter on "common things that impair a healthy night's sleep," for example, they review sedative-hypnotics for adults, urging parents to familiarize themselves with these medications "so you can be alert if anyone tries to prescribe such drugs for your child." They warn against giving children bourbon and other alcoholic drinks. They discuss disorders rare in children such as the Restless Legs Syndrome and Night-Eating Syndrome. The text is laden with statistics and technical jargon.
They devote over five pages to urging parents to protect their newborn sons from circumcision, asserting the procedure inevitably disrupts sleep and that the pain it causes may last for weeks. The majority of studies they cite to support their claims are 10 to 30 years old, and they cite only negative studies. While the medical community continues to debate the pros and cons of circumcision, the discussion here is far too one-sided to help a parent intelligently weigh the options.
On the subject of co-sleeping, that is, allowing a child to sleep in the parental bed, they are more even-handed. They endorse it, but discuss the potential dangers along with the psychological and physical benefits, and provide safety guidelines.
With regard to managing sustained crying, they deplore the timed visit
or Ferber method, which they call "misguided," saying "this practice
is incompatible with responsible and loving parenting." The Baby
& Toddler Sleep Program by John Pearce, M.D., with Jane Bidder,
also reviewed this month, takes the opposite stance, saying that parents
need to help their children learn to soothe themselves.
The two books differ strikingly in tone. Sweet Dreams is more authoritarian, asserting that some tactics are "best," "most effective," and "wisest" while labeling others as "mistakes." The Pearce book, by contrast, bolsters parents' confidence in their own ability to figure out what works best for their child.
These two books present a Rorschach test of parenting styles. Prospective
buyers will profit from browsing though both of them and other parenting
guides such as Jodi Mindell's excellent book Sleeping
Through The Night at their local bookstore.
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