On Becoming Baby Wise, Book 1 [Paperback]

Gary Ezzo (Author), Dr. Robert Bucknam (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1995

Every parent who has welcomed a child into the world understands the longing to find a way to teach their baby to sleep contentedly and continually. This book is an exciting infant management plan that suc-cessfully trains children to sleep through the night. from a bounty hunter in this novel for 10-14 years olds.en.tudy today.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Theologian Gary Ezzo and pediatrician Dr. Robert Bucknam set off cries of alarm in their highly controversial 1995 publication On Becoming Baby Wise by arguing that some crying is natural and healthy for babies. In this updated edition, Ezzo and Bucknam present a comprehensive method to encourage a full night's sleep for the seven- to nine-week-old baby. It's easy to read, easy to follow, supported by research and by testimonials from parents and pediatricians, and includes suggestions for making the process fit into the reader's lifestyle. The authors believe a consistent sleep routine leads to happier, more responsible, and better-adjusted children. But a full night's sleep is just the short-term goal. The long-term goal is training parents to bring order and stability to their families through nurturing the marriage, providing a loving structure for one's children, and allowing flexibility in the process.

Twelve chapters cover feeding philosophies, monitoring baby's growth, establishing baby's routine, handling multiple births, and the ever-controversial chapter on when baby cries. The 52-week method involves four phases, beginning with "Stabilization" from birth to week 8. During weeks 9 through 15 ("Extended Night"), babies learn to sleep through the night. Ezzo and Bucknam attempt to teach the difference between a baby's many cries and advise parents on various responses to these cries. Critics dislike Ezzo's strong belief that "child-centered parenting" (feeding baby whenever it cries, sleeping with and "wearing" baby) fosters demanding, insecure toddlers. But for parents who are tired of being tired--or whose previous experience with child-centered parenting supports Ezzo's theory--it may be worth a read. --Liane Thomas --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 198 pages
• Publisher: Multnomah Books (November 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 088070909X
• ISBN-13: 978-0880709095
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 4.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (990 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #119,615 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

239 of 280 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Barely Babywise, February 20, 2001

By 

Susan K. Carollo (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: On Becoming Baby Wise, Book 1: Learn How Over One Million Babies Were Trained to Sleep Through the Night the Natural Way (Paperback)

The first obvious questions any reader ought to ask before buying this book are: "Who is Gary Ezzo?" and "What relevant qualifications does he have to be giving advice about infant care?"

It seems very little. Gary Ezzo has a graduate degree in Christian Education from Talbot Theological Seminary. This hardly qualifies him as a trusted medical professional, much less a "theologian" (as the Editorial Review by Liane Thomas mistakenly refers to him).

On the positive side: I think many of the principles of this book are right on: Good parenting is not "accidental" but should be intentional. Parenting should be guided by reason and love -- not emotionalism. Secondly, raising great children requires parents to maintain a central focus on the quality of their marriage.

On the negative side: His approach is very misleading, alarmist and divisive. Many of his conclusions are developmentally inappropriate for young infants and are at odds with the advice from respected organizations such as the La Leche League and The American Academy of Pediatrics. But the medical establishment is not the only one with concerns. At least two of his former churches (Grace Community Church and Living Hope Fellowship) have rejected his curriculum and publicly rebuked him due to his "lack of truthfulness and refusal to be held accountable." Also, in January of this year (2001), Frank York, former Editorial Director at Growing Families International (Gary Ezzo's organization) wrote an open letter to Multnomah Publishers urging them to consider ending their relationship with Ezzo.

The area of main concern is his advice on scheduling feedings for newborns (with the goal of getting the newborn to "sleep through the night" by 8 weeks). Ironically, while this is the most attractive tag for his book, it is also the most weakly supported by relevant medical research.

To support his claims, Ezzo relies primarily on anecdotal evidence and results from his own research -- which taken by itself hardly constitutes a trusted body of medical data. Who else has conducted this research and come to the same conclusions? Has anyone ever did a longitudinal study comparing children raised under PDF with those who have not? For example, Ezzo makes bold claims about the long-term advantages of PDF over demand feeding (ie. children who have been raised on PDF have less likelihood of sleeping problems, are more independent, obedient and mature). Since Ezzo's material has been around for about 14 years, It seems there's been plenty of opportunity to study just how demand-fed children compared with PDF children over that time -- but Ezzo cites no such research. This is surprising, since this would help his case significantly.

Ezzo fails to demonstrate why "sleeping through the night by 8 weeks" is such an important goal to achieve -- except that it's convenient for the parents. Many newborns will naturally begin to sleep through the night somewhere between 8 and 12 weeks, anyway. But it is not clear how artificially accelerating this provides any value to the newborn. In fact, the AAP has found that Ezzo's program for newborns, in certain cases, has been associated with failure to thrive, poor weight gain, dehydration, breast milk supply failure, and involuntary early weaning. (See article in the April 1998 issue of the AAP News by Dr. Matthew Aney)

There is not enough room here to include all issues and concerns with this book. For specific concerns regarding Ezzo, you can write to the American Academy of Pediatrics, The La Leche League, Focus on the Family or the Christian Research Institute.

I would strongly suggest readers to exercise caution and discernment if you do buy this book. If anything, at least talk to a medical professional (specifically, a pediatrician or a lactation consultant) for their recommendations and insights. But in my opinion there are so many better books out there that are much less controversial, more substantiated by current medical research and more widely endorsed by parents, medical professionals and respected Christian organizations.

In particular, I would recommend any book by the American Academy of Pediatrics or the American Medical Association. From a Christian perspective, I would recommend "Focus on The Family Complete Book of Child and Baby Care" (not actually written by James Dobson, but by their Physicians Resource Council). Also, two great books on general child rearing and discipline are "Raising Great Kids" and "Boundaries for Kids" by Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend.

65 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Confessions of a former EZZO parent!, December 27, 2000

By 

E. A Johnson "lizzies_books" (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: On Becoming Baby Wise, Book 1: Learn How Over One Million Babies Were Trained to Sleep Through the Night the Natural Way (Paperback)

I would like to publicly apologize anyone I might have encouraged to use the Ezzo methods while I participated in some of their classes. In our Ezzo classes at church, we were told repeatedly that the Ezzo methods were God's Way, yes, with a captial G, and that only Ezzo parenting was the Right Way. We were also told that parents who DIDN'T use the Ezzo parenting methods, including attachment parents, would have spoiled, self-centered children. The Ezzos include fictional descriptions of children in their books and course materials, showing a child raised on THEIR methods as being a perfect little angel, and the child NOT raised on their methods as the one who pushes little kids off swings and having no consideration for others.

I have two daughters, a pre-teen and an elementary school child.. With the first I got into an Ezzo-type schedule, only nursed for a short time, pushed her into a crib and then into a toddler bed before she was ready. I tried to maintain this level of "deattachment" and schedule with my second child. How I wish I could have known then what I know now. My duaghters would have benefited from less emphasis on schedule and more empahsis on loving interaction.

We finally took Ezzo classes at church out of desperation and were TOLD they were completely practical, non-dangerous, and a life-saver. Instead of the techniques improving our relationship with our daughters (especially our oldest), our relationship suffered. It was after this happened that we started researching the Ezzos on the net, and we were shocked to find they had so little foundation for their teachings. We were shocked that we were so gullible to beleive that this was "biblical parenting" and God's Way to raise our children. Ezzo has primarily antedotial evidence ONLY that his methods work, coming from people who have bought into the belief that his is the "biblical" way to parent. He is not well-versed in what is normal child development. His wife was a nurse for a very brief period of time MANY years ago. Dr Buckman had only peen a practicing pediatrician for a year or two when the first Babywise book came out with HIS name on it as a "leading pediatrician."

Unlike some people who believe others blast this book out of hand, I have actually read a lot of the Ezzo's work, both the secular ____wise titles and their church materials. I know what I am talking about.

I heartily recommend that new or experienced parents of an infant do their research about child development and what is best for their childen before launching into the world of Ezzoism.

For the parent who would like to raise a well-behaved and thoughtful child, you don't need the Ezzo methods to achieve this. Babies will achieve a routine and eventually sleep through the night. They have been doing so since time began. You don't NEED Babywise to accomplish this.

32 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The theory works, but use common sense!, April 25, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: On Becoming Baby Wise, Book 1: Learn How Over One Million Babies Were Trained to Sleep Through the Night the Natural Way (Paperback)

There is some valid criticism of this book, which is the reason that I only reluctantly give copies to brand new parents--both singing the praises of the methods and warning not to apply everything Ezzo recommends blindly.

The basic premise is that you feed your baby when it first wakes, and wake the baby if it falls asleep before getting a good, complete feeding. Then you try to keep the baby awake--at first this will be only a few minutes, maybe just 2 or 3 minutes in a newborn. Then, while the baby is still awake, lie him or her down to sleep. The main idea is that you don't let the baby depend the breast or nipple to go to sleep--the baby learns to comfort and put herself to sleep. The theory is that babies wake naturally every few hours. With this method they have the skills to get themselves back to sleep without fully waking or waking you once, twice, three times each night.

It REALLY works for most babies. I'm sure there are some babies who just don't have the temperment for this, but it worked like a charm for my baby, and for all of my friends whom I've turned on to the book. I have a five month old who sleeps 12 hours at a stretch without waking and has done so since she was 10 weeks old. Not ONCE since she was 10 weeks old has she awoken in the middle of the night, and she wakes up in the morning so happy and calm it's hard to believe. Often, she'll wake about 1/2 an hour before her usual waking time and "sing" and coo to herself in the crib. When she sees me come into the room, she is grinning from ear to ear. And despite the fact that she has just gone over 12 hours since the last feeding, she is not ravenously hungry in the morning--rarely finishes her very first bottle.

The one drawback to this method is that it's hard for the baby to sleep anywhere but her own crib. We don't go out much, but find that when we do, we can't stay out too long past the baby's bedtime because she won't just fall asleep in the car seat or our arms for more than a few minutes as our older daughter did. She gets very cranky and tired, and seems so releived when we finally get home to her own crib. She's also comfortable in her portacrib, so that she won't go bezerk when we travel--don't forget to factor this in!!!

That said, the critics are right when they say some of Ezzo's advice is stupid and dangerous. Even though he claims his recommendations for a feeding schedule are flexible, they are actually very rigid, and an inexperienced parent who tries to rigidly adhere to them can end up causing dehydration in the baby. I tell people I give the book to that they should try everything they can to make sure the baby takes as much as she can with each feeding, but if she can't go as long as Ezzo recommends between feedings just go ahead and feed sooner. It still works fine.

Also, it's ridiculous to let a newborn "cry it out" for more than just a few minutes. My children have the uncanny knack of just escalating and escalating when any attempts are made in that direction. So just be consistent. If the baby seems to be getting more upset, go in and give comfort, and then start the routine to get the baby to sleep again. I only had to do this for about 2 days to get my newborn to settle down for naps.

Sometimes during the day, my newborn would cry for no apparent reason and be very upset. My attempts to comfort her didn't work, so I'd put her in the crib to give myself a moment to calm down. And the minute she'd hit the crib she'd smile and go right to sleep. She was trying to tell me that she was tired and wanted to be in the place where she sleeps.

Ezzo's idea to place the baby in the playpen or a baby seat in front of a window to amuse herself is pretty ridiculous for a young baby. Baboes aren't awake that much to begin with. PLAY with him or her!!!! As your baby gets older, you can leave her in a safe position to play for a little while--but don't expect 45 minutes as Ezzo recommends. When you're baby starts to express frustration, it's time to give your baby some attention.

However, I don't agree with critics who say this method is incompatible with "attachment parenting". Nothing says you can't be very attached to your baby while letting her sleep in her own space--at least for naps and for most Americans at night too. This baby sleeps so well and seems very secure and serene. She is cuddly and happy to be in our arms, but just as happy to be put in her crib when she's tired. When she's had enough rest, she is positively joyful (and so am I!!!). When she's awake, I am with her, carrying her in a sling or front pack, playing with her on the floor, tickling her on the changing table--everything an "attached" parent would do. But with this method the baby takes great naps so I get things done or a chance to rest myself, and we both have wonderful, restful nights.

If you overlook some of the advice Ezzo gives, I think the basic premise is very good.