Customer Reviews

The Floppy Sleep Game Book: A Proven 4- Week Plan to Get Your Child to Sleep

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

My 5-1/2 year old son has a lot of trouble falling asleep, owing to a severe auditory processing disorder. We have tried everything we can think of and read every sleep book. We have a bedtime routine, no TV, a weighted blanket, tryptophan-rich foods before bed. Even Benadryl does not help! Needless to say, I bought this book with a high degree of skepticism. At the time, I had an appointment pending with a pediatric sleep specialist. My son is frequently unable to translate instructions he hears into action for his body; he processes more like a younger child. After the musical intro and reading out the floppy sleep game, my child was asleep within 20 minutes! Compare to 2 hours! This has gone on night after night after night. We don't even need to do it anymore. We recently went out of town--always a sleep disaster--and he did great! He even took a nap one day! (completely unheard of!) It seems to have helped him recognize when he is tired and to respond to that with relaxation instead of resistance. He welcomes sleeptime and last night even told me he was ready for bed and did not want to stay up and watch a movie for a special treat with his brother! I can't say enough good things about the book. I wish the CD had more relaxation/intros because all my kids, 7 yr old son and 2 yr old daughter included, really like moving and stretching and doing the yoga-style poses. We did not do the entire program, but it all looks pretty good. Now we include reading or telling a "dream" after our bedtime reading every night. In addition to Teel's book, which we love, we also use "Moonbeams" and "Starbright" two books of meditations for children. We adapt those to meet our needs. I even told the sleep specialist about this book. One recommendation the sleep doctor had was to put a couple of drops of oil of lavender (the relaxing variety, not the stimulating one) on a cotton ball next to his bed at bedtime. (This seems to be helpful despite seeming flaky.) I hope Patti Teel comes out with another CD!

I was a little skeptical about this book and cd even though I had read some positive reviews. I bought it used and spent under $7.00 bucks thinking it was worth the try. The reviews were all on children much younger than my 10 yr old daughter so that was another reason I wasn't sure it would work for an older child. My daughter has always had problems falling asleep alone and I was starting to get impatient because this was taking alone time away from me at the end of each day. Well I am so impressed with this cd. We have only had it for 2 weeks but every night she falls asleep alone earlier and earlier in the cd. Our next step is to get her to sleep through the night. I haven't finished the book but so far it has taught me alot. I highly recommend parents with the same issues to give this book/cd a try. My daughter asked me what the recommended age was for the cd and I was able to come up with a quick answer of 0-99 yrs.

After a disappointing 2 year check-up when our Doctor informed us that we needed to take away my son's bottle and let him cry it out in bed rather than rocking him to sleep, I was desperate for an option. I found this book and liked that is gives very specific, step by step instructions on exactly what to do at bedtime. I love her idea of relaxing stretches, deep breathing and using your imagination to go off to sleep on your own. You will actually teach your child how to fall asleep, instead of just leaving him to figure it out on his own. Brilliant and much kinder than that horrible Cry-it-out method. My son is 2 and we have adapted the book to fit his age and understanding, some of the ideas are a little old for him right now. But it does work! This is 6 weeks from starting the book and we now use the CD for the floppy game stretches and the story. I stay in the room to help with the stretches, but can walk away after the story and he will soon fall asleep, on his own, without me in the room! A huge change for us!! I can take a wide awake 2 yr old who doesn't want to go to sleep, lay him in his bed, use the CD and then leave him in his room awake and he will fall asleep on his own without crying!! That's worth more than gold to this Mama! (Getting him on a good consistent nap schedule has been important too - floppy game works for naps and bedtime!)

I just wanted to add that it is now almost a year later it is still working!! My son will be 3 at the beginning of July. He was never a good sleeper but now he can fall sleep on his own without us in the room! We have a bedtime routine of bath, read 3 stories (short board books), say a prayer, give hugs and kisses and then he climbs into bed and we play the floppy game with the cd. After the game ends, my husband and I leave the room and he listens to a story on the cd and falls asleep. My son is very happy and full of energy all the time so at bedtime he is still laughing and talking and jumping around when he gets into bed. But the floppy game relaxes him enough to start yawning and by the end of the story he's usually asleep. If not, and he calls us back, one of us will talk to him and he usually asks to hear the story again. If he hears the story a second time he is always asleep afterwards. We use it at nap time and bedtime. If he complains and says he doesn't want to go to bed or nap we just say Sorry but it's time for the floppy game and then start the CD right up. If he doesn't get quite right away we tell him he as to be quiet and listen to the lady so we will know what to do. He sleeps very well and even puts himself back to sleep on his own. Very rarely (maybe once every couple of months) he isn't able to go back to sleep on his own and calls us back to his room. All we have to do is talk to him a little and start the story for him and he's right back to sleep. This even worked once after a really bad dream. He woke screaming, cried in my arms for a couple of minutes. After we got him calmed and consoled, I asked if he wanted to lay down and hear the story again and he said yes and went right off to sleep. This book is a life saver for us and we will use it on our second son when he is old enough. I love the floppy game and tell parents about it all the time!

I bought this book/CD with very high hopes. My 3 year old has had trouble going to sleep in his own bed and sleeping through the night for about 2 years. Every night, I lie down with him anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours, or until I lose my patience. Then, when he finally does go to sleep, he still wakes at least 2 times duirng the night. My husband and I have tried everything. I was eager to try the Floppy Sleep Game with the movements and meditations. Our son is really quite mellow and I thought that these would be an effective way to get him ready for bed. On the contrary, he seemed MORE awake when we finished the exercises. It took even longer than normal to get him to sleep after listening to the CD each night. I'm glad that this has worked for some parents (I was really hoping to be one of them!). Alas, I will try something else. Good luck to all of you sleep deprived parents! :)

The Floppy Sleep Game Book : A Proven 4- Week Plan to Get Your Child to Sleep

When my daughter was 4 yrs old she had difficulty falling asleep(she'd had difficulty from the day she was born), taking 4 to 4.5 hours to do so most nights. We tried everything, but nothing worked. She would lay in bed, unable to hold still, starring at the ceiling. I knew that if I could just get her to relax, she could fall asleep. I had to do something because her little brother was due a few months later. I found this book and decided to try it. It worked beautifully! After only one week, she was already learning to fall asleep in half the time. By three weeks, she no longer needed help. This book, the accompanying CD, and both her father and I taught her the skills she needed to use in order to relax each night. Every once in a while, like on Christmas Eve, we find she could use a little help so we pop the CD in again and she's asleep in minutes. I highly recommend this book and CD.

My four year old son was having trouble at bedtime. His theripist recommended this for us to try. He was scared and anxious about being left alone.. this book taught him (us) how to relax and "enjoy" night time. I would say, the first tracks of the cd are learning to relax and fun, we didn't really get much out of the next few, but the last couple are really good.. I would say it has been a great experience and would recommend this to anyone having a difficult time at bedtime
Good night dreamers...

My six yr old daughter has Aspergers and S.I.D. so getting relaxed enough to fall asleep has always been a problem. I'm not finished with the book yet but I'm optimistic about the program. Patti Teal, the author, provides insights into what children like my daughter are going through, with both a sympathetic and pragmatic approach. My daughter is responding positively to the accompanying CD. I couldn't get her to do yoga exercises before, I guess it was too regimented, but Patti Teal makes it fun and helps children establish a bedtime routine that is more calming rather than one ridden with anxiety. She loves that we do it together as a family and I do too. I highly recommend it.

when I got this book it was missing the CD, and also as I browsed through it I realized that unless you are a stay home Parent it was nearly impossible to follow. They want you to track your child for a week, every detail from food to bathroom breaks to sleep habits. I dont have the time for that working full time. I returned the book, thankfully Amazon is amazing about returns.
We have talked to our daughters pediatrician (my daughter is 6) and she now takes 3mg on Melatonin before bed time, some people do not produce enough, apparently my daughter is one of those people. She now falls asleep beautifully, and Melatonin is a vitamin, all natural so i feel good about giving this to my daughter, and not a drug. Good luck to all parents with kids with sleep issues, for the first time in 6 years my daughter is going to bed like an angle.

This book was recommended for my 4 year old son. Both my 4 yr old and 8 yr old love this book and CD. I wish that I would have bought it sooner! They fall asleep faster than ever and wake up refreshed! I would definately recommend this book to others and can't wait to purchase other books by Patti Teel!

I bought this for my 3-year-old when he began to have problems winding down. Now, the age range is 3-8, so I knew I was at a cusp, but it was much too complicated for him to follow. He did enjoy the stories and visualizations, but the physical stretching/breathing was more challenging than soothing for him.

I do like the book; it just wasn't what he needed at that time. I do think it could be useful if he has issues when he's a bit older or possibly for a sibling, so I'm hanging on to it. If I use the technique more fully in the future, I'll update the review.