Silent Nights: Overcoming Sleep Problems in Babies and Children [Paperback]

Brian Symon (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0195506073 | ISBN-13: 978-0195506075 | Publication Date: May 20, 1999 | Edition: 1

Few sounds are more disconcerting than that of a crying infant unable or unwilling to go to sleep. The sound is particularly distressing in the middle of the night when the parents know that the baby - and what they - need is sleep. Nor is the problem limited to babies. Many families endure months or even years of insomnia because of their children's habitual lack of sleep. The consequences for the parents' health, well-being, enjoyment of their children, and in some cases the health of relationships and working lives, are considerable. This book provides a sensible, no-nonsense guide to how babies sleep and why they cry. It shows how this knowledge can be applied in practical ways to help the normal, healthy baby to establish sleeping patterns that will improve its life and benefit the entire family. The process is not always easy, but following this programme means that a good night's sleep may no longer be an impossible dream.

Editorial Reviews

Review

... full of useful facts and helpful tips ... Sainsburys Magazine --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Brian Symon is a General practitioner and Senior Lecturer in General Practice at the University of Adelaide.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1 edition (May 20, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195506073
• ISBN-13: 978-0195506075
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,864,281 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic ! The most useful baby advice we've ever had, November 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Silent Nights: Overcoming Sleep Problems in Babies and Children (Paperback)

This book will change your life if you are not sleeping thanks to a waking child. The advice is simple and straightforward, and works if followed with consistency. Our baby was still getting us up 3-4 times per night at 6 months. After only 2 nights of using Brian's methods, she started sleeping through. Now at one year, she sleeps 13 hours per night and 3 hours during the day, and life is wonderful !

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Don't waste your money..., December 19, 2001

By 

"kangapooh" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Silent Nights: Overcoming Sleep Problems in Babies and Children (Paperback)

Dr. Symon is basically a proponent of letting babies "cry it out." If you believe in the cry it out philosophy, then this book is just common sense. If you don't believe in crying it out, then you're not going to like what he has to say anyway.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Horrible breastfeeding advice!!, January 26, 2011

By 

Marcy Hogan (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Silent Nights: Overcoming Sleep Problems in Babies and Children (Paperback)

My mom sent me this book when I had my second baby, because she wanted to help us all get more sleep. I was skeptical of a book that advocated "crying it out" with a newborn (note that even Richard Ferber, noted CIO guru, specifically says NOT to use CIO until baby is AT LEAST 4 months old). I started reading Silent Nights today, starting with the chapters on feeding... and was horrified.

"Dr" Symon's advice for breastfeeding is HORRID. He claims that babies should only want to feed every 3-4 hours (total of 5-6 feeds in 24hrs), to start solids at 8-12weeks, to give "top up" feeds with formula after breastfeeding in the afternoons and evenings, and to expect babies to sleep 6 hrs by 6 weeks, 8 hrs by 8 wks, etc. This is all VERY VERY BAD ADVICE and will likely lead to low milk supply and a baby who is not thriving. (Newborns need to feed 8-12 times in 24hrs, if not more often; AAP and WHO both recommend not starting solids until 6 months of age, and supplementing with formula will likely hurt your supply unless you pump to make up for that lost feeding-- also, just bc a baby takes a bottle doesn't mean they're hungry, sometimes they're just satisfying a need to suck).

Please, please, please, if you are breastfeeding and reading this book, completely skip the feeding chapters and instead pick up a copy of The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding (La Leche League International Book) as your breastfeeding resource.

Lastly-- This book is 200 pages with large-ish print. $34.95 seems like a rip-off. If you want to do a CIO approach, you may be better off looking up Ferber's or Weissbluth's books.