Customer Reviews

Sleepless in America: Is Your Child Misbehaving or Missing Sleep?

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I have been working with young children and their families for over 20 years and am pleased that there is finally a book that clearly illustrates the link between childrens misbehavior and the lack of sleep. Our kids are crying out for more rest but often our busy lives keep us from noticing these behaviors. I have read every other book this author has written and would read more if she had another. She gives us time tested strategies and tools, easy and simply explained ideas to implement a positive sleep environment all day long. She shares humorous and real life stories from the hundreds of parents she has worked with. Filling in the sleep chart has been extremely insightful. I also found the red zone/green zone information helpful in quickly assessing all family members levels of tension. I am so glad someone finally has written a friendly, helpful, humorous book on sleep that doesn't encourage kids crying it out or abandoning our young children at night. Instead, she gives us tools to use all day long to make nap time and bedtime rewarding and peaceful for everyone. Parents will read this book and know they are doing a great job!

I highly recommend this book to parents with children of all ages! It's truly transformed our nights (and days!) from one of bedtime and wake up battles to one where peace prevails most of the day and bedtime has become a positive time to connect:) The book is written in a style that is easy, quick, and enjoyable to read and is full of practical tips, assessments, and advice. I'm a Mom of two active school-age boys and an infant son and have found this book EXTREMELY helpful and practical for all 3 of them (and surprisingly me, too!). Little did I know that my 8-year-old who was arguing through his day, melting down through homework and dinner, yet seemed full of energy at night-was actually so exhausted from the school, sport, and activity schedules we were keeping that he was barely functioning! With the step-wise, practical, witty advice in this book, I was able to make some minor changes in our routines and adjust a few decisions which have yielded GREAT results in a short time. He's much happier throughout the day because he's sleeping better and more regularly. The author guides us to determine what works best for our own family, then shows us HOW to implement her step-wise approach to sleep, and to avoid undermining our own efforts with decisions we make during the day! There's a great section detailing how different temperament traits affect sleep-a MUST READ for parents of spirited children. It also provided great recommendations for helping our infant son to sleep without watching a timer while he cried! Plus sections on time changes, vacations, holidays... Finally, a truly definitive resource on helping families to sleep!

This book is a great resource for parents who are struggling to get their kids to sleep each night. The advice is pratical, specific and can be customized to fit each family. I like the anecdotal writing style and I love Mary Sheedy Kurcinka's tone--she challenges parents to become more present to their children while never making us feel bad about where we're at. She consistently writes with humility, compassion, candor and grace.

Finally, a book about getting your child to sleep that offers realistic solutions to very common problems. Kurcinka's style is so conversational and so practical, you almost feel as if you're taking one of her parenting workshops. She doesn't blame or scold... simply put, she gets you to figure out what's important to your family, and then how to go about getting it. It's been almost a week since I reinstituted nap time for my almost 3-year-old (who'd given up naps a long time ago) and already she is sleeping much better at night. This from a child who visibly stiffens at the very mention of "nap" or "sleep" of any kind. I highly recommend this valuable book.

Unlike other books on childhood sleep, this one doesn't suggest that there is one solution. Mary Sheedy Kurcinka follows her other books on Spirited Children and power struggles up with an effective book about sleep whose topics are appropriate for kids and adults of all ages. I'm reading it after I had an infant so I skipped the section on infant sleep.

This is a book worth checking out for ways to analyze what's going on in your daily life and how to make changes so that everyones sleep and mood improves. It isn't a simple solution as in if you follow x, y and z then your child will instantly sleep as much as you want them to.

I love this book. Although this is not nessesarily a "solutions based" book, what it will give you is some key information on a wide array of sleeping issues, and will help you to find a way to deal with your children based on your family's particular needs. I found it very conforting to know that yes, some kids do have a hard time regulating themselves in terms of sleeping patterns (and why), it made me feel releived to know that it is not all me and my lack of being able to get my kids into a routine and keep them in it. We all know that some kids are wired differently, but this actualy explains why and this understanding helps us to parent them more effectively. The author succeded in creating a well written book that is not only informative but enjoyable to read, using great analogies throughout.

i got this book from the library because i saw it on a shelf right next to the checkout desk. my first thought was "well, of course, kids need more sleep and if they are tired they will misbehave." while i was reading the book, i kept having the same thought-- "this is all so obvious". i kept reading mostly because it affirmed my goals to not overschedule my son and stress him out and to avoid TV. but having read the book, i find i am constantly finding myself in real-life situations where i am enlightened by the writer's ideas. many times, even though in theory i am a huge sleep and nap advocate, i realize that my son's behavior is a function of lack of sleep. and i prob. wouldn't have naturally come to that conclusion. would recommend this book to all parents.

I cannot describe how happy I am that I found this sleep book somewhat early on. My son is 8 months and we have had many struggles with sleep. Many of the ideas in this book I have already enacted, because they made sense to me and I felt they would help things. These include setting up a schedule for my unpredictable child and helping to set his internal clock so that I have mother nature on my side when it comes to sleep. Also giving him touch time when he is upset because I know that my touch helps to soothe him when nothing else can. Unfortunately I have questioned this because of other sleep advice out there. This book confirms what I know in my heart is right and helps to describe why this is what my "spirited child" needs.

This is the gentle no cry book that everyone should talk about. I can't believe that it is not more widely known. If you have a child that does not do well with any sort of cry it out techniques or deep down you know that is not the answer, please do yourself a favor and at least check this book out from the library. It encourages you to connect to your child and help them do what is right for them to go to sleep.

I picked up this book on the recommendation of a friend after sharing our 18-month-old's sleep struggles with her. Most sleep books have made me want to cry and throw them across the room because their suggestions just didn't make sense for my high-energy, sensitive, high-needs kiddo. Kurcinka, however, had her own spirited, as she calls it, child and so understands the extra struggle that it is to get such children to sleep. I was thrilled to finally find an author who understood.

I felt that Kurcinka did a great job of sharing information and techniques and making them applicable to all ages, even babies. The book is written mainly with older preschoolers and older children in mind, but plenty of her advice can be tweaked to fit my young toddler and would have even been useful when she was a baby. She is also very careful to remind her readers that consistency and time are what it take to make the changes work--she was very realistic about the process. I also appreciated her reminders (though they got old towards the end) that not everything will work for every child or your family and you need to make sure that what you are doing is best for your family.

I plan on purchasing a copy to keep at home because I am certain it will come in handy for years to come!

Mary Sheedy writes in a friendly style and is always compassionate to the needs of kids and parents. I got a lot of great insights and my 3 year old daughter is sleeping better at night now. I do wish there was a chapter specifically addressing the needs of teens. Now I that I know the effects of sleep deprivation, and the importance of a schedule, our family is doing what we can and I definitely see an improvement.