Resources on Kids and Sleep

Sleep is one of those issues that all parents confront at one time or another in raising their children. Certainly, research has shown how important adequate sleep is to the health and development of a child.

In recent years several new sleep books were released and merit a closer look by parents who are looking for different strategies to guide their kids and themselves into healthy sleep patterns.

- Take Charge of Your Child’s Sleep, by The Sleep Doctors (Judy A. Owens, M.D., and Jodi A. Mindell, Ph.D.), Marlowe & Company, 2005. Owens, a developmental-behavioral pediatrician and Mindell, author of Sleeping Through the Night, are each directors of hospital-based sleep clinics, in Rhode Island and Philadelphia respectively. This book is a reader-friendly look at why sleep is so important, why children at various ages have difficulty sleeping, and what parents can do to rectify the problem. The book also covers snoring, sleep walking and AD/HD as they affect sleep.
- The Floppy Sleep Game Book: A Proven 4-Week Plan to Get Your Child to Sleep, by Patti Teel, Perigee Books, 2005. Geared for parents of kids ages 3 to 10, this is the book that followed Teel’s CD of songs designed specifically to help children fall asleep. The book addresses sleep problems associated with various special needs, common sleep disturbances, how diet affects sleep and much more. Teel recommends various techniques parents can use, including guided relaxation and having children visualize themselves in a relaxing place at bedtime.
- The Baby Sleep Book: The Complete Guide to a Good Night’s Rest for the Whole Family, by William Sears, M.D., Robert Sears, M.D., James Sears, M.D., and Martha Sears, R.N.; Little, Brown and Co., 2005. Sleep strategies for infants and very young children, from the noted pediatrician and parenting expert who coined the term “attachment parenting,” his wife and two medically trained sons.