Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, 5th Edition: A New Step-by-Step Guide for a Good Night's Sleep

by Marc Weissbluth M.D.

The perennial favorite for parents who want to get their kids to sleep with ease—now in its fifth edition, fully revised and updated, with a new step-by-step guide for a good night’s sleep.With more than 1.5 million copies in print, Dr. Marc Weissbluth’s step-by-step regimen for instituting beneficial habits within the framework of your child’s natural sleep cycles has long been the standard-setter in baby sleep books. Now with a new introduction and quick-start guide to getting your child to sleep, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child has been totally rewritten and reorganized to give tired parents the information they need quickly and succinctly. This new edition also includes the very latest research on the importance of• implementing bedtime routines• practicing parental presence at bedtime• recognizing drowsy signs• the role of the father as an active partner in helping the child sleep better• overcoming challenges families face to help their child sleep better• different cultural sleep habits from around the world• individualized and nonjudgmental approaches to sleep trainingSleep is vital to your child’s health, growth, and development. The fifth edition of Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child gives parents proven strategies to ensure healthy, high-quality sleep for children at every age.

Genres: Parenting

773 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 24, 2021

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good info, but WAY too repetitive and disorganized. Useful info is spread out all over the place and hard to find again. Needs an editor SO BAD

[Kate Alvarado · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhere between 3 & 4 stars, rounded up. One month later ! This is a LONG one (730 pages!)

Two things to note:
1) I got this book for free for participating in an ongoing research study at the University of Arizona on breastfeeding and infant sleep! I probably would have never bought it otherwise, but I was looking for a book on sleep and development!
2) After reading this book, my 1yo is definitely sleeping better. (I didn’t follow any specific plan in this book, but I’m sure my behavior changed based on what I was taking away from it.)

I don’t think I agree with Dr. Weissbluth in all things, but I appreciate his dedication to review the whole of sleep research in children and adults and give actionable recommendations to parents in this sleep manual, based on both the empirical results and his anecdotal experience as a pediatrician / sleep consultant. After reading this, I feel much more informed about things that can threaten healthy sleep and considerations to make in trying to support your child’s healthy sleep. The second and third chapters got on my nerves… but by the end of the book I started to appreciate it more.

This book truly needed a better editor - maybe it’s the result of being the 5th edition with a bunch of added sections and chapters for research updates, but it’s hard to track the flow of each chapter. It takes a while to decipher what he thinks are hard lines and what he thinks are nuances that depend on each kid and family. The fact that the book is so long is proof that he understands that sleep, temperament, and family routines are nuanced and varied circumstances which get in the way of a super simple answer. However, he also seems to think early bedtimes are the super simple answer 😂

[Tim Lenes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full disclosure, I didn't finish the book. . . but that's kinda why I am giving it 4 stars.

This book is built for parents who have suddenly run into a wall and are no longer sleeping. I was able to flip to the chapter about my baby's age and gain so much useful information in a 20 minute span that I was able to put together an effective sleep strategy with my wife and totally change our nap-time experience. This book is perfect to give you high level understanding and them micro strategies to implement, it is not trying to preach a lifestyle or shame a parenting technique, just help you get to sleep.

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like that the chapters are sorted by age, which makes it less overwhelming and I only have to read what is appropriate for where my daughter is at that point in time. Everything was pretty on point too. My daughter is sleeping 10-12 hour stretches and I can’t say it’s because of things I learned in this book, but the book did reaffirm my tactics and gut instinct. I docked a star because the writing style is pretty messy. A lot of incomplete sentences and statements that are confusing because they lack context. Difficult to find conclusions to thoughts and ideas too.

[Andrea Arkland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only read the chapters that pertained to our 8 month old. I liked that the book was split up into sections depending on need/age especially since it’s a really large book and very intimidating to try to read it all. I gained some very good and helpful info from the book but some of it was lengthy and drawn out. Wish it was more condensed and not so repetitive. Our daughter sleeps much better now but could have been quicker to read if it was more straight forward.

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great info. but way too long and repetitive. You won’t be able to read WHILE sleep deprived so do it before. Took cliff notes to share with friends and family. If you like reading/reviewing science studies the whole time-great…otherwise could have just gave information and cited studies for those who wanted to further research.

[Alex Monegro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Your baby will sleep

Amazing content but terrible writing. Gold but you'll have to walk through the mud. This guy needs a ghostwriter. Probably the most thoughtful book on child sleep but this guy writes like an old timey bearded guy.

[S. Evan Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

At times very repetitive, but I guess reinforcement isn’t exactly a bad thing when it comes to a sleep deprived parent. Hardly a perfect book for that reason, but hey, my kid is sleeping through the night, so I’ll give credit where credit is due.

4/5 Sheep Counted 🐑🐑🐑🐑

[Pamada · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF.

There's a lot of good info, but its buried under a ton of incoherent rambling. Save yourself some time (and headache) and search for the cliff notes version.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beginning has helpful bits re sleep for babies and kids (and adults). DNF.

[Patrice · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a good reference book, I don't think it's meant to be read cover to cover. It came recommended by my pediatrician and I have used it for two babies.

[Sydney Kovacs]

This book was a gift from a relative who swears by the advice inside, but it is SOOO LONG, and I'm too tired to read it all. DNF