Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems: Revised Edition

Have difficulty falling asleep? Wake in the middle of the night? Suffer sleep terrors, sleepwalking, or nighttime fears? Have difficulty waking for school or staying awake in class? Snore, wet the bed, or head bang? In the first major revision of his bestselling, groundbreaking classic since it was published twenty years ago, Dr. Richard Ferber, the nation's foremost authority on children's sleep problems, delivers safe, sound ideas for helping your child fall and stay asleep at night and perform well during the day. Incorporating new research, Dr. Ferber provides important basic information that all parents should know regarding the nature of sleep and the development of normal sleep and body rhythms throughout childhood. He discusses the causes of most sleep problems from birth to adolescence and recommends an array of proven solutions for each so that parents can choose the strategy that works best for them. Topics covered in detail include: Bedtime difficulties and nighttime wakings Effective strategies for naps Sleep schedule abnormalities A balanced look at co-sleeping New insights into the nature of sleep terrors and sleepwalking Problems in setting limits Sleep apnea, narcolepsy, bed-wetting, and head banging Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems offers priceless advice and concrete help for a whole new generation of anxious, frustrated, and overtired parents.

Richard Ferber, M.D., is Director Emeritus of the Center for Pediatric Sleep Disorders at Children's Hospital Boston. He lives in Newtonville, Massachusetts.

Acknowledgments List of Figures Preface to the Second Edition

CHAPTER 1: At the End of Your Rope

Can a Child Just Be a "Poor Sleeper"? How to Tell Whether Your Child Has a Sleep Problem Starting with a Basic Understanding of Sleep CHAPTER 2: What We Know About Sleep Non-REM Sleep REM Sleep How Sleep Stages Develop in Children Children's Sleep Cycles Sleep and Waking Patterns The Importance of Biological Rhythms CHAPTER 3: Helping Your Child Develop Good Sleep Practices The Importance of Your Child's Bedtime Routines "Back to Sleep": Reducing the Risk of SIDS Should Your Child Sleep in Your Bed? Specific Issues Related to Co-sleeping The Sleep Challenges of Multiples: Twins and Triplets The Special Toy or Favorite Blanket Developing Good Schedules

CHAPTER 4: Sleep Associations: A Key Problem

A Typical Sleep Association Problem Why Sleep Associations Matter Wrong Sleep Associations How to Solve the Problem: The Progressive-Waiting Approach Making the Changes in One Step or Several Associations to the Breast, Bottle, or Pacifier Co-sleeping and Related Considerations If Things Are Not Getting Better General Observations CHAPTER 5: The Problem of Limit Setting Who's in Charge? Difficulty Setting Limits Limits, Associations, Feedings, Schedules, and Fears Setting Limits at Night Limit Setting Problems: Some Examples CHAPTER 6: Feedings During the Night: Another Major Cause of Trouble Is Your Child's Sleep Problem Caused by Nighttime Feedings? How to Solve the Problem Other Points to Keep in Mind Medical Considerations CHAPTER 7: Nighttime Fears The Anxious Child Bedtime Fears Evaluating Your Child's Fears How to Cope with Nighttime Fears Techniques to Help a Child Feel Less Frightened and Fall Asleep Quickly Final Considerations CHAPTER 8: Colic and Other Medical Causes of Poor Sleep Colic Chronic Illness Nocturnal Pain Medication Abnormal Brain Function and a True Inability to Sleep Well

CHAPTER 9: Schedules and Rhythms

Sleep Phases The Circadian System and the Forbidden Zone for Sleep: Why You Can Stay Awake Until Bedtime -- and Sleep Until Morning Setting the Biological Clock: How Do You Know What Time Zone You Are In? Individual Differences: Are You a Lark or an Owl? Society, Sleep Deprivation, and the Adolescent Specific Sleep Problems Affecting Different Parts of the Sleep Cycle: A Summary CHAPTER 10: Schedule Disorders I: Sleep Phase Problems Sleep Phases Sleep Phase Shifts Sleep Phase Shifts in the Adolescent CHAPTER 11: Schedule Disorders II: Other Common Schedule Problems Problems in Regular Schedules Irregular and Inconsistent Sleep-Wake Schedules Travel CHAPTER 12: Naps Problems with the Length and Timing of Naps Trouble Giving Up a Nap: Transition Problems Nap Time Sleep Association Problems Napping (or Not) at Home and at Day Care You May Have to Accept What Works

CHAPTER 13: Partial Wakings: Sleep Talking, Sleepwalking, Confusional Arousals, and Sleep Terrors

I. What They Are and Why They Happen The Normal Transition from Deep (Stage IV) Sleep Toward Waking More Intense Transitions: A Spectrum of Confusional Events What a Confusional Event Feels Like Why Confusional Events Happen: The Balance Between Sleep and Waking The Variability of Arousals over Time Evaluating Confusional Events: When to Take Action II. Treatment What You Should Do and What Else to Consider How We Helped the Children Described Earlier CHAPTER 14: Nightmares What Nightmares Are and Why They Occur How to Help Your Child If He Is Having Nightmares Nightmares and Confusional Events Nightmares or " 'No'-mares"?: "I had a bad dream" CHAPTER 15: Bedwetting The Impact of Enuresis What Causes Enuresis? Approaches to Treating Enuresis Final Words CHAPTER 16: Head Banging, Body Rocking, and Head Rolling When Do These Behaviors Occur? What Do These Behaviors Look Like? Is Head Banging Dangerous? When Should You Be Concerned? What Causes Rhythmic Behaviors? Treating the Problem Outcomes

CHAPTER 17: Noisy Breathing, Snoring, and Obstructive Sleep Apnea

What Happens in Sleep Apnea What Causes the Obstruction Treating Sleep Apnea Some Words of Caution Getting Your Child the Help She Needs CHAPTER 18: Narcolepsy and Other Causes of Sleepiness Is Your Child Abnormally Sleepy? Causes of Sleepiness Other Than Narcolepsy Treating Simpler Causes of Sleepiness Evaluation at a Sleep Disorders Center Narcolepsy The Cause of Narcolepsy The Treatment of Narcolepsy Future Treatments Index