You've tried everything. Warm milk. Bedtime stories. Sharing your bed. But your child still has problems falling asleep. Dr. Richard Ferber can help. Director of the Sleep Laboratory and Center for Pediatric Sleep Disorders at Children's Hospital in Boston, Dr. Ferber is widely recognized as the nation's leading authority on children's sleep problems. Practical and easy to understand, Solve Your Childs' Sleep Problems tells you how to handle these situations in children aged one to six: * Refusing to go to bed * Colic and other medical problems * Restlessness and insomnia * Night terrors * Bedwetting * Headbanging and body rocking And other problems that keep you and your child awake in the night. Based on six years of intensive research in a top medical facility, Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems is packed with tips, suggestions, sample problems and solutions, and a bibliography of children's "go-to-sleep" books. When your child isn't sleeping, chances are that you aren't either. Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems --a tired parent's essential for more than 10 years--offers valuable advice and concrete help when lullabies aren't enough to lull your child into dreamland. Based on Ferber's research as the director of Boston's Center for Pediatric Sleep Disorders at Children's Hospital, the book is a practical, easy-to-understand guide to common sleeping problems for children ages one to six. Detailed case histories on night waking, difficulty sleeping, and more serious disorders such as sleep apnea and sleepwalking help illustrate a wide variety of problems and their solutions. New parents will benefit from Ferber's proactive advice on developing good sleeping patterns and daily schedules to ensure that sleeping problems don't develop in the first place. You'll also find a bibliography of children's books on bedtime, sleep, and dreaming, as well as a list of helpful organizations. Here's a book that is sure to put you and your whole family to sleep--in this case, that's a good thing. Kirkus Reviews Those wrestling with a persistent or more serious problem will find this a real boon. -- Review Dr. Richard Ferner is widely recognized as the nation's leading authority in the field of children's sleep problems. Director of the Sleep Lab and the Center for Pediatric Sleep Disorders at Children's Hospital in Boston (Harvard University's pediatric teaching hospital), Dr. Ferber also teaches at Harvard Medical School and is a pediatrician. Chapter 1 At the End of Your Rope The most frequent calls I receive at the Center for Pediatric Sleep Disorders at Children's Hospital in Boston are from a parent or parents whose children are sleeping poorly. When the parent on the phone begins by telling me "I am at the end of my rope" or "We are at our wits' end," I can almost predict what will be said next. Typically, the couple or single parent has a young child (often their first), who is between five months and four years of age. Their child does not fall asleep readily at night and/or wakes repeatedly during the night. The parents are tired, frustrated, and often angry. Their own relationship has become tense and they are wondering whether there is something inherently wrong with their child, or if they are unfit patents. In most cases the parents have had lots of advice on how to handle the situation from friends, relatives, even the pediatrician. "Let him cry; you're just spoiling him," they are told, or "That's just a phase; wait until she outgrows it." They don't want to wait but begin to wonder if they will have to, since despite all their efforts and strategies the sleep problem persists. Often the more the parents do to try and solve the problem, the worse it gets. Sooner or later they ask themselves, "How long do I let my child cry -- all night?" And if he or she gets up four, five, and six times at night, "Will this phase pass before we collapse from our own loss of sleep?" Everything seems pretty hopeless at first. If your child isn't sleeping well or has other problems -- such as sleep terrors, bedwetting, nightmares, or loud snoring -- which are sources of worry and frustration, it won't take long for you to feel as if you're at the end of your rope too. Let me assure you there is hope. With almost all of these children we are able to at least reduce the disturbance significantly, and often we can actually eliminate the sleep disorder entirely. The information in this book will help you to identify your child's particular disorder and will give you practical ways of solving the problem. At the Sleep Center I meet with the family -- parents and child together -- and learn all I can about the child's problem. How frequent and long-lasting has it been? What are the episodes like? How do the parents handle the child at bedtime and during the nighttime wakings? Is there a family history of sleep problems, and are there social factors that might be contributing to the problem? With thi