Sarah B. (caffeinegirl) reviewed The Floppy Sleep Game Book: A Proven 4- Week Plan to Get Your Child to Sleep on + 114 more book reviews
As someone whose childhood "sleep problem" was falling asleep too easily, I had no idea where to begin when it became clear that my own child wasn't able to fall asleep on her own. Who knew this was a skill you have to learn? If you're starting from absolute zero knowledge, like I was, this book will help immensely.
For the child who struggles with it, so much goes into successfully falling asleep, and this book starts with sleep hygiene habits in the waking hours, such as diet, bedtime routine, and keeping a sleep journal for your child. It asks you to consider your family's habits, like whether or not your bedtime routine is consistent, and whether your child has enough calm and quiet in his or her room at bedtime. It suggests all manner of potential obstacles to sleep, from possible food sensitivities to medical issues like restless leg syndrome. It's important to make sure you are handing a child a task he or she can actually master, so you need to address any external problems that are making sleep impossible.
You can skip chapter one, which goes over why sleep is important for children. If you have picked up this book, chances are you already have a deep appreciation for how important it is for kids to sleep. If anything, this chapter will make you more anxious, as you learn that not only does your kid have trouble sleeping, but that lack of good sleep will increase his or her odds of failing in school, developing type 2 diabetes, and becoming an anxious and unhappy adult. This chapter should have been dropped in favour of one called, "Don't Worry, You Can Fix This."
I found the actual sleep program difficult to implement, probably because I started it at a point when bedtime was taking anywhere from two to five hours every night and everyone (but mostly me) was completely stressed out all the time. Nevertheless, I forced myself to sit on the floor beside my child's bed and guide her through the program every night. It took a lot of patience at first, since she was overtired and had difficulty focusing on what I was asking her to do. We had to start over again so many times. She couldn't do it, she got angry and frustrated and started crying, I calmed her down, and we started over. So many times.
But after a few weeks, we had noticeable improvement. My daughter knew the routine and was able to follow it all the way through. We never achieved the storybook ending where your child drifts off to sleep during the process, and it's pretty clear now that she's just not that kind of sleeper. Most nights she would still be awake and alert at the end of the program. At this point, I handed it over to her and told her to keep going through the steps on her own. Sometimes I would have to come back into her room later and start the whole thing over from the beginning, but gradually, over time, she was able to do it on her own more and more often.
The most important thing this program gave us was a tool for addressing the state of being awake in bed after dark. Even now, four years after we started it, when my daughter calls out, "Mommy I can't sleep," I remind her to do her sleep exercises. I think she has modified the original program to include just the exercises she likes and her own visualizations. The important part is that instead of just lying there with her mind racing, she goes through a routine that interrupts her long enough for her to allow herself to relax. She continues to get better at it.
I think this is a skill my daughter will probably need for the rest of her life, and I'm glad we got the chance to learn it when she was so young. I would recommend this book for other parents of children who wrestle with sleep, with the understanding that it is not an instant fix. It takes a long time to learn these skills, and chances are your child will never become an easy sleeper. But giving your child a way to help him or herself sleep is much better than telling them to just lie in bed and "wait" for sleep to come.
For the child who struggles with it, so much goes into successfully falling asleep, and this book starts with sleep hygiene habits in the waking hours, such as diet, bedtime routine, and keeping a sleep journal for your child. It asks you to consider your family's habits, like whether or not your bedtime routine is consistent, and whether your child has enough calm and quiet in his or her room at bedtime. It suggests all manner of potential obstacles to sleep, from possible food sensitivities to medical issues like restless leg syndrome. It's important to make sure you are handing a child a task he or she can actually master, so you need to address any external problems that are making sleep impossible.
You can skip chapter one, which goes over why sleep is important for children. If you have picked up this book, chances are you already have a deep appreciation for how important it is for kids to sleep. If anything, this chapter will make you more anxious, as you learn that not only does your kid have trouble sleeping, but that lack of good sleep will increase his or her odds of failing in school, developing type 2 diabetes, and becoming an anxious and unhappy adult. This chapter should have been dropped in favour of one called, "Don't Worry, You Can Fix This."
I found the actual sleep program difficult to implement, probably because I started it at a point when bedtime was taking anywhere from two to five hours every night and everyone (but mostly me) was completely stressed out all the time. Nevertheless, I forced myself to sit on the floor beside my child's bed and guide her through the program every night. It took a lot of patience at first, since she was overtired and had difficulty focusing on what I was asking her to do. We had to start over again so many times. She couldn't do it, she got angry and frustrated and started crying, I calmed her down, and we started over. So many times.
But after a few weeks, we had noticeable improvement. My daughter knew the routine and was able to follow it all the way through. We never achieved the storybook ending where your child drifts off to sleep during the process, and it's pretty clear now that she's just not that kind of sleeper. Most nights she would still be awake and alert at the end of the program. At this point, I handed it over to her and told her to keep going through the steps on her own. Sometimes I would have to come back into her room later and start the whole thing over from the beginning, but gradually, over time, she was able to do it on her own more and more often.
The most important thing this program gave us was a tool for addressing the state of being awake in bed after dark. Even now, four years after we started it, when my daughter calls out, "Mommy I can't sleep," I remind her to do her sleep exercises. I think she has modified the original program to include just the exercises she likes and her own visualizations. The important part is that instead of just lying there with her mind racing, she goes through a routine that interrupts her long enough for her to allow herself to relax. She continues to get better at it.
I think this is a skill my daughter will probably need for the rest of her life, and I'm glad we got the chance to learn it when she was so young. I would recommend this book for other parents of children who wrestle with sleep, with the understanding that it is not an instant fix. It takes a long time to learn these skills, and chances are your child will never become an easy sleeper. But giving your child a way to help him or herself sleep is much better than telling them to just lie in bed and "wait" for sleep to come.
