Book Review:

Sleepless in America; Is your Child Misbehaving or Missing Sleep? by Mary Sheedy Kurchinka.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Kurcinka (Raising Your Spirited Child) recasts misbehaving children as children missing sleep (and thus, children who can be helped sans drugs and punishment) in this treatise on the manifold virtues of a good night's sleep. "Sound sleep is the foundation of good behavior," Kurcinka says, warning parents that temper tantrums, irritability, screaming-bed-jumping-freak-outs and other unwanted behaviors can be scaled back dramatically if parents ensure their kids get enough sleep-something admittedly easier written about than done. Using advice and case studies from many of the parents who have participated in her workshops, Kurcinka provides insights into why kids do not go to sleep (an imbalance of "calm energy" and "tense energy" is one theory) as well as how parents' fatigue can affect their children. She advocates tension management as a way to foster good sleeping habits and includes how-to regimens to establish bed-time routines tailored to individual children's needs. She also helps parents reset their kids' (from infants to teenagers) body clocks to avoid sleepless nights and the morning battles, stress and school bus scramble. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"A well-written, comprehensive, and above all loving and positive approach to understanding that oh-so challenging child." -- Evonne Weinhaus and Karen Friedman, authors of Stop Struggling with Your Child and Stop Struggling with Your Teen "Mary Sheedy Kurcinka’s Sleepless in America has some of the best tips for sleepy families." -- Minneapolis Star Tribune

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (January 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006073602X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060736026

I have really enjoyed this library book that I stumbled upon. I am sad that I will be returning it. I really like how this parent turned expert can help us look at the misbehavior of our children and find that we are all a little of when we are tired. She has practical, gentle ways of getting children to sleep (in various places) and of getting everyone of to a good start in the morning. This may seem like a no brainer but had some wonderful advice in our world of "We do it all!" (our family motto). I discussed with Joe about changing our motto to "we do less--and make sleep a priority." We are still negotiating that.