The Happiest Baby Guide to Great Sleep

May 21, 2012
Popular pediatrician Karp (The Happiest Baby on the Block) points out that 60%–80% of parents say their kids have sleep problems. These make life all the more difficult for sleep-deprived parents who may get less than six hours of sleep per night and desperately grapple with conflicting bedtime advice from parenting experts and others. Karp lays a number of myths to rest in his latest book, including the idea that babies, who have shorter sleep cycles than adults, can’t learn better sleep habits before three months of age. In fact, he gets right to work giving parents tips and tools to help their newborns develop good sleeping patterns, and then moves on to older babies and toddlers. Among the keys to Karp’s sleep solutions are using womblike white noise, swaddling, and waking baby for a “dream” sleep before putting him down (in his own crib, co-sleeper, or bassinet rather than bed-sharing until he is at least four months old to help prevent SIDS). Karp does not recommend the “crying it out” method (arguing that the approach has a bad effect on an infant’s sense of trust and security) except when all other measures fail. For older kids, he presents a humorously labeled “twinkle interruptus” tactic, in which the parents teach their child “patience stretching.” Exhausted parents will warmly welcome Karp’s encouraging tone and innovative, think-outside-the-crib solutions.

March 1, 2013

Pediatrician Karp (The Happiest Baby on the Block) offers a phone book-length title on sleep. The book is organized by age and the author covers the expected material, along with such late-to-the-game myth-busters as "never wake a sleeping baby." While Karp is a popular and best-selling author, there isn't much new here in terms of research and approach, and his liberal recommendations are a bit dubious--always pick up a crying baby and repeat the cycle "over and over." In addition, some Q&As seem completely fabricated: "Does swaddling hurt a baby's hips?" There are so many books on the market about infant sleep that it's a wonder we still have something to discuss. VERDICT While the advice is sound, the book is embarrassingly long while the author belabors the obvious, and the pace is insufferable. Despite the critique, patrons may likely request.

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