Parenting advice books about child sleep: cosleeping and crying it out

To identify the book sources of parenting advice about child sleep and then characterize those sources with respect to their authorship and the content of advice about cosleeping and cry-it-out sleep training.

Availability in the United States market.

Forty currently available parenting advice books about sleep were identified.

N/A.

Most books were accessible regarding price and reading grade level. Most authors either had a medical background or no professional credentials. With regard to cosleeping, 28% of books endorsed it, 32% took no position, and 40% opposed it. Those that endorsed cosleeping generally recommended long-term bed sharing, but a few suggested room sharing only during the first few months after birth. With regard to crying it out, 61% of books endorsed it, 8% took no position, and 31% opposed it. Most of those that endorsed crying it out recommended scheduled checking, but a few suggested a cold-turkey method. More than half of the books presented advice that explicitly supported either cosleeping or crying it out and rejected the other.

A medical perspective on sleep predominates in parenting advice in this area. That perspective is typically opposed to cosleeping and supportive of sleep training. However, a substantial minority present an opposite position.