The Huffington Post published an article a few years back reviewing a sleep product, a book that “promises to make anyone fall asleep” (Huffington Post , 2015) and it’s called ” The Rabbit Who Wants To Fall Asleep: A New Way Of Getting Children To Sleep.”
The book is a verbal mediation of sorts, using slower and more sped up reading prompts, along with guided verbal imagery to help children relax and fall asleep. While the reviews are mixed, some people really believe it will help their children fall asleep. “We battle sleep every night with my now 2-year-old. We got to page three and he was out!!! It really works!!!” (Huffington Post , 2015).
While other reviews were less enthusiastic and found the book to not be effective, this whole premise is a good example of why quick sleep fixes do not work. Pediatric sleep is contingent upon multiple sleep factors that must be well balanced for restorative, non-fragmented sleep to occur. When a child is having sleep issues, the more out of whack all of the factors are, the longer it will take to get everything working in sync.
Using a book and maybe even a “relaxing” one like this rabbit book is a GREAT addition to a well established, relaxing bedtime routine. It should not be used in place of a soothing routine or in place of assessing all of the other essential sleep pieces. Things like sleep schedule, sleep environment and sleep crutches need to be addressed if your child has issues falling asleep, staying asleep, taking long naps or has frequently occurring night wakings.
I am a fan of reading with children so I would consider using this book but am skeptical at best that it can deliver as promised and “make anyone fall asleep.” If anyone has a personal review from using this book as a sleep tool I would love to hear it!