The Sleep Fairy by Janie Peterson, Macy Peterson Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Sleep Fairy
Book Review: This book is not for every child!
Summary: 1 Stars
We bought this book with high hopes that it would help our two and half year-old daughter sleep through the night. We got her ready for bed and started to read the story. However by the end of the book she was quivering and started to cry saying "no sleep fairy, no present!". I think the thought of some strange thing coming into her room at night was just too much for her. Too bad because the illustrations are nice and the sentiments are sweet. This might be a better book for someone a little bit older.Book Review: Very good book for a typical child with sleep phobia!
Summary: 4 Stars
I think the author of this book was brilliant in her approach- be sure to read the suggestions for use of the book from the author in the introductory area. The problem I experienced is that my son is not your average child and even though he loved the gifts from the sleep fairy, he refused to read the book most nights and told me that he didn't want the sleep fairy to come and that he already had plenty of toys and didn't need her to bring him anything else! Now how do you argue with that?
All in all, I think the theories and practices used by the author will get most children sleeping in their own bed. Even though my 4-year-old refused to read the book most nights, since we first read the book (about 3 times total, I think), he has been sleeping in his own bed most of the night and there isn't such a fight to get him to stay in bed. He still sometimes comes into our room around 1 or 2am, but I can live with that.
Definitely recommend this book- it is a really sweet story and will work for most parents!
Book Review: Very helpful
Summary: 4 Stars
This story was very helpful to us. Our oldest went from going to sleep perfectly to trying everything in the book to stay up. We were out of things to try.
This story is basically about a fairy who delivers a special present if the child goes to bed well, think Santa Claus meets the Tooth Fairy. The story is a little long (only reason I gave it 4 stars), so we edit out some things. We also amended the story so that the present is left beside the bed on the nightstand so we don't risk waking our child putting it under the pillow.
Some things that have worked for us...
-The first gift was a small bag for the Sleep Fairy to leave presents with in the future. If she whispers to the bag, the fairy can hear her.
-We get most of the gifts from the dollar store so we aren't out a ton of $$$. Little things that can be used and gone like bath fizzies, stickers, those shrunken wash clothes, novelty socks, etc.
-A little note written on pretty (inexpensive) paper.
-We sometimes suggest to our child what she wants and/or should ask for...like more princess pull ups when she's low on pull ups, or wouldn't she like a new pajama shirt. That way she's getting things that we needed to get anyway.
Weaning from the fairy. When we've not put something out from the fairy, our child's believed us that the fairy was too busy or she's bringing something really good the next night. But we have started talking about how the fairy is the one who gets her after nap snack ready (again, something we'd already do anyway). So we are slowly moving towards the fairy is getting too busy to come every night, but will always come to leave her snack.
We have had only 1-2 nights in the last 6 weeks that were rough. I'd also suggest getting "Good Night, Sweet Dreams, I Love You: Now Get Into Bed And Go To Sleep!" by Patrick C. Friman
Book Review: Works OK, but wish it had a solution for tapering off
Summary: 2 Stars
We purchased this book for our three-year-old after our doctor recommended it. It's now been about 9 months and there are many nights I wish I'd never heard of this book.
The book has beautiful illustrations and I love the fantasy aspect of it. Our princess-obsessed daughter loved it immediately. However, the book is a little long to read EVERY NIGHT (as our daughter wanted). (She also didn't go for just reading the Sleep Fairy poem part of the story -- it was all or nothing with her.)
In the beginning, the concept worked like a charm. Our daughter slept in her bed almost immediately, was excited to get her prize in the morning, etc. We had a few problems because our daughter is a light sleeper and a couple times, caught us bringing in the gifts...we had to modify where the Sleep Fairy left gifts as a result.
My biggest complaint is that there was no tapering off of the Sleep Fairy incorporated into the book. The Sleep Fairy just keeps bringing gifts FOREVER (big gifts, too -- dolls and things along those lines), as long as the girls sleep all night in their beds. I wish it had a more Mary Poppins ending -- an ending where, eventually, the Sleep Fairy comes less and less because she needs to go help other children, etc.
The result -- after about three months, she was sleeping in her bed consistently and it was really time to phase out the Sleep Fairy. (We live in a small house and there were really just getting to be too many trinkets from the Sleep Fairy; the walls were getting papered with stickers and I just couldn't bring myself to give my daughter candy every day.) So we tried incorporating our own Mary Poppins-style ending, but our daughter didn't buy it. (We told her that there were so many children needing help sleeping that the Sleep Fairy probably couldn't come EVERY night any more...the "Sleep Fairy" left a note saying that she would check in on our daughter occasionally and make sure she was sleeping in her bed -- this way, we went to gifts every other day, then once a week, etc.)
At first, she would wrap up old toys herself and tell us that the Sleep Fairy left them for her. The WORST, though, is that now, our not-yet-four-year-old daughter doesn't really believe in ANY magical characters -- she was logical enough to put it together that if the Sleep Fairy could stop bringing presents, then there was probably something a little fishy with Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, too. So, just at an age when we should be having LOTS of fun with these fantasy creations, we have a child who is skeptical of it all (and who has reverted to sleeping on the floor of our room as well, now not wanting anything to do with the Sleep Fairy).
I just think the authors could have planned for this in their plotline and helped out parents like us. They just need to develop an exit strategy for good ol' Sleep Fairy...maybe they are Republicans. ;-)
Book Review: great book for reluctant sleepers
Summary: 5 Stars
Last summer after the birth of our second child it was no longer going to be possible to help our oldest sleep at night. He did not like to be alone. However, my mom had heard about this book and bought it for us. We used the idea for the first time in the hospital before receiving the book and then at home for about 3 weeks. It was AMAZING!! The child who would wake up at least once every night started sleeping form bedtime to morning. He even asked to write a letter to the sleep fairy telling her that he did not need her any more so she could help more children. It has been 9 months and he still sleeps great. I plan to use the book with his brother as he gets older.