ABSTRACT
When Sarah and Chris ®rst hold their newborn son, William, they feel overwhelmed with tenderness and love for this beautiful baby. They resolve to be the best possible parents for him. Three weeks later, Chris and Sarah are exhausted. William has been sleeping very poorly, and they are so sleep-deprived that they feel like zombies. William is only sleeping for ninety minutes at a stretch. Chris and Sarah decide they must be doing something wrong. They begin a desperate internet search to look for advice on infant sleep. This is what they ®nd:
· Always sleep with your infant: The attachment parenting websites recommend the `Dr Sears' or `family bed' method of sleeping with your infant. They say that this method will help William be better adjusted as a baby, and will help him have better relationships in the future. Further, they suggest that failing to sleep with your infant could lead to permanent brain damage due to the in¯uence of stress hormones on the baby's brain. Finally, they hint that aggressiveness and violence come from insecurely attached children. Hence, attachment parenting practices could ultimately lead to a more peaceful world.
