Three in a Bed: The Benefits of Sleeping with Your Baby

A revealing look at how having your child sleeping in your bed is beneficial to all your family

Current Western parenting advice, says Deborah Jackson, stresses the need to minimise the "bother" that children cause; Jackson claims that this culture views the child as a potentially dominating personality that could undermine parental authority when older and emphasises that this tendency needs to be trained out of them early. The author disputes the scientific basis for such claims, and such a culture, and appeals to parents to trust their own instincts. Using extensive research she puts the case for a child-orientated approach to parenting.

This book is controversial, thought-provoking, carefully researched and passionately argued. It is extremely interesting, and, even if you don't accept all her conclusions, will definitely prompt the reader to reassess their own expectations of the parent-child relationship. --Alison Jardine