Reviews of Books About Infants & Toddlers
For sleeping problems, see under
Sleep
problems in infants and children of all ages, several pages further on.
Try reading these before your baby's born, in case you don't have time
afterwards:
Dylan Landis: _Checklist for Your New Baby_. 1997. ISBN #0-399-51657-3.
[sources incl. amazon]
I found a great book that tells you what you need
for a new baby (and also what you DON'T need). Has the
Layette that you will need, and it isn't exceptionally long...
That should help you tremendously. --Alice Jackson [from a post]
Denise and Alan Fields: Baby Bargains. 1997. ISBN 0-9626556-4-3; price, $11.95.
[sources incl. amazon] [A] consumer's guide to all the things you need to buy when
you have a baby. Cribs, strollers, bedding, clothes are all
covered. They discuss which brands and models they liked,
which features are worth paying more for and which aren't,
when you should think about buying an item, and how much you
will spend. There is a chapter on mail-order catalogs that
sell baby-related stuff. They always give the price and
manufacturer's address/phone number of items they discuss. My
wife & I are finding it very useful (our first is due in
April). Because it just came out [new edition 1997], all the
prices and phone numbers are CORRECT! --Mike Gibson [from a post]
Morris, Desmond: Babywatching
[OOP; try your library or amazon]
Rather a stupid book, this repeats what other books
say but without references, often wrong. WHY is this guy famous?
Assumes that all babies are exactly alike. Interesting if you never
read any other baby book, I suppose. --Paula Burch
Miriam Stoppard: Baby & Child A to Z Medical Handbook/Parents Easy
Reference Guide to Children's Illnesses, Symptoms, and Treatment. 1992.
[sources incl. amazon]
a good medical book
Miriam Stoppard: Day by Day Baby Care. 1988.
[sources incl. amazon]
a generalized
care handbook which is quite good, except for what IMHO is an
overemphasis on formula/bottle sterilization and warmth.
Maurer and Maurer: the World of the Newborn
[ OOP; try your library or amazon]
reviews all the literature and theories about how babies hear,
see, feel and think
Spock et al.: Baby and Child Care (1968, Pocket)
[sources of 1998 edition incl. amazon]
Maybe the newer one is better but although I try and try I can't
get any useful information out of this. -- Kate Gregory
another viewpoint: (1980s edition, paperback, about $5)
Really handy on what you need to have on hand before the baby
comes, how to breastfeed (assuming no special problems), what to do
about various symptoms, etc. Basic, inexpensive, highly
worthwhile.
most recent (1998) edition: whacko nutrion. Useful only for
committed vegans - vegetarians who eat no animal foods at all.
Anne C. Beal: The Black Parenting Book. [sources incl. amazon]
Will my light-skinned African-American child get darker with
time? Do the splotches cradle cap leaves on a black baby
go away? Since asthma is more common among black children,
what do I need to know? How do I combine teaching traditional respect
for authority with newer means of discipline, such as time-outs?
Dr. Beal's book is an all-inclusive resource aimed at parents of
African-American babies from birth through age five.
Marianne Neihart: Dr. Mom (1993, paperback, $5)
[sources incl. amazon]
Similar to Dr. Spock but more up-to-date with advice to avoid
cow's milk until the end of the first year, etc. Mostly very
useful for the same things. Written by a pediatrician who is
the mother of five children. --Paula Burch
Butler: Babies Need Books (1988, Penguin; 0-14-010094-6)
[sources incl. amazon]
What kinds of books kids at various ages (up to six) need.
Specific book lists, which I never consulted again after Beth
was born. -- Kate Gregory
Caplan: The First Twelve Months of Life (1971, 1995, Bantam; 0-553-24233-4)
[sources incl. amazon]
Charts of abilities at each month of age. I gave up on it at
about eight months or so -- Beth was always ahead on some and
behind on others, and by then I no longer needed reassurance
about her abilities. Three month olds are described as "ready
for solids" which is in disagreement with all my other books.
-- Kate Gregory
Rozdilsky & Banet: What Now? A Handbook for New Parents (1972, 1996, Scribner;
0-684-14698-3)
[sources incl. amazon]
Concentrates on the feelings of parents and how to keep yourselves
happy. Pretty good, though I didn't have time to read it again once
she was born. -- Kate Gregory
Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam: On Becoming Babywise
[sources incl. amazon]
There appears to be a consensus among lactation experts that
this book is wrong-headed in the extreme, as it recommends
the sort of parent-scheduled feedings that can result in an
inadequate milk supply in the mother and impaired growth in an
infant, especially those born at less than eight pounds. The
information is claimed to be based on the Bible, although Ezzo
admits that the Bible contains no advice whatsoever on the
subject of infant feeding. --Paula Burch
Greene: Good Morning, Merry Sunshine (1984, Penguin; 0-14007948-3)
[OOP; try your library or amazon]
A diary of a father's life during his child's first year.
Mildy entertaining, though their parenting style was not one
I was comfortable with as I read. -- Kate Gregory
Metzger & Whittaker: the Childproofing Checklist (1988, Doubleday;
0-385-24263-8)
[OOP; try your library or amazon]
About what you'd expect. Far more details than the childproofing
sections in more general books. For example, rather than just
saying to put a gate on the stairs, it discusses styles of gates
and how to choose among them. -- Kate Gregory
"Making Your Home Child Safe"
Sunset
[OOP; try your library or amazon]
This book has a lot of good child proofing suggestions. It covers
how to keep kids out of harmful things I wouldn't have even thought
they'd want to get into. It also has the best list of poisonous and
injurious plants that I've seen. The list has the scientific names,
common names, tells exactly what part of the plant is a problem and
what it does.
Curiosity Without Tears: Childproofing. VHS videotape. 1992. GHI Media.
[sources incl. amazon]
Brazelton: What Every Baby Knows (1987, Ballantine; 0-345-34455-3)
[sources incl. amazon]
Probably not the Brazelton book to get. Certainly not about
what babies do and do not know, it is a series of case histories
of some of his patients, the advice he gave them, and followups.
It deals with discipline, sibling rivalry, divorce, disruptive
crying, and so on, but not in a general way. I love anecdotal
books, as perhaps you can tell from this list, but I wouldn't
get this book again. -- Kate Gregory
Linda Acredolo, Susan Goodwyn: Baby Signs : How to Talk With Your Baby
Before Your Baby Can Talk
[sources incl. amazon]
A fun book, firmly grounded in science. Research shows that
teaching simple, easy sign language
(as opposed to a real sign language such as ASL) to infants doesn't
impair their spoken language development--in fact, it can put them
ahead by an average of a year, later on! Being able to communicate is fun
and may help avoid tantrums. My own baby was not much more inclined
to learn signs than spoken words, but many are. --Paula Burch
Penelope Leach, YOUR BABY AND CHILD. Alfred Knopf, 1985.
ISBN 0-394-40755-5.
[sources incl. amazon]
Still my favorite. As you can see
my copy is from 1985, I'm sure they've updated it. It
would be interesting to see what information has changed
in the update. For instance, she suggests that after 6
months, babies are ready to drink regular cows milk. I
have a feeling that given today's wisdom, that probably has
changed. What I like most about the book is that it always
takes the point of view of the baby/child. Has helped
me try to do the same with my kids.
Leach covers the basics pretty well, and it's especially nice to see
illustrations of bathing techniques, etc. She does gloss over some
stuff, but nothing important.
This is an excellent book by a psychologist who is unafraid to take
some unpopular stands. It gives a very good account of what it is to
be a baby, and approaches childcare from the standpoint of the
baby--what's best for the baby, even if it is inconvenient for the
parents. She doesn't pull many punches, and I really respect her for
it. Many find her too militant in some ways.
I don't like Penelope Leach. And it isn't that I have read her books.
It is that I see a lot of posts the go "Penelope Leach says" and then
are followed by comments like "if you don't breastfeed you aren't a
good mother" or "never trust your pediatrician". SO I may be blaming
her for the opinions of those who use her books as the child care
bible.
Penelope Leach, BABYHOOD: Stage by Stage, from Birth to Age Two; How
Your Baby Develops Physically, Emotionally, Mentally. Alfred Knopf, 1990.
ISBN 0-394-53092-6.
[sources incl. amazon]
A kind of YOUR BABY AND CHILD but
more 'scholarly'. Cites the literature on some of the
issues covered in YOUR BABY AND CHILD. Also more
comprehensive. Not as enjoyable as the former.
White, Burton - _The New First Three Years of Life_
1985, 1995. Prentice Hall Press ISBN 0-13-317678-9
[sources incl. amazon]
Based on the Harvard Preschool Project research, an unsentimental,
very informative look at development in the first 3 years, as well
as which childrearing practices seemed to work the best.
Very interesting, though sometimes wrong--he says, for
example, that babies don't like `Busy Boxes', whereas all the babies I
know have loved the one we've been trading back and forth. I
hope he's more accurate on other facts! Excellent for getting
from the library.
Good rebuttal to Doman's harmful "Better Baby Institute"--
explains what babies should be learning instead of flashcards!
He discusses over and over again (or maybe it's just that I've read it
over and over again? :-)) how to balance respecting a child's desires
with teaching them that other people's desire also have to be
respected.
Frank Caplan: "The First Twelve Months of Life"
[sources incl. amazon]
Princeton Center for Infancy and Early Childhood,
Has a month by month coverage of motor, mental, and language
development. Also includes a chart summary at the end for the busy
months when you meant to look at the book, but couldn't find the
time. It's similiar to Dr. Brazelton's books, but faster to read.
Frank and Theresa Caplan: The Second Twelve Months
[sources incl. amazon]
I don't think anyone mentioned [this]. (yes, there is also a "The
first twelve months".) This is similar to What do you expect the First
Year in that it is organized month by month and goes in to what is
typical. When Peter approached 1 year I to feared withdrawal from What
do You Expect, and searched in vain for the rumoured sequel. But as
Pete turns 19 months tomorrow (gosh, those teenage months go fast) and
we have beome Veteran Parents :-) , and as he has changed from a baby
into a little boy, I find myself not reading the books quite as
regularly. My wife still does, tho.-- Wally [posted]
William Sears: The Baby Book: Everything You Need
To Know About Your Baby From Birth To Age Two (1993)
Little Brown and Company, Boston, Toronto, London, US$19.95 (paperback).
[sources incl. amazon]
I particularly liked the Baby Book by Sears for charts on foods,
developemental milestones and the like. It's supposed to be about the
first two years of life, although it has a lot more on the first year
of life, but since Ben is now 19 months, I too, find that I don't
read as frequently. I think that may have something to do with the
fact that I no longer sit down while at home.... I am always am
running after a very short person. -- Myriam Davis [posted]
My wife first borrowed [this] from our local LaLeche League library
and we liked it so much we went out and bought our own copy. We tend
to be book junkies and we greaty prefer this book to the other
standard baby books we've seen.The advice is down to earth and
reasonable and doesn't treat infancy and childhood as a medical
condition, like some books. But then we've gotten to the point where
we reflexively change channel whenever T. Berry Brazelton comes on tv
(little Tommy is OK, it's just Mom an Dad that have to get their own
problems straightened out (gag)).
We've liked the discussion the book has on introducing solid
foods and also the discussion with diagrams of different ways to use a
baby sling. We love our baby sling and the alternatives have been
helpful now that our 6 month old is often more interested in being
vertical (sometimes upside down) and resistant to being horizontal.
The book also has a good discussion on choosing whom to assist with
birthing and where; we wish we had seen this about a year ago, when
the thrill of first being pregnant was starting to be replaced by the
realization that the little tyke was eventually going to have to come
out.
As you would expect, the book goes quite heavy on Sears views on what
he calls attachment parenting and also on sleep sharing. Some people
may find this out of the mainstream, but we like it.
I have no connection with the authors or publisher nor any a
financial interest in the book. Try checking it out of your library
first. --Charles Mitch [posted]
Lansky: Toilet Training (1993, Bantam; 0-553-34070-1) $5
[sources incl. amazon]
Everything I could ever want to know about this topic.
(I think - Beth isn't trained yet :-).)
I highly recommend [this] to all "Cyberparents"
who are going through the enormous task of toilet
training your children. Organized, easy to read, lots of good quotes,
up-to-date, and most of all VERY helpful information.
-Kunjal Doshi [posted]
Laura Zahn: Bringing Baby Home: An Owner's Manual for First Time Parents
Down to Earth Publications, Stillwater, Minnesota)
[ISBN # 0-939301-91-1] $8.95.
[sources incl. amazon]
I was very happy with [this].It has bunches of sensible advice for
the first few days and weeks when you need sensible advice; it only
covers the first month, though.
-Jessica Litman [posted]
Toilet Training in Less Than a Day
[sources incl. amazon]
Before we restart the "it's all the parents' fault" flamewar, let me
suggest that your friend's case sounds ideal for the methods described
in TOILET-TRAINING IN LESS THAN A DAY. I usually dislike this book
(the reinforcement methods described seem extreme to me), but its
methods were originally designed for special-needs. Even if your
friends read the book and dislike the overall method, it contains many
useful tips that you can abstract -- for instance, having a doll
demonstrate the use of the potty, and the best grip to teach a toddler
for pants-lowering. --Betsy Hanes Perry [posted]
June Oberlander: Slow and steady Get me ready: 260 weekly
developmental activities from birth to age 5 (ISBN 0-9622322-0-3)
[sources incl. amazon]
This has lots of fun things to do with your child that help by having
the activites geared to what the child is able to learn at that age
-- approx. of course!
For example, Week one is called "Move Body Parts" and is mostly you
observing your child and how their body moves. Week two is reaction
to light. Week three is moving an object in front of the baby and
week four is making a cradle gym -- for a week you spend a part of
each day trying to interest your baby in the moving objects . I
used to do this (before I got the book :-)) by having Jack sit
(lean) against my thighs, facing me, as I sat with my feet flat (so we
were eye-to-eye) and holding various objects up for him to see. This
worked great in sunlight, where I could catch the rays coming in
thru a window and re-direct them with a shiny object. I like the
book a lot. -- Mary Anne Walters [posted]
Joan Leonard: Tales From Toddler Hell - My life As A Mom
Published by Pharos Books - New York
[OOP; try your library or amazon]
My wife and I have not long both read the book "Tales from toddler
hell". What a great book - it had us in fits of laughter.
It is really just memoirs of a Mum reflecting on her and her husbands
life before and after having children.
Despite the title, the book is really funny because much of what she
writes about every parent must have encountered at some stage or
another - all those funny little things that happen that seem
disasterous at the time but are hilarious to look back on.
I thoroughly recommend the book as humorous light reading for Mums and
Dads! -anonymous [posted]
Steven P. Shelov: The American Academy of Pediatrics' Caring for your
Baby and young Child. Birth to age 5. Bantam Books.
[sources incl. amazon]
The best. --Roberto Murguia M.D. [from a post]
Tine Thevenin: The Family Bed (Avery 1987)
[sources incl. amazon]
Thevenin's _The_Family_Bed_ is the only book that I've ever
considered to be so bad that I destroyed my copy, lest it
mislead some poor soul who might find it at the used
book store. If you want to read a sane person who writes in
favor of the family bed, read William Sears. Thevenin is a
crackpot who does not deserve to be widely read. For example,
"where do the parents have sex if the kids are in bed with
them?" is a popular question, which I've seen answered
creatively on misc.kids, but Thevenin goes off on a tirade
against Americans' being so obsessed with sex that they would
even ask such a stupid question--why would you want to have
sex with your spouse, anyway?--and then talks about how it
used to be considered normal to have sex in front of
children--uh, okay--or even *with* them! Huh??! What a useful
answer *that* one is! What about pointing out that there are
other rooms in the house? This is the only example that sticks
firmly in my head, but I recall that the book was full of them.
-Paula Burch
Eisenberg, Murkoff and Hathaway: "What To Expect the First Year"
[sources incl. amazon]
This is a very useful book which is less handy in terms of quickly
getting to a topic, since it's organized month-to-month and takes
the form of questions and answers. But, there are very useful
sections by the authors on introducing solid foods, stimulating the
infant, etc.
Stern: "Diary of a Baby"
[sources incl. amazon]
This is a unique book, in that this doctor tries to paint a
picture of a baby's life THROUGH the eyes of the baby. Using the
latest research in infant development, Stern really brings you into
the life of a baby. It's fascinating reading.
