Infant-and-Toddler-Development Books

This small book of pictures and quotations brings smiles and insights. Nice for a baby gift because even new parents can read it quickly and go back to it again later. It is divided into sections focusing on the various things babies teach adults from adventure to wonder. The pictures range from fun to sweet. Some quotations are realistic from parents with a newborn in the house, while others are clearly by parents of grown children.

This book is ideal when you have very young children or await a baby. You learn the different phases in cognitive recognition (like pattern, speech, color or smell recognition), know when the children do really acquire their different senses and what is already "preprogrammed" when a child is born. This easy-to-read-book is a superb mix of daily language and photographs illustrating the major cognition experiments alrdeady done on little children. Last but not least, this book make you think about the way you cognitively developped yourself. It illustrates for instance why it is so difficult to speak perfectly a foreign language when starting studying it as a grown-up.

Children of all ages LOVE to hear stories about themselves and how precious they are.

After over 30 years married to my wife and having a very good sex life, menopause has diminished her libido. In our search for information we came across this wonderful book. It explains in detail the different libido types and how effect the way we think and act. This was so spot-on that we could easily recognize ourselves and saw how we each see things through different lenses. It really cleared up some things that I have wondered about for years. I simply can't recommend this strongly enough for everyone, married or single - it should be required reading.

Reviewed by Irene Watson for Reader Views (5/07)

What a beautiful book to sit back with and contemplate a child's inner soul! Karen Henrich, a photographer of children, captured the most special moments of a child's life and created a compilation of pictures and thought-provoking quotes in her book "The Wonder of Babies: The World Through the Eyes of a Child." Each photograph of a child, caught in a natural pose, portrays how spontaneous and unscathed children are.

Henrich, with her expertise and innate ability to see the special moments, gives us the opportunity to do the same. Most of us, as parents, go through the child rearing days with many struggles along the way and don't capture all the special moments that a child has. A quote in the book by Marceline Cox best describes our experience: "Parents are often so busy with the physical rearing of children that they miss the glory of parenthood, just as the grandeur of the trees is lost when raking leaves."

"The Wonder of Babies" is definitely a must-have coffee table book, and a book to look through during our quiet times of contemplation. Kudos to Henrich for giving us the opportunity to appreciate life through the child's eyes.

An excellent resource for new parents. I have hunted high and low, and have not found a better guide for the first year and a half of a child's development.

Would make a wonderful shower gift.

I've been searching for a book that falls in the middle of the spectrum between Dr. Sears and What to Expect the Toddler Years and think this is it. I loved "I'm Pregnant" and was thrilled to find a toddler book by the same publisher with the same format. There are lots of pictures and sidebars and the author's style is not at all condescending, though like "I'm Pregnant" this isn't the catchiest title! The book doesn't actually go month by individual month, it actually is organized into sections for 12-18 months, 18-24 months, 2-3 years, and 3-4 years which makes a lot more sense for toddler development stages. We practice what my best friend dubbed "realistic attachment parenting" and this book is very much in line with that. In other words, we do a lot of attachment style and pay attention to our child's personality/needs, but draw the line at things that aren't practical for us, like co-sleeping or constant babywearing. One thing I particularly liked about this book is that there's one indexed entry on breastfeeding, which basically says--it's a highly personal decision how long to do it. Don't look for weaning advice or a celebration of extended breastfeeding here, just a couple of straightforward sentences. The author has good credentials and solid sources. The sections on brain development are easy to read and fascinating! I recommend this book to anyone who wants practical advice on raising and appreciating their toddler.

I don't have any children of my own, but I've given this book to several friends, and they all refer to it constantly! It has information about every aspect of your baby's life for the first five years, including development, illnesses, and what and how many clothes to have for your baby when you come home from the hospital. If you're a first-time mother, this is the book for you!

This should be required reading for all first-time parents before they register for gifts or purchase anything for their baby! It has great reviews and advice.

First time mom here, this book is a must have!!! The authors do not favor one brand over another, their ratings are very fair and honest. This book will help you understand not only the different baby products and brands, but why they are important (or maybe not so important). It also gives you tips on what to watch for and what to keep in mind when buying items. I have given this book to two other first time moms and they both said they have or are getting a lot of helpful informaiton from the book. You will want to use this before birth but will continue to use after too. You will save much more than what the book costs.

I used this all the time when preparing for my first baby. It helped to clarify the differences between all the different baby stuff that all seems alike. This is worth the money even if you just use it to compare and select your infant carrier and/or car seats. I even bought a copy for my girlfriend who was expecting 4 months after me.

I ordered this book thinking I was getting the newest edition (2007). Instead I received a book that was 2 editions ago and published 5 years ago. If you simply click on New or used links at the top, you will be taken to the screen for the 7th edition (higher price). If you click on the new/used link, it takes you to the 5th edition.

The book is still decent, but I feel like the sale was somewhat deceptive. The authors themselves state that they change 30-40% of the book during each edition which means that potentially 80% of the book I've received is OUT OF DATE.

Bummer. And no recourse since my invoice doesn't have an edition number on it.

A friend of mine had recommended this book to me when I first became pregnant. Initially I was a little skeptical because my husband and I already have a subscription to Consumer Reports and read on-line product reviews prior to making most purchases.
However, this book is fantastic. Doing research of all the items you'll need for your baby can be quite overwhelming. We are first time parents and I think that we would have registered for/bought a number of "unnecessary" items for the baby had it not been for Baby Bargains. This book is also very instrumental with its review of brands of all the important baby items. We would have probably spent more money if we would have bought some of the poorly made products first, and then having to replace them later on. Of course I also got baby advice from friends and family who already have young children. This is what I got from this book that Consumer Reports or other product reviews could not offer:

1) The authors tell you which baby products (i.e. bottle warmers, sleep positioners, etc..) you can forgo and are pretty much a waste of money. Whenever I felt that I "needed" something that I didn't already have on the registry I knew that I could go back to Baby Bargains and read about whether it was necessary to purchase that product or not.

2) The authors review which products you can/should buy used (after all they are trying to save you money) without compromising your child's safety. For example, they warn parents against buying used cribs and sharing breast pumps between moms (unless you rent a hospital grade pump). As you can see cribs and breast pumps are some of the big ticket items. Consumer Reports may actually have a section on this as well, although I liked the way it was presented in Baby Bargains.

3) The book is well organized and easy to take with you to the Baby stores. It does have a sample registry in the back, which you may or may not want to follow. Some of the registry items we picked out were the top rated products by Baby Bargains.

4) The authors also give you an idea of which baby clothing items you'll need right away, in what sizes and quantities. I wanted to avoid too many unworn clothes sitting in the baby's closet.

It's like the Bible for new Moms...I look at it every day for something or other!

This book is really my go-to-book every time I have a question or to decide whether or not to call our pediatrician. It also have things on development, discipline, family life, etc... It has great advice on potty training or establishing a sleep routine for example which have proven very useful for new parents!

I have purchased at least 10 copies of this book over the years. My pediatrician recommended this book to me 12 years ago when my son was born, and I used it extensively. I referred to it again when my daughter was born 3 years later. I routinely give it as a baby shower gift. It is an excellent reference and covers everything you'd want to know about babies!

I have enjoyed this book very much. It is very non-biased and doesn't tell you how to raise your child, more like stuff to look for and if a problem develops, how quickly you should call the doctor.

This book is filled with good, scientifically-researched advice on your baby's health. It does, however, read like a reference book, and it is often as exciting as reading a dictionary.

My personal preference was to read Baby 411 as sort of an overall guide, then refer to this book as issues pop up. In other words, use it just like a dictionary!