Infant-and-Toddler-Development Books

I was very excited to read this book after hearing the author talk about it in a recent parent podcast. It did not disappoint.

Lots of factual information to sink your teeth into. I particularly like the easy to read style; the studies & authors mentioned, so you can look them up yourself. The book sets forth clearly the case for advocating early years play and how to play with your child.

Most people may think- well that's easy but trying to strike a good balance against the marketing companies it's amazing how many ideas we have that need to be challenged or at least reexamined.

This book gives you food for thought, dispels myths and most importantly gives examples of how to do it another way. The teachable moments section gives lots of ideas to try or reflect on with your own child.

The most important section for me is on play towards the end of the book. If you are not scientifically minded or enjoy evidenced based books then skip to that section to see immediate and worthwhile things you can do without having to spend lots of money just time.

It's a valuable book to read and reread again to bolster you family values and examine how your children learn through play.

I'd recommend it to parents and soon to be parents as an alternative to all the hype that's out there with regards to electronic toys and hurrying our children. This book is certainly not a cure all but it does give another side to a neglected debate about how our childrens' play now will have major ramifications in the future.

An empowering read.

The book title alone shows that the authors are not interested in sound bites on CNN or FoxNews.

Contains very practical tips for parents. Many parents (and teachers, guardians, babysitters, etc.) of young children will enjoy the tips and greatly benefit from reading this book. It dispels many myths about teaching children, their behavior, their potential.

Among the myths busted are the Einstein Baby Music CDs, which are simply a nice way to promote the appreciation of good music...as I've been telling people who start to talk about the CD set. Don't get me wrong, I really think the Einstein Baby Music series contains the most harmonic and melodic sections of the classical masterpieces and packaged as a very pleasant and relaxing listening experience. Well, if you and your child need to relax and unwind...then "good music" certainly helps.

Every parent has their own 'ideology' when they raise their children. This book is an excellent source for either shaping your ideology or reaffirm yours if you are not a racehorse raiser. The book is not only academically sound but also has a human face. Childhood belongs to children, let them live it.

Highly recommended to us by our daughter who is an educator. This book has been extremely helpful in the rearing of our grandsons.

It describes the perils of unneccesarily hurrying our children. Nothing new for those familair with child psychology but quite useful for the general audience

While we did not use this book as much as we did the Baby version, it still had some good information. The companion website is also invaluable.

I haven't had time to read through it yet. But the Baby Bargains book was pretty helpful (though too dependent on the anecdote in some cases). I'm hoping this will be similar.

I downloaded the 2007 edition from the Baby Bargains website since the print version offered at Amazon is 3 years out of date. The eBook is in PDF format and readable by any computer with a recent version of Adobe Acrobat Reader. It's also cheaper than the paperback.

On the plus side you can do immediate text searches within the book and you could print out just the relevant info for your shopping trips. On the negative side, you won't have a copy to casually flip through. Everytime, you'll need to boot up your computer or PDA (or PSP running a homebrew PDF reader).

A great book to have if you want to be smart about what to buy, when there are so many baby products out there. Please note that this is for toddlers aged 2-5. If you have a younger child, it's better to buy a "Baby Bargains" book. Great info on various brands and ratings of both domestic and imported baby gear and apparel, including clothing, shoes, strollers, etc. Some of the information is not necessarily about saving money, as the authors also review posh items, but they also give you great tips on when to buy discounted stuff and get brand name things for less. Overall, a useful book.

I started with Baby Bargins and moved on to this one, I love it...as a new mom it saves me so much time and money.

I hated the baby bargains book but this one is WORSE. My pediatrician gave it a hands down and his only comment was "a few authors trying to make a buck."
They obviously have no research in this book because they recommend products that are not even age appropriate. These authors have little credibility in my eyes and according to other reviewers, it seems the same. I was never a bargain shopper, really, I mean who is unless you have to be! But, if I was, I don't see this book as a bargain.

Nice little book, full of short stories on toddlers. Very entertaining coffee table reading.

First off I want to say -- buy this book! It's perfect for busy Mom's in that it's filled with short essays each written by a different author. Some are laugh-out loud funny, some truly heart-warming and other's make you think "thank goodness I'm not the only one who's made that parenting mistake!".

I wasn't sure I would like the essay format of the book but I ended up really enjoying it. After a long day of racing after the kids the book's format made it easy to relax by reading one chapter before collapsing in bed from exhaustion. :-)

OK so the one reason I didn't give this book 5-stars is that there are two chapters that bring the book down. The chapter "Why Does Your Son Have a Phallus on His Head" written by the books editor came across as Jennifer Margulis's public way of getting some type of revenge at her mother for issues they have. The comments about her mother were embarrassing to hear from a grown woman and had NO relevance. It was just a weird thing to read and again I felt embarrassed for the editor that she added that to her book.

But that was minor compared to the chapter "Slow to Warm". This is the chapter that the reviewer "Shame, Shame" was referring to. (Ok -- who actually says "shame"???...) Wait until you read this chapter! Your jaw is going drop to the floor and you'll be stunned you just read that in a PG rated Toddler book. Don't get me wrong -- I use more than my fair share of swear words! I'm actually surprised my kids first words weren't something that was made up of four letters! :-) But the chapter "Slow to Warm" is basically a porno put into words. Perhaps the author of that chapter is an 800-sex-line operator or works on the HBO set of Real Sex -- but that chapter should NEVER have been added to the book. Hopefully in future additions this chapter will be removed.

Overall DO buy this book. You'll love it. Just be sure to rip out the chapter "Slow to Warm" before you give this as a gift or pass along to your friends!!! :-)

When you are done reading this book and would like a laugh-out-loud hysterical parenting book try:
What's the Matter With Mommy?: Rantings of a Reluctant Stay-at-home Mom

I loved this book! I loved it because it is real, full of real stories about real people. Having kids, and especially having toddlers, is not all sunshine and roses all the time. Sometimes it is very trying, sometimes it is hysterically funny. Sometimes you shake your head and think, "I can't believe someone who is only as tall as my knee rules my life!" But it is always an honour and a privilege to part of this amazing stage in your child's life. This is a collection of stories, told with love, about the good bits, the scary bits and the hysterically funny bits. Every parent who has ever lived through the toddler years will be nodding their heads and laughing in recognition. And for those who have yet to get to the toddler stage..... don't say you haven't been warned ;-)

This book does capture a fairly diverse view of parenting toddlers, and I am really enjoying seeing myself and my friends in the stories that are aimed specifically at this crazy age group. However, I wasn't prepared for the language I found in several of the stories. If you routinely yell, "f---" or "s---" in response to your kids actions, then you might not think twice about it. I'll admit to letting "damn" slip out a couple of times, but I have never used some of these other words in front of anyone, especially my kids. And I agree with the previous reviewer who was a little shocked by the story where the mom is thinking of graphic sexual phrases in response to a teacher's comment about her preschooler. "Shame, shame," indeed. Overall, this an okay read if you can get past some of it's shortcomings.

I really did forget how exhausted living with a toddler makes me. I should have taken better notes with my first when I raised him through toddlerhood a decade ago, kept a list of things to remember.

~You will not be allowed to move an inch outside of the toddler's orbit without then having to listen to and deal with the terrified wails of a child who sounds like their toenails are being peeled back.

~Forget about getting anything all the way done, and try not to get too frustrated by the piles of half-finished things everywhere. If it gets too bad you could always just push it into a heap in the middle of the living room and light a fire-use it to roast the toddler.

~Nobody wants to listen to your kid scream on the other end of the phone. Nobody. So forget about maintaining any long-distance friendships.

~If the toddler doesn't have a chance to run around like a possessed pony for at least three hours a day, you shouldn't be surprised by the way the living room looks when the kid finally lets go of the ceiling fan and goes to bed.

One thing has recently given me a wonderful hit of sanity, and a much-needed reminder that I'm not the only person with a toddler in her life who sometimes has to fight the urge to throw herself in front of a speeding bus: Toddler: Real-life Stories of Those Fickle, Irrational, Urgent, Tiny People We Love, edited by Jennifer Margulis.

This book is full of open and frank essays about life with the little heads. The writing is wonderful, and reading it gave me a feeling of renewal and connection to my parenting, and reminded me that this part will have passed into something else before I even know it. It allowed me to give myself permission to hate this stage as much as I love it, and to not beat myself up for wishing it would move just a little bit faster so I can get on with MY life already. It makes a great gift for anybody who has a toddler ruling their life, so get it, read it, and spread it around.

Even though this book won an Independent Publisher's Award, there's talk of it going out of print, and that should not be allowed to happen. Plus, the book got banned at Jennifer's own hometown school! Intrigue aside, the writing rocks the house. I promise, you won't be disappointed.

Magda Gerber is one of the most insightful educator. Her RIE approach in parenting is trully what we need in our society nowaday. Education should start at the beginning of life, every child is born with beauty and how we can accompany them to be an authentic, peaceful and self-confident being, is truly essential in their own person growth. Magda has created a very respectful way of caring for the infant and toddlers. This respectful perspective is one of the basic trust in relating to all those around the baby and the world.

Magda also talks about Choice. Even though young infant, they can have their choice of being taken care of and the way they like. Gentleness and calmness are always the essentials in educaring babies. It is really a great book for mothers and professional in taking care of babies.

What a remarkable book! If you don't have time to read, you should still read this book, whether you're a first time parent or a veteran. We need this book to be an epidemic, so that RIE based child-care facilities open up all over the nation. There's only one educarer in the NJ/NY region! The only principle that I disagree with is holding your child - I have a 2 month old baby and I carry her all the time, practicing "baby-wearing". When I don't hold her, however, I enjoy the advice of the book - in essence, watch and wait. Seeing baby lie flat on her back (which is all a 2 month old can do) and look around, finding her hands, a stream of sunlight, shadows on the wall - this book has made observation a pleasure. Please read it! It states out loud the things your subconscious knows; tell the baby what you're about to do, don't tickle, don't spank, don't interrupt, stop rushing her training.... Please, please buy this book!

A great book for all parents! This book gives an in depth explanation of the RIE philosophies. It is well written and organized. I think it is better written than Magda Gerber's first book Dear Parent: Caring for Infants With Respect (2nd Edition). RIE offers parents a nice structure that helps promote a loving connected relationship between parent and child. Like any parenting philosophy, it is important that parents pick and choose what feels right for your particular family. I recommend this book to any parent that wants to raise a confident baby.
Dr. Jenn Berman
[...]
Author of The A to Z Guide to Raising Happy, Confident Kids

Recommended to me by my college Professor a Dr. of Child Development. It was a great way to pull all of the methods we learned in class about positive and developmentally facilitating group care for Infants and Toddlers into my home so I could care for my own child while still encouraging his learning and creating a well adjusted child. Although this book does not talk about the research done on her methods, my class certainly did, and the finding were quite telling. I recommend watching video footage of the infants who have been raised and taught with these methods, IT IS AMAZING to see what a child so small is capable of doing on their own. I am excited to see my own children excel with her methods.....

Very good to get a newer version on the child care examples for which our Center is based upon.

I haven't read the other infant hygiene books, but I must say, Ingrid's book is by far one of the best infant care books I have read. The reason is simple, honoring your infant's potty signals is about caring for them in a deep and loving way. Ingrid imbues her book with the essence of the highest and best care for the mother and baby. Well done!

We do diaper free at home. At first there was pee going everywhere. Now we have a very high success rate, which means it is easier to care for our children.

Review is by Ramiel Nagel author of Healing Our Children: Because Your New Baby Matters! Sacred Wisdom for Preconception, Pregnancy, Birth and Parenting (ages 0-6)

This book is a must read for any mom in Western culture. The current thought in America is that you cannot do anything at all with your children and a potty until they are two years old. This book helps us understand that this was not the case in the past and is still not the case in many cultures around the world. In fact, you can start putting your child on a potty the day they are born! This book helps you realize you have options other than waiting till your child is two. I began implementing elimination communication when my son was 8 months old (would have done it sooner if I had known about it). He just turned two and has been wearing underwear since he was 21 months old and hardly ever has accidents during the daytime(probably could have done it a lot sooner but it took me awhile to make that jump). We're about to have another baby, and I look forward to seeing how things work with elimination communication from birth this time.

This is a fast, easy read about Natural Infant Hygiene. The information is very eye-opening, especially if the concept of not diapering a baby is new to you. Well-written and inspiring.

No doubt this book has some good information, but it caters to the family that uses the attachment parenting style. It seems almost too judgmental that way, and I got the feeling that the author disagrees with anything other than the co-sleeping, no-diaper, stay-at-home methods of parenting. Some of us just don't have that luxury. If you want a non-judgmental, step-by-step guide on how to try EC at any age, check out The Diaper Free Baby by Christine Gross-Loh. It's not as much of an all or nothing approach, and addresses issues for both stay-at-home and working parents.

My wife and I bought this book, which was recommended to us by a friend who has successfully used Natural Infant Hygiene with their child. I finished reading it the other day, and my wife and I are talking about trying it.

Perhaps others have had different impressions after reading the book, but I think that only about 10-20% of the total text was actually helpful. The rest seemed more like marketing material. Over half the book is more focused on why you should practice Natural Infant Hygiene rather than how to actually do so.

I'm not sure I would buy it again.

Overall this is a good book, it's well written, it's easy to read, and it gets the point across. The dietary guidelines make up 10-15% of the text, and some are not good. Poor guidelines include: to feed your baby soy (they say, just use organic) and give them breakfast cereals (which are sugar laden and nutrient devoid, even organic ones).

Beyond the dietary guidelines Dr. Greene hits on some key points, how our babies are exposed to toxins. Whether it is their "new" bedding, "new" bottles, "new" clothes, or chemicals, detergents, cleaners, shampoo's, or paint for the babies room and so forth, it is highly important that our children not be exposed to harmful chemicals. The book get's 4 stars precisely because Dr. Greene does point out in detail important concerns about exposing our little ones to chemicals. Like other people said, there may be other ways to be green and create less exposure to chemicals for your children that are more cost effective and not mentioned in the book. The book is printed on nice eco-friendly paper.

Dr. Greene unfortunately missed out on discussing the highest and most dangerous exposure to toxins for our new babies, Vaccines. A good companion text, in which you can learn how to have a truly healthy baby with empowering information about what really makes children sick (like toxins in the environment) and how to avoid these conditions see, Healing Our Children: Because Your New Baby Matters! Sacred Wisdom for Preconception, Pregnancy, Birth and Parenting (ages 0-6)

My wife has this book and absolutely loves it. She re-reads it often, and has it bookmarked and highlighted. Great references and goes over many different areas that affect the baby's life from fetal development to the environment around it as it plays. It contains a lot of internet links to products.

I see myself as relatively environmentally conscious. But this book really made me think more closely about this, and also provided various options for improvement. I really appreciated the suggestions for certain brands or website so I could then go and do my own further research. I am pleased to say that I believe I'm now better informed, and my buying decisions are certainly more environmentally friendly and more gentle for our baby than previously.

This book is a great resource for parents who want some ideas on how to make their children's environment more healthy. The author presents many ideas for ways to go green in your home from building to existing structures, helps parents make healthy food choices and explains why it is important to be aware of the products you are using on your child. I also must note that the author mentions homebirth as a positive choice that may be right for some families which is very open-minded for an MD. I have 3 children and am constantly trying to find more eco-friendly options and was happy that this book provided me with some new ideas as well as many excellent links!

My wife and I just finished "Raising Baby Green" and found it to be informative - but not preachy - providing practical advice to help us make decisions that will not only help raise our baby-to-be in a more healthy manner, but also help the environment itself in the process. Dr. Greene is right on with his theory that our health and the planet's are interwoven - and it's great to do things that accomplish both!

I picked up this book without much research/reading reviews, but was so happy I was lucky with this one. This book is very informative and is funny in tackling tough issues. I particularly enjoyed the parts of the book on making the most of maternity leave, which had useful advice for not feeling alienated or frustrated in the early days. Great for any smart, busy woman who is worried about her new life as a mom!

Thought this book was a real help. The author uses great everyday examples when transitioning between topics and illustrating points. Appreciated that the author used a medical professional to aid her in delivering some information. I have read other books where advice was dispensed, and I know my doctor would not agree.

As a working mom, I was so relieved to find this book that addressed perfectly what I was feeling after my son was born. It really helps you to get through maternity leave. This is great for ANY new mom. But as a working mom, it was exactly what I needed.

The audience this book is aimed at, to me, seems to be mothers that want to go back to work, but really don't have to. On the plus side, there are great guidelines for dealing with separation anxiety and breastfeeding in public. There is even a highly detailed chapter on how to hire a nanny and get green card clearance. To me, the book is only addressing white collar working women who, honestly, would not suffer much if they'd just stay home and put the same energy into raising their children instead of their tax bracket. So, in the end I give the book an "O.K." rating because of the slanted way it's written. In a way, it's offensive to me.

This is the best book I read during my pregnancy/new Mom period. I bought this book while I was 7 months pregnant and so tired of the preachy tone of most of the other pregnancy and baby books that I had read. Yes, this book has great advice on sleeping, feeding, etc, but even more impressively, this book (a) talks about issues that no other books talk about, like reconciling your old self image with your new "Mom" image and (b) tackles issues from deciding between breastfeeding and bottle feeding to deciding whether to return to work in a helpful way that doesn't have any particular agenda. The book is practical, funny, extremely readable, and one that I will recommend to all of my friends.

This book was given to me by my first OB/GYN as a gift. Why, I have no idea. I now see a different doctor for my family's health needs.

Most of this book is a lecture from a right-wing Christian point of view on how to raise your children. It is woefully lacking in basic information on infant development and detailed information on how to handle common health problems such as colds and ear infections.

Go buy yourself a book written by Dr. William Sears instead, like The Baby Book. It's the most outstanding book I've ever read on baby health and development.

I was expecting something more detailed about the physical/developmental side of child care. It has more fluff than I would like. If I want advice on discipline, child care, anti-stress for me, etc, I will ask my mother and sisters, etc. I was looking for something that more hard cold facts, I guess. The chapter on 6 to 12 months is very small and has next to no facts, just suggestions and maybe this maybe that. I have barely touched this book.

I've had this book for about 12 years and used it as a quick tool for information about illnesses and childhood developmental(emotional) stages. It's not the only source I turn to but it's a good source to balance out other opinions and ideas.
I just bought one for my cousin who is having a baby because it was one of my must used books on my shelf of raising children books. I especially found it helpful when my children had a skin rash or bug bite. There are
gloosy colored pictures in the back of the book of chilhood skin/eye conditions that help you to identify what different skin/eye problems look
like. There is also a 10 page atlas of the body showing diagrams of the whole body and specific parts of the body. The atlas is very thourough.
BOTH THE ATLAS AND THE SKIN/EYE CONDITIONS ARE NOT IN THE NEW VERSION of this book!!!!! I would have bought the new one but it was missing this.

I purchased this book when my youngest was a toddler (she's now 8). It had many helpful articles short enough to allow me the time to read, informative to let me know what was ahead for her age group. I still browse through it. But the best part was reaching for it when it was late at night and my kids were fighting some illness, trying to look up symptoms and read what to do. It beats dealing with gadgets late at night or waiting for return calls from the doctors. Many times I've avoided taking kids to the doctors altogether. When they've had to go to the peds then I knew what to expect. There's a newer book, but I loved this one and enjoy giving it as a gift to new moms.

If you want to raise your child in a conventional American way, then this is the book for you, particularly if you are a "fundamentalist" Christian. If, however, you are interested in less conventional child-rearing advice (because that's all any baby book is, which some people forget), then you'd better spend your money elsewhere.

I am into a more natural style of child rearing. I disliked their cavalier attitude towards breastfeeding (particularly because they are Christians and GOD after all was the one that designed infants to be fed from their mothers). I take issue with any book or pediatrician that says that breastfeeding is best, but formula is practically as good, so don't worry about it if you don't want to breastfeed. It's a cop-out, and should be treated as such. Study after study shows that formula-fed babies have more health problems for their entire lives. I've read several doctors who believe formula shouldn't be available without a prescription.

I write off any book that condones crying-it-out for babies, so that was another thing. Mostly it was the whole tone of the book: ask your pediatrician about every little thing, take this medicine for this, that medicine for that, births should happen in a hospital preferably with a doctor but a nurse-midwife is okay (doesn't even mention home births or direct-entry midwives).

I like books that raise questions about the way everybody's doing it. The only questions you'll get in that direction are in the realm of religion. It never questions about any controversial topic: immunizations, home births, hospital stays, the fallacy of pediatricians, a pill for every ill. Get a book that doesn't have all the answers, as this one presumes to have.

I found this book to be the best of all baby books (including, What to Expect the First Year.) Unlike the others, it was fun and very educational. There aren't as many "absolutes" and you don't feel judged when you don't perfectly fit the rules in other books. A must read...especially during the last trimester of pregnancy. I waited til baby was born and wished I had read prior to her birth.

So, I was happily reading this book and kept telling my husband about how much I like this book & that it ranks # 2 as far as baby books go (Baby 411 is the absolute BEST one) & I have read ALOT of baby books. Anyway I get to this sentence that really makes me mad - it is better to smoke & breastfeed than to not breastfeed at all - I tried to breastfeed my son for 3 months and we just could not do it. He was born with low blood sugar thanks to my diabetes & was given a bottle as soon as he was born. On top of that he had severe jaundice that required us to supplement and he preferred the bottle over having to work for milk. I never felt a let down of milk, I pumped every 30 mins. for 2 weeks straight & all I produced all day long was 2 oz! After going to 3 different lactaction consultants (not to mention the several nurses while in the hospital) none of which could help my baby latch on properly I finally gave up when he was 3 months old. I now have a BOTTLEFEED baby who is 7 months old & is already learning to walk, according to his Dr. he is way ahead of his peers developemently. I babysit a exclusivly BREASTFEED baby who just last week has learned to turn over (my son was turning over both ways at 3 1/2 months old) & has gotten sick double the amount of times that my son has. I feel bad enough about bottlefeeding without hearing sentences like that, I smoked for 11 years and quit a year before getting pregnant because I didn't want to expose my child to that let alone breastfeed a baby while smoking. I don't think that statement makes bottlefeeding mothers feel very good about their decision, we already get enough grief from everybody else and don't need books to make us feel more guilty. And besides second hand smoke can contribute to lung cancer, bottlefeeding can't. If you ignore that one sentence in the book then it's a wonderful book.

You can never have too much information since a newborn doesn't come with an instruction manual.

Bored with all those "stage" in life books for your baby to be? Perhaps you are (as I am) soon to be expecting and realize that you won't have a lot of time to read up about what your baby may/may not be up to and if it is normal after your baby arrives. Well then this book is for you!
I eagerly started the book on Friday and finished it (yes all 500 pages) on Saturday. What a delight. The author uses plenty of references from real life Moms and Dads which add wonderful insite and humor. Be warned though, if you are looking for the "What to expect book" format this is not for you. This is a realistic, warm, and funny look at life that tackles hard to discuss topics in a safe and humorous way.
If you are tired of the same old at this age your child will _____ books then definately pick this up. Its like talking to an old friend that you haven't met yet who has been there and knows the struggles and confusion that comes with having a baby.

I purchased this book for a young friend of mine who was about to have a baby and had lots of questions about not only the baby, but about what her body was going through. She loves it and refers to it constantly.

My 2 yr old son love this video. There is a lot of music and motion to keep
him interested. This was a great buy.

I have 4 or 5 of the books on signing for babies. Most of them are very good, however they can be bulky to carry around and tend to get lost in the piles of all the books I am reading. They can also be overwhelming since they cover so many signs, it is hard to know where to begin. These cards are very handy and I can take them with me whenever I want to review them. We have used them to review the signs with our family members so they are also ready when our child arrives. They are very easy to use. I imagine they will also be very easy for our children to learn from because they are set up with a picture of the object or action on one side and a picture of how to do the sign on the opposite side. I also appreciate they are ASL and not an adaptation of the ASL signs. I'll be buying the next set of cards soon. I highly recommend them.

Great Product ! Highly recommended. Cards are illustrated in a way that makes it easy to understand the sign. Cards are a nice size and I think will be great to help baby learn also (he's only 10 weeks old atm).

I have purchased two of this set and also two of Set 2 for my granddaughters' babies. My great-grandson, who is now two, learned to sign and was able to tell his parents what he wanted way before he talked. And it was the cutest thing you ever saw...to watch him. My newest great-granddaughter is too young but my granddaughter can't wait to teach her to sign. Wish they had these when I was a new mom.

I got these for my son before he went to a daycare that used sign language every day. You have to be consistent in using the signs with them every day. But they're okay flash cards. I used the pictures on the front of the cards to teach him what they meant instead. He loved going through them and telling me what each thing was.