Infant-and-Toddler-Development Books

I like this book because it is a simple way to get started. I buy it as a gift for new parents because not all parents will give it 100% especially if the book, like many, is wordy. The layout is nice and there are suggestions for taking it further as well as good ways to implement the signs into context that will give meaning to the child. It gives some essential signs as well as signs of things that kids often comment on (several animal signs are given because kids usually comment on animated objects before they will comment on inanimate objects). I think for those parents who are able to implement these signs into everyday life there are many books out there that can expand on these signs. The authors even give recommendations for other resources to seek out. For those parents who aren't as willing to implement sign language into everyday life I think this book is less intense which makes it more likely that they will use some of the signs.

Not really sure if this book is worthwhile, I think that being an attentive parent is worth much more than sign language.
If you want to give it a try though, this book does have enough info to get you going and it is very low-priced.

better than most of these types of books I enjoyed it. useful, too. If you want a fast read on the subject and are willing to sit through a tedious middle, this is for you!

I've read three or four baby books. Also recommend:What to Expect When You're Expecting, Third Edition

I like this book, it's got all the basics and then some. I really like the way it's able to stand upright, so you can leave it out on the counter.

On the plus side: This book is printed in an easel-like format so you can prop it up on a table beside you.

That being said, sign language is very fluid and still pictures can't really show you all the motions involved in making a sign. There are many FREE resources on the web that will teach you a greater sign language vocabulary, and some have video so you can see the actual motions as they are made.

This book is really better for someone who only wants to teach their baby some words in sign language rather than someone looking to teach their child to communicate.

Babies don't come with instructions so every piece of information helps,
what I learned in this book applies to many areas of every day teaching, learning and understanding. Short enough to find time to read, and interesting.

Bought this book for my daughter to use in teaching her son. It is a great reference book.

I bought this along with Teach Your Baby to Read and I can't say whether or not it's working yet, but if nothing else you spend some time with your children. So much of the book is reprinted from Teach Your Baby to Read, and I haven't had much luck finding the cards they suggest to use. But the books are valuable in that they advocate a respect for the learning potential of young children and offer specific instructions on how to develop that potential.

I hated math after 6th grade and didn't want my 16 month old son to 'catch' my frustration. I taught my son math so easily. His favorite subject is math!

Doman's books are a must read. I already suggested that one should start with How to Teach Your Baby to Read, because it has the philosophical underpinnings of their theory, but that book is a little time consuming to implement because you have to write words in a cardboard (see cover).
How to Teach Math should be the second, but it is much easier to implement the program because you can purchase an inexpensive kit from the author's institute (see cover).
I also recommend you to take the author's courses, in Philadelphia, but they are a couple of thousand dollars or more. Do it all before your baby is born.
I read How to Multiply your Baby's Intelligence 10 years before my wife got pregnant and it changed my life... and my daughter's (I hope). It changed how I saw child's development. Now she is 3.
But don't get too carried away. Believe me, some parents do get carried away. The ones in Philadelphia seem to belong to a sect. Just enjoy your children and add this program to the fun.
Although I spend a large amount of money with the course, I really don't do much of the program. Still, I raise my daughter differently from what I would otherwise have done without having read this book or taken the course. You will not be the same person after you read it. And it is not about teaching your baby to read. It is about learning how to teach your baby about life.
You will have more respect for your child and will not let your baby grow "by accident." Instead, you will be able to actively participate in the learning process and challenge your child to fulfill his or her intellectual potential. If you have a child, or if you don't but you love someone, this is the only book that you must read. Remember, read it before the baby is born. This collection is a wonderful present for an expecting mother.

I bought this book because my 2 1/2 year old daughter has great interest in going to potty, but gets distracted and won't tell me when she has to go. The book is very straight forward and gives great advice on what to do and most importantly what not to do when toilet training your child. High recommended.

My wife and I had heard all kinds of theories about how to potty train our daughter. none of them worked.The information in this book was much more valuable.

Dr. Schonwald's book is clear, concise and basically fabulous. It made potty training a snap for my family and, as a pediatrician, I have had patients rave about it. It is the best book of its kind on the topic.

This book helped with my potty resistant older child. There aren't a lot of sources out there for such a situation. But this book helped tremendously. We tried practically every method to train our child over the course of 18 months but she simply refused. Once we applied several ideas in this book, it was like a different child (more like a different parent/trainer).

Admittedly, I had to read this book several times before things actually clicked. But the bottom line was, this book (and 'The No Cry Potty Training Solution') gave me the ability to "create" a potty plan that worked for our child.

I wished I found this sooner. It would have saved me a lot of money on un-needed gadgets and resources.

So parents of potty resistant children, this book is for you!!

When my son was 3 1/2 I bought the book. I thought some of the ideas were good, but what depressed me was to see the author refer to "your child" as a toddler when I was struggling with my preschooler. Nevertheless, I was thankful for a book on children who are reluctant to be potty trained.
One suggestion the author stated was to cut out the bottom of a diaper and have the child sit on the toilet this way. My son freaked, screaming, "No! Mom! That diaper is broken!"
I am happy to announce now at age 4 he is trained, but he did this on his own without any radical techniques.

Wonderful book and very insightful for the new parent. I like how the authors encourage families to take a look at their past to make connections with the present and how they parent. A must read. Other books you may find helpful are: How To Talk So Kids Can Listen, Got the Baby Where's the Manual, Between Parent and Child, Discipline Without Distress, Kids-Parents and Powerstruggles and Undconditional Parenting.


Kimberley Clayton Blaine, MA, MFT
Founder, www.TheGoToMom.TV
Author, Mommy Confidence

As an early childhood teacher educator and new gramma I was very excited to find this down to earth but parent sensitive guide to the perplexities of raising babies. The book is very specific about what parents might see and then do with their child as a result of observation. A positive investigative attitude in parents is valued with developmental characteristics of children as the jumping off point. The reader can't miss the authors' respect for parents and their joy in the baby raising task. I'm glad my gandson's parents have this book as a resource to support them. I have to confess that I use some of the examples in my college classes too.

Instead of telling how to take care of a baby in general, this book helps you figure out what will work best for the unique combination of you and your child.

The first section helps you take a look at yourself -- your hopes and fears for your child, your own childhood experiences, your personality or temperament, and your limitations. The second section focuses on your child -- how to understand his behavior, what his developmental stage is, and how to figure out what his personality is and what that indicates. The third section puts the two previous sections together and helps you "find your fit." Then the fourth section addresses making parenting decisions with your spouse, and how to resolve differences of approach.

The back of the book has a handy quick-reference chart, set up in columns of "When your child... (does a, b, or c)" "Your child might be saying... (a translation into adult-speak)" "What you can do." Then there is an appendix of common questions and answers.

This is a different way of looking at child-rearing: not by-the-book but recognizing that both you and your child are one of a kind.

As a preschool teacher, I am often asked by parents about what books I would recommend for them to read in regards to many different parenting issues. When I came across this book I immediately added it to my list of exceptional books for new parents. It is well written, parent friendly, and full of quality information about developmental issues that occur during a child's first few years. I even purchased a second copy to give to my daughter and her husband who just became parents for the first time. If you are looking for a clear, well written, easily understandable book...this is the one for you!

This book helps parents take a closer look at who they are and how their personal style and temperament influences the way they parent. The 3 step approach offered in this book helps parents increase self-awareness, gain a better understanding of the cues given by their child, and make parenting decisions that are responsive to the child. I found the authors' examples to be very helpful and often applicable to many different situations. The questions to the reader, offered in each section, tended to interrupt the flow of the book, but are great points of discussion for parents. Overall, this book approaches parenting with a true sense of respect, both for parents and children.

This book offers a parent some insight into the processes involved for a baby learning to speak. I have found myself rereading each age-related section as my son ages. More than anything, I think this book helped me to relax about my son's learning to talk; speech development is occuring even though it might not be verbalized at the moment. The references to the various research studies offered me some ideas about methods of communicating with my son without the aid of his speech. His glances, his reactions, all are methods of communicating with me, as long as I'm receptive enough to pay attention!

My son is 16 months and this book was helpful in pointing out to me that he was saying things, I just was looking for better formed words and not listening very well (chalk it up to first time mom)!

However, the book states that the average age a baby talks is 12 months, but can go to 24 months. There was a study mentioned in their book that stated the average first word in the study was produced at 13.5 months.

I do not think this book is helpful for parents trying to find encouragement and answers as to why their child isn't talking. Most of the examples they give of first word talkers at 12 and 13 months. There is mention of a 17 month 1st word talker, but their reason was because he had ear infections.

I would have liked to read more examples of later talkers without any "ear infections" or disabilites being the case.

I looked and looked for a book like this. I just wanted to learn how a baby manages to learn language - and why my daughter's first ten words included such irrelevant words as 'duck' and 'buckle.'

The book does an excellent job at explaining just how scientists believe a child is learning at each stage. It also explains the experiments that they use and how the conclusions are reached - fascinating.

This is NOT a book to help you guage whether or not your child needs assistance. This is NOT a book to make your baby into a super-baby. This is a book that gives you clear insight into how his mind is developing. I would buy this book for anyone with a baby.

I found this book extraordinarily helpful in understanding and tracking my daugher's learning. I gained three valuable insights from this book: (1) a clearer understanding of how language acquisition occurs (2) specific examples of how I can assist my child with the language acquisition process (3) a valuable insight to how much my daughter can understand prior to her ability to communicate it.

This book brought additional enjoyment because after reading this book, I immediately noticed additional examples of my daughter's progression in language learning that I'd previously overlooked.

Additionally, the book contains a balanced mixture of research and specific examples. This combination makes it both credible and readable. I actually found it hard to put down, which is very impressive for a research based book!

I'd also highly recommend Baby Signs by Linda Acredolo

As a new parent with an interest in linguistics, I was really looking forward to this, but I was disappointed to find it boring, repetitive, and sometimes sloppily written. Parents worried about a slow talker will be made more rather than less concerned, as this book almost never acknowledges how much different children vary in the timing of developmental milestones. Those interested in an overview of language acquisition will be disconcerted by the slap-dash summaries of important findings, which often feature startling logical lapses in their explanations (there is, though, an extensive bibliography--the one aspect of the book I find praiseworthy).

The babies in the condescendingly described made-up illustrations of experiments are almost all sterotypically white and middle class (judging from their names), monolingual, and cared-for-only-by-the-mother. Perhaps this disconnect from the lives of many readers is supposed to be compensated for by the numerous "try this at home" style "experiments," which are unrealistic bits of padding that repeat points from the text (which have often been repeated at least once already).

In all, a frustrating and condescending book that makes a fascinating subject less interesting. A better introduction is the relevant chapter in Lise Elliot's "What's Going On in There: How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life," a book that, much like this one, could have used some serious editing, but that is light-years better in its presentation of the material. William O'Grady's "How Children Learn Language" looks pretty good, but I haven't read it yet because it is so ridiculously expensive.

Our first son was born in 1988. Shortly after, we bought this book. It was the best combination of real research and common sense we've read regarding child development. Bottom Line: those early years are absolutely critical, and there are a number of things you can and should do (not to be confused with "pushy" parents). I am very proud to give this book as a gift to new parents; I'm certain they will thank me for sharing some of the best insights that informed our parenting.

When my now 29 year old daughter was born, my sister gave me a copy of this book. I devoured its concepts and set about to make play and learning one and the same with my child. She has excelled academically since first grade, when she was placed in the 4th grade reading class and graduated summa cum laude from college and Law School, a lifelong learner who loves exploring with her mind.
I have just learned that she is about to make me a Grandmother for the first time! You can bet that the first gift I will give her is this book. And, never stop reading to your child, long after they can no longer sit in your lap, they still love to be read to and will grow up loving reading. What a gift for a child-a parent with "How to Raise a Brighter Child" in the parenting library at home.

28 years ago, when I used ideas from the first edition of this book to teach my daughter to read, mainstream educators thought it was harmful to "push" a child to read before age 6. Her own reactions of interest and delight in the suggested activities told me otherwise. She was reading Dr. Suess by age 3 and chapter books without pictures by 4 1/2. Her Montessori teachers were totally amazed. Of course, I kept reading to her myself until she was 8 or so, because we both enjoyed that activity. Today she is an avid reader and the mother of a 10 month old daughter. She recently asked me how I taught her to read, and I remembered this book and came looking for it here. Now I remember that it had many, many other good suggestions for encouraging a child's natural curiousity. It was, by far, the best child development book I've ever read.

Many of the ideas expressed in this book ring true regarding children's learning process. However, be wary of such subtleties as suggesting as fact to your child that this world or things in it have been around for myriads of years. That is not fact, but theory, no matter how widely accepted. The book also advises against corporal discipline, with insignificant substantiation and a single footnoted reference. In place of the wisdom of Solomon, this book suggests mere time outs and moral explications, but relegates the chastening of tough love to archaic obscurity, despite admitting its use by 90% of parents. Perhaps some children of the remaining 10% will become the future intelligent leaders of tomorrow, of companies like Enron and Worldcom.

The basic premise of this book is that you should create a stimulating environment in which your child will enjoy learning. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it? Well, I thought so. I was very excited to read this book. As it turns out, I've never been so disappointed in a book. Since the title is "How to Raise a Brighter Child" I had expected that it would be a "how to" book. The author does give a handful of examples of activities and games to engage in with your child. However, in most of the book she simply regurgitates other people's experimentation and data attempting to prove that it is advantageous to teach your child at a young age. Well, I wouldn't have bought this book if I didn't believe that! I don't think the author had a single unique idea of her own. The 38 pages of references and bibliography speaks for itself! I did read the entire book while continually hoping that it would get better, which it did not. Save yourself the cost of this book. As I said, the basic premise is wonderful. Take that and use your own imagination to make it work. You'll be much better served!

This product is amazing! We just had my son's first birthday and 2 weeks later he is potty trained. I never thought that this would be so easy. We just saved ourselves a year in diaper expenses! It is worth it!

I FOUND THIS PRODUCT ON THE OFFICIAL BABY SIGNS WEBSITE, AND WITH WHAT THEY WERE SELLING IT FOR, PLUS SHIPPING IT WOULD HAVE BEEN ABOUT $22 MORE THAN WHAT AMAZON WAS SELLING IT FOR.(I GOT FREE SHIPPING FROM AMAZON)IT IS A REALLY GREAT PRODUCT, MY DAUGHTER IS 2 YEARS OLD (TOMORROW), AND HAS DONE VERY WELL LEARNING BABY SIGN LANGUAGE OVERALL, BUT SHE IS GOING THROUGH A PHASE RIGHT NOW WHERE THE ONLY THING SHE WANTS TO WATCH IS 101 DALMATIONS. OVER AND OVER. THE PRODUCT IS REALLY GOOD, WE HAVE WATCHED THE DVD, AND MY DAUGHTER PICKED UP THE SIGNS QUICKLY, BUT HAS NOT WATCHED IT ENOUGH AT THIS TIME. I AM GOING TO START THE POTTY TRAINING PROCESS AGAIN, HOPEFULLY I CAN GET HER TO FORGET ABOUT THAT "PUPPY MOVIE" I WOULD RECOMMEND HIGHLY. SHE LOVES THE POTTY TRAIN BOOK, WHISTLE AND STICKERS. I THINK IT IS A GREAT PRODUCT. I LOVE THAT SHE LEARNS SIGNS, AND LEARNS ABOUT POTTY TIME TOO. THIS IS A MUST HAVE !

I had been a baby signs user for about 6 months when I bought the potty training kit for my 15 month old son. I was disappointed because the video was lengthy and redundant for my young son. Additionally, the parent guide did not really tell me more than I already knew. We had already been using signs (more, eat, hungry, etc) but my son was far more interested in talking. By the time we began trying it, the program didn't seem to interest him. He didn't care about stickers or a whistle that was too difficult for him to work. Basically he didn't buy in. We will try some of the suggested methods, only modified with words, a little later when he is ready. Perhaps you will have better luck.

I like the concept of this product and all of the accessories that came with it although I have not had any success yet (only been using it about a week with my 15 month son). This program can work with your child even if they are older than 2 and it's not impairative that they know any other signs.

I went through a real potty training nightmare with my daughter who was over 4 before she was finally out of diapers. For months and months she would say "I do it tomorrow" and get upset if I tried to sit her on the potty. It didn't matter what we promised her. When my son came along, I vowed to do something different. That's what motivated us to give the Baby Signs potty program a try. It's been amazing!! The Baby Signs Program has him already using the potty regularly to pee and he's only 17 months old! We're working on poop now! Baby Signs is right--it's much easier to train them when their little. I can't recommend the kit highly enough!"

I found this book about a month after we had our son. I would have loved to have it sooner. It was and still is 18 months later a great book. It answered so many questions and brought up things as first time parents we would not have thought of. My husband and I made it through 117 days in the NICU alot more informed and confident that our son was getting excellent care.

I am both a physician and a mother of a son who arrived 11 weeks early. This book has helped in every facet of my premature parenthood from breastfeeding (or, in my case, my ongoing attempts) to just feeling I was not the only preemie parent out there. In addition, the explanations of the various medical problems premature babies may face are excellent. Truly, a book that every premature parent would benefit from having.

This was a great book to read while my daughter was in the hospital. It had a good flow and helpful information. The only part that I didn't like was the section on breastfeeding. The author seemed to have a bad experience with her preemie and breastfeeding and her discouragement really came out in this section. I guess it was good though because it motivated me to touch base with a lactation consultant so that I would not share in her breastfeeding disappointment. Overall this book did help me to better understand my new and unexpected life with my preemie.

Our son was born at 26 weeks (3 months early) and was in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) until one day past his due date. We were given this book after he'd been there one month. Let me tell you what a life-saver it was! We had been given a "crash course" in the care delivered to a premature infant... very scary stuff. Wires, machines, noise, drugs -- and in the middle of it all this unbelievably tiny human being who is your child. This book took much of the fear away and instead educated us. Preemies don't stop being preemies when they come home! This book gives the technical data in an easy to understand format that is not condescending and also focuses on the emotional as well as physical needs of the baby. Additionally, it gives contacts and information on potential problems, how to spot them early, and how to handle them. There is also a good referal list in the back. I would recommend this book not only to preemie parents, but to anyone in contact with a preemie and their family. PS. As of this writing, our son is one year old and doing great!

We bought this when our son was born 10 weeks early. This book is very well written and easy to understand. It takes you through the early NICU days all the way to school age. This book was very helpful to us during the NICU time because when it first happened we were clueless (and we sometimes found it hard to get answers from doctors). It gives you information so that you know what questions to ask your baby's doctor. This book explained pretty much anything preemie related.
Highly recommended for any preemie parent!

The book is really detailed and specific, while many practicalities are included.As a dietician I recommend it!

I'm getting ready to start introducing solid food to my 5 1/2 month old, and this book answered pretty much all of my questions. The doc gave me some guidelines and friends gave me some advice, but who remembers all that? This book seems to sum it all up for me. It's in a nice format too with easy guidelines rather than "you must do it this way" wording. In the breastfeeding part, it does stress that the breast is best, but in the other parts it gives equal attention to feeding both breastfed and formula-fed babies (mine wouldn't nurse and was allergic to the dairy in the breastmilk I pumped, so it was important to me to find a book that didn't make me feel like a bad mother for formula-feeding!). I would highly recommend this one.

I picked this book up on a whim because I was so frustrated by the surprising lack of information from my doctor and on the internet about what to do after those first couple solid food meals. Yes, I knew how to recognize when my son was ready to try cereal. Yes, I knew to start rice cereal first. Yes, I knew to feed him a tiny, heavily watered-down portion with my finger. Yes, I knew to wait a few days to see if he had an allergic reaction before giving him another new food. But then what? How big a portion should I be working up to? How much formula should he still be drinking, and should he still have the same intervals between meals? How do I go about adding foods to his diet, and what ones should I avoid? The choices of baby food flavors seem so limited---does that mean I shouldn't be feeding him other foods if I can puree them myself? How do I start a sippy cup? This book answers all those questions and tells you how to go about preventing allergies while encouraging your child to not be a picky eater. The "day in the diet" and week-by-week "month in the diet" sections were priceless to me, as were the groupings of foods by nutrients so you know which ones fill a nutritional void if your child strongly dislikes something else in the same category. I also liked that the book explains how to make your own food if so inclined, giving helpful tips for fixing portions that will store well. It was educational to learn that fresh produce isn't ALWAYS better because some vegetables are high in nitrates, so frozen is better while your child is very young. The other reviewer who mentioned that this author is very militant about breastfeeding makes a good point, but it didn't bother me too much because I bought the book when my son was a little over 5 months old---so I skipped past the sections on newborn nutrition. Fortunately, when you get to the sections on solid foods, breast milk and formula are referred to fairly interchangeably. I spent the first three months of my son's life beating myself up over the fact that I "failed" at breastfeeding (despite counseling from two lactation consultants), but I'm not going to let a book make me feel that way again. My son is now a very happy and healthy 6-month-old who is a joy to be around---and who eagerly tastes every new food placed in front of him!

Reviewed by Jamie Driggers

Babies don't come with instruction manuals, and though it seems like the process of feeding them should be instinctual, many times it is far from it. Enter Baby Bites, a comprehensive guide to feeding your baby from birth through the difficult toddler years.

Whether you plan to feed with bottle or breast, each has factors that can make the process more or less difficult. Both are covered in this book as is the transition from breast to bottle. Have questions about what you can eat or take while nursing? It's covered. What are the differences between the additives in various brands of baby food? It's in there. If your child prefers fruit over veggies, which fruits have similar vitamin content? Covered. Do you plan to make your own baby food? Would you like some recipes? Are there some tools that are better than others? Yep. Yep. Yep. You'll find the information. And lots more.

This is a book that you will probably want to buy and keep on your shelf for reference. It isn't particularly easy to read from cover to cover, but as a quick guide it would be quite useful. The book contains food charts, diet guides, questions with answers. There are sections dealing with food allergies and colic. There is way more information than most parents will ever want to know. But, of course, we don't know what we want and need to know until we need to know it, do we?

This book provides you with more than just strategies for feeding your child well, it is an all-inclusive guide to feeding with bonus side issues that are often the result of feeding. I especially appreciated her more balanced opinions on the types of food regarded as more "healthy."

Armchair Interviews says: A great gift for new parents (or grandparents).

Warning! This book made me feel like a terrible mother being that I do not breast feed my baby. Most of it resorts back to the benefits of breastfeeding your baby and how formula feeding will never match up to it. It should have spent more time dealing with the steps of actually feeding your baby not how breast milk is the way to go. I think I actually cried while reading sections of this book becasue I formula feed my child. God knows I tried breast feeding.
Other than that, It is a good reference.

I was nicely surprised by this book. Most of the "games" books bought so far have been very commonsense even for a future clueless mother (that'd be me). This one is a bit exceptional. It brought some new ideas and I must say the illustrations of every game got me. They made all the games look fun and easy to imagine. The learning skills are clearly stated for each activity, as well as some variations so it's pretty complete. A keeper for me.

First time mother with no kid experience. Was a helpful tool for me. Gave me ideas on games and activities that would not only be fun for my toddler but would help him developmentally. Really had some good ideas.

This book is full of games to play with your baby, divided up by months. It is helpful for knowing the stages of mental growth and for finding fun things to do with your baby.

This book doesnt provide you with games that are unique or that you havent practiced by the time you receive the book. I knew this before buying the book, still I decided to buy it. I keep it in the playing area, and when I run out of ideas I turn to it and find something else to play with my baby. Its like a memory jogger, you know all the stuff in there, but you still need it to help you remember what you know...if that makes any sense to you.

I totally agree with the author's saying: The best toy for your baby is one that stimulates all five senses - and that is you!
I would spend a lot of money buying toys for my lovable baby. After reading this book, I knew that my baby favors me more than any toys. I used some of the game ideas from this book to play with my baby, we both had great fun. There are so many great ideas in this book, and it is nicely organized by age: 0-3 months, 3-6 months etc. I highly recommend this book to every parent.