Infant-and-Toddler-Development Books

This book helped us learn where to start with solids, what to offer, how to make homemade, and how to progress to finger foods. Our only complaint is that at times the suggestions for finger foods were too advanced for our child's eating habits. After consulting other sources, I saw that my child's progress was great and that this book's suggestions were just that.

Dr. Karp's "Happiest Baby on the Block" book got me through the newborn phase, so this was the first toddler book I went to. It was a very interesting read. His basic premise is that toddlers are little cavepeople: the right side of their brain, which deals with language and logic, is not very developed, while the left side, which is very emotional, calls most of the shots. He talks a lot about how parents have to be an ambassador: keep relations happy, while putting their foot down when it really matters. He divides toddler behavior into three categories: "green light" behaviors, which are positive and should be encouraged; "yellow light" behaviors, which are the annoying but not completely unacceptable things toddlers do (whining, for example); and "red light" behaviors which are unacceptable because they are either dangerous or they disobey a key family rule. He gives a great deal of advice on how to deal with each of these three types.

I thought that this was a very honest book about parenting a toddler, despite the fact that some of the things that he said were rather jarring. Some of his advice is very much in opposite to other books, and what I think most parents think is the "right" way to parent. For example, he really emphasizes making compromises, and in at least one example encourages some white lies. Not exactly the type of advice I expect from a parenting book. But this also made it more realistic than other suggestions I've read about raising a toddler. Toddlers don't have the logic skills of an adult, and realistically you have to pick your battles.

The most interesting part of the book to me, and the main reason I think that this book is worth reading, is about talking at your toddler's level when he or she is upset. Karp points out that parents are usually very comfortable talking in toddler-ese when their child is happy, but when their child is upset they try to talk in a calming voice. This backfires, because they are using complex sentences, long words, and a monotonous voice that can be hard for a toddler to understand. So the toddler gets even MORE frustrated and upset. I thought that his solutions for dealing with this problem were well worth reading.

I haven't read the old edition, so I can't comment on what changes were made.

I used this for one of my classes and liked it so much that I kept it. I even gave a copy to a friend of mine. I really liked the approach. It is easy to read but interesting. The author gets a little preachy in some areas, and I didn't really like some of his exercises. Overall, it's a great reference text.

I never had any experience with babies, not even playing with them. This book offers a month by month guide to a baby's development and offers solutions for you. So when he is approaching 10 month, I'll read that chapter and you'll find that the phenomenon presented in the book is quite accurate. You can then use the suggestions to stimulate your child's mental and physical faculty.

This book doesn't contain many pages but the pages it does have are very informative with lots of colored pictures for those of us who get bored of plain old black and white.

I got this for my son when he was about 10 months old, and he enjoys it, though not as much as the other Lamaze books we have. It has a car on the front with stuffed felt-like wheels attached. It also has a plastic take-along link attached to an elastic cord, and when pulled, makes a vibrating buzzing sound to imitate a car engine. It has a fabric velcro closure like other cloth Lamaze books. Inside, it depicts different outings that a mom and little boy might do, in rhyming text. Each page has one sentence, such as "Let's go to the park and play." Another page reads, "Let's go to my favorite store." Opposing page says, "Let's go down to the shore." The illustrations are colorful and bright, and fairly busy with many things to look at. It is not as interactive as some other Lamaze books, as it does not have any lift-the-flaps, touch and feel, or other elements (except for the cover). This may be why it is not my son's favorite. Overall, it is a cute book of high quality that is the right size to toss in the diaper bag.

Hi Everybody,I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!...I am a R.N. and have a Baby Nurse Business in N.Y.I choose this Book,to Educate the Baby Nurse Students,Because it is Really a Guide.The reading process it's Very Easy,Beautifull Pictures on almost every page and the most IMPORTANT observation is that in the last chapter is about HOME SAFETY TIPS...Thank You.L.E. [...].

This is a good, basic handbook, with generally good advice.

I was initially prejudiced against this book when I read their extremely negative take on homebirth, which is biased, outdated and unreasonable. Our baby was born at home with a midwife, and I know from experience that homebirth is far, far superior to hospital birth in terms of safety, emotional comfort and medical supervision of mother and baby. Midwives are extremely skilled individuals who are constantly monitoring both mom and baby, rather than running between ten patients. There are far fewer risky medical interventions and midwives consistently have lower c-section rates and rates of other interventions. Knowing what many friends of ours have gone through in "modern" hospitals with rude and uncaring medical staff, having to deal with strangers and pressure from staff toward unnecessary intervention, I would never have a birth any other way, and I found the authors' take on homebirth (that it's risky and supervised by unskilled and untrained individuals) absolutely insulting, and I was hesitant about taking the advice of the rest of the book.

After that heated spiel, however, I should add that the book did seem pretty good aside from that - just a wee bit too conservative and leaning towards "we've always done it that way, and that was good enough for us!" I am a fervently evangelical Christian, like the authors, but that is no reason not to embrace new ideas such as homebirth and other more recent options.

One thing I LOVED about this book is its pro-life stance. Having read many prenatal care books, I am absolutely revolted by the pro-choice stance of many of them - "If you want it and it's healthy, it's a baby and here's how to take care of it. If you don't want it or it's not perfect, ditch it in a biowaste can - it's only fetal tissue anyway!" I really appreciated the positive stance of this book toward all unborn babies, something that is quite rare.

This book also seems to be quite well-researched and put together by a great team of people. I would say that it is generally trust-worthy and free from fringe-type advice.

I would recommend this book with reservations - read it, but read others also. Or do what we did - get it and keep it as a reference guide.

A wonderful mix of information and common sense advice! Find out what to expect when you first bring your baby home, how to care for her, and how to set up routines that will be comfortable for the whole family. Chapters cover from Birth to Six Weeks, Six Weeks to Three Months, Three Months to Six Months, Six to Eight Months, Eight Months to One Year and Health. Throughout, Maja Bernath captures just the right reassuring tone. On Parent's Rights, Six to Eight Months she writes "..night-waking soothings can be as important to you as to your baby -part of the largess of parenthood. You needn't be deprived of babying your baby, no matter who says it's time to stop." Such a relief when most parents are counselled to 'Ferberize their baby as soon as possible!' One note of warning: the issue this reviewer read was a Third Printing, published in 1984 and the advice on baby's sleeping position is dated. For example, "Tummy down is the position most newborns favour and it's the safest after a feeding." The American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends 'back to sleep' as the safest sleep position as tummy sleeping has been linked to a slight increase in the risk for SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). That being said, this book is the perfect compliment to other popular parent books like: What to Expect The First Year, and even The Girlfriend's Guide to Surviving the First Year of Motherhood. In fact, it was the first 'baby-book' this first-time mom, and reviewer could read cover to cover BEFORE the baby was born. It was then a favorite to check back to as my baby entered each phase. There is also a thoughtful epilogue looking ahead to the second year.

I purchased this book soon after my son's first birthday. It is organized with month by month descriptions of toddler development in language, physical skills and personality. I enjoyed reading the monthly sections throughout the year. It gave me some idea of what to expect, although the authors do point out that individual development is unpredictable. The book was written over 20 years ago and has a few dated references. (I don't think too many parents have their toddlers listening to phonograph records these days!)