Customer Reviews

On Becoming Baby Wise, Book 2: Parenting Your Pre-Toddler Five to Fifteen Months

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(36)

 

 

Babywise was recommended to me by a mother that was very satisfied with its results. My daughter is 14 months old now, and we are very pleased with the results from the methods described in the book. A key to interpretting this book (and the previous "On Becoming Babywise") is to not be too rigid and use your own common sense. When I started using his principles I was unsure of what I was suppose to be doing in regards to naps and sleeping for my infant. But if you just give it some time I think you will find the book very helpful. It helped me to distinguish when my child needed to eat and sleep. Just because a baby is crying does not mean that the baby is hungry. Prior to reading the first babywise book, I was frustrated with nursing almost non-stop all day. After establishing a schedule as instructed by Ezzo, me, my husband, and my child were much happier. There are some things in Ezzo's book that I don't use, simply because they do not fit into our lifestyle (we have a playpen, but don't use it for structured playtime). I love the Babywise series and recommend it to all of my friends that have children.

I used Babywise and Babywise II for my infant and recommend it to my friends as a guideline. I warn my friends that it is rigid and assumes children are inherently inclined to be bad and must be trained otherwise. I vehemently disagree. Although I still recommend these books to get some good ideas on structure and routine, my number one parenting resource is Positive Discipline, by Jane Nelson, particularly the birth to three years book, as that is what applies to us now. Instead of demanding obedience through conditioning and wielding heavy authority, it explains how to truly teach your children in a loving and non-punitive way while still being firm. Where did we get the idea that to make children behave better they have to feel worse about their current behavior? I consider myself a pretty strict parent, as Babywise advocates, but providing my children with the same respect I demand for myself is of the upmost importance. Ezzo gives me the impression that the goal is to get the child to answer "how high?" when I say jump. Of course I want my children to be well behaved, but I feel this comes naturally through modeling respect, teaching through natural and logical consequences, and providing responsibility within the family unit. Ezzo may think that anything less than total control is permissive, but I argue that well-behaved children are taught kindly and firmly to see the consequences of their actions, not simply trained to obey. Although he says that the goal is ultimately self control of the child, I feel that it is arrived at through conditioning, like one would a dog, not real teaching and respect.

This book is an excellent resource for parenting. The poor reviews I have read on this site make it evident that those people never read the book. The references to child abuse in other reviews are ABSURD!

This book emphasises fostering a loving relationship with your child, and encourages parents to use the same teachings that Jesus offered us: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." This method teaches children to think about their actions and how they will affect others around them. It in no way implies that your child should be trained like a pet.

Please don't listen to the extremists who negatively criticise this book. They clearly never read it.

This book does have a few good suggestions that I have used, but for the most part it seems to be very rigid and developmentally inappropriate. The authors do not seem to have expertise in most of the areas in which they offer advice, and their suggestions are not backed up with examples and research. I have grave concerns about ignoring and "isolating" a young BABY in their crib because they threw some food off their highchair. I certainly advocate for some structure in children's lives, and believe in establing and enforcing limits and boundaries. However, this needs to done within the context of understanding the child's stage of development. All a young baby is going to learn by not being fed when they are hungry or being punished when they are exploring is to be submissive, "give up", and feel they are not worthy of having their needs met. The authors may label this as a "good child", because they are quiet and obedient, but really they are probably kids who have given up on expressing their needs. This book advocates an inappropriate and potentially damanging system of response to a young child's needs. There is nothing wrong with reading it, and using the few little bits of good advice that are sprinkled throughout the book. Beware of the bulk of the advice though, use your own common sense and meet the needs of your young child in a loving and responsive way.

I love the 'On becoming babywise' book, it really worked with my six month old son. He's been sleeping throught the night since he was 6 weeks old. So naturally I bought the second book with high hopes and was really dissapointed. I feel like I'm only suppose to love my son if he's well behave (all the time!) or I'm setting him up to be a difficult person later on. The feeding and sleeping plans are still really good but don't take the discipine part too seriously. Come on, we're talking about little kids here.

This book has some extremely helpful information. As a free thinking, responsible parent, I took the information and tips that applied to my baby. I never considered following everything to the letter. After molding the methods to my situation, I found great success

One of the reviews for this book refers to the the "schedule" feeding of babies up to 8 weeks old. This review must be referring to the original Babywise book by the Ezzos, not this one. Nonetheless, in response to their review, I would like to recommend that parents consider the value of looking at the Babywise series. We know many parents who have followed the feeding plan suggested by the Ezzos (by the way, they do not call for strict schedule feeding but, instead, for a feeding process that is flexible and family-centered). In fact, all the parents we know who have followed the Babywise principles have had their children sleeping 6-8 hours at night by the time their baby was 6 weeks old. I think all of the Ezzo books are fantastic for learning how to raise a child to be self-confident, secure, and others-centered rather than self-centered.

I have found both Babywise books to be excellent resources in the many aspects of infant and toddler care. They are practical and easy to follow. I am a confident parent, and I owe part of that to these books, especially Babywise I. Babywise II does not have the many examples that help to put the principles into practice.

My 13-month old child is very healthy and happy and walks around with a smile on her face most of the day. She has slept through the night since 4 months, and naps are a breeze. I owe that to these books. People always comment on how easy my child is and are amazed at how well she responds to "no" and "don't touch". I did NOT have to abuse my child into learning what those words mean. Like the book says, BE CONSISTENT and EXPECT A RESPONSE...

People that haven't read or tried this book will tell you not to use it... but ask anyone that has used it on their own children, and i bet they will tell you differently!

This is an excellent book for people who want their children to be well-behaved,happy, adjusted, well-rounded people. It provides guidelines for discipline and structure that too many people do not include in their parenting these days- thus the society we currently have! It is strictly a guide, but is very common sense information. I have used it with both of my children, and can't count the number of times I have been told how "lucky" i am to have such well behaved, smart and happy children!!! I can't say enough good things about this book. YOU won't have to recommend it to ANYONE- your kids will. People will look at your children and say "HOW DID YOU DO THAT??"... then you can tell them about the book.

It's about time parents took responsibility for teaching their children the correct way to express themselves, established guidelines for their growth and development and helped them develop moral character. This book provides such valuable tools for helping your baby grow into a responsible, self-disciplined, happy child. Just looking at the sad state most children are in these days, and the horrific acts being played out by our society's children, should be enough of a sign to parents all over that a return to the basics of self control, discipline and moral character development are in great need. I encourage you to explore the Ezzo's suggestions and really think about the kind of adult you would like your baby to become.