Customer Reviews

Best Baby Products, 9th Ed.

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I'm about to be a new parent and when I started buying stuff for my daughter, I figured I would turn to Consumer Reports to get some unbiased, properly tested ratings. I've spent way too much time on Amazon and eOpinions reading mixed and often conflicting reports on baby items. I saw this book in a magazine and thought, bingo! Just what I need. And a brand new version to boot!

Then today it arrived. It's hard to be objective when you're so utterly disappointed, but I'll try.

There are 368 pages total in the book. Of those 368 pages, there are a total of 141 ratings. Here are the categories included (along with how many product ratings you will find in each category):

Autos - 0 ratings *
Bottles/Nipples - 0 ratings
Baby Food - 0 ratings
Backpack Carriers - 4 ratings
Bathtubs - 0 ratings
Bicycle-mounted Child Seats & Trailers - 3 ratings kids helmets - 0 ratings for the chapter titled items
Bouncer Seats - 4 ratings
Breast Pumps - 0 ratings
Car Seats - 0 ratings **
Changing Tables & Dressers - 5 dressers, 5 armoires, 3 bookcases, 4 tv stands
Clothing - 0 ratings
Cribs - 0 ratings
Crib Alternatives - 0 ratings
Crib Bedding - 0 ratings
Crib Mattresses - 0 ratings
Diapers - 7 ratings
Diaper Bags - 0 ratings
Diaper Pails - 0 ratings
Digital Cameras - 0 ratings
Formula - 0 ratings
Gates - 11 ratings
High Chairs - 19 ratings
Humidifiers - 0 ratings
Monitors - 10 audio, 3 video
Nursing Bras - 0 ratings
Pacifiers - 0 ratings
Play Yards - 8 ratings
Rocking Chairs & Gliders - 0 ratings
Shopping-cart Covers - 0 ratings
Soft Infant Carriers - 8 carriers, 4 slings
Stationary Activity Centers - 3 ratings
Strollers - 6 ratings, 8 jogging, 8 all terrain
Swings - 0 ratings
Thermometers - 8 ratings
Toys - 0 ratings (16 battery ratings)
Walkers - 4 ratings
Stuffed Animals - 0 ratings

* - to be fair, it does show which vehicles placed first in each category of automobile.

** - also to be fair, there is a story on CRs web site indicating that they withdrew their most recent car seat tests due to testing issues. It still would have been more useful to have older ratings than none at all.

So for useful items like Bottles, Bathtubs, Car Seats, Cribs and Swings? 0 ratings. Combined. For baby video monitors they don't include Summer Infant monitors, which here on Amazon are amongst the highest customer rated.

Two items which I have not purchased as of yet (bassinet and swing)no reviews, but simply said things like "Look for a swing that has a sturdy, stable frame". I'm glad I had someone to tell me that, I never would have known otherwise.

Personally I couldn't recommend this book to anyone. It tries to cover a somewhat broad range of topics and does none of them well enough to be worthwhile. Reading reviews on Amazon or eOpinions will give you better information on which products to buy or avoid than this book even attempts to do. If you disagree, I strongly urge you to at least take a trip to a bookstore and flip through it before making your decision.

My husband and I have found this book to be invaluable. The guide is a thorough introduction to what kind of gear parents need for their baby, and it provides a good overview of the myriad products. We are expecting our first child, and we never would have known, for example, that silicone pacifiers exist and are generally recommended over latex (since latex can trigger allergies). Another example is the useful information given on the types of formula (cost, ease of use) and breast pumps; it's helped us clarify how we want to feed our child (breastfeed), what kind of pump to choose (manual or electric), and whether to rent or purchase a pump.

To be sure, there aren't a lot of specific product ratings. However, this market is in constant fluctuation, with changes to product designs and new products introduced frequently, so it's understandable why there aren't many ratings. The book would become outdated very quickly. And besides, there are some things that don't require ratings, such as stuffed animal toys. The book recommends what to look for in general, such as no small parts that could be choking hazards. It really isn't feasible to rate all the brands of stuffed toys that exist.

We went to stores and tried out gear, such as strollers, to learn about their ease of use. What the guide recommended as the best (Graco Quattro) I hated. It was too bulky, heavy, and not left-hand friendly. It's very important to handle the devices to see what works best for you. We have also done a lot of reading at Amazon and Epinions to see what customers say. Reading user feedback is far more helpful than the ratings in the guide would be, since laboratory testing is no match for real-life usage.

This is definitely worth purchasing, especially if you're new to parenthood.

I'm not impressed with this book...CR's botching of the child seat tests should have been corrected and updated. This book has no ratings of child car seats....nothing, and it's one of my upcoming purchases I am most concerned about. I also checked their website, and there's still no data.

This book was a major disappointment. I spent about 30 minutes flipping through it looking for some solid product reviews, but it really missed the mark. I just wanted to know how certain things rated, like strollers and car seats, and the book just skimmed over those topics. Skip this book and just buy Baby Bargains... I wish I had saved my money.

This book contains a lot of information on types of products. It goes through what you need and what will make life easier. It also details features on items that are both plus and minuses and what to look for when buying certain items but it often stops short of recommending a particular brand over another. I was a little surprised that it did not contain as many detailed brand vs. brand. There are some. I just expected more.

So if you are a first time parent and you need a little help as far as what to look for and what to look out for this will be helpful. If you are already a parent and are looking for brand recommendations skip purchasing this book.

I figured I'd be getting up-to-date, no-holds-barred ratings and reviews of specific baby products on the market. I wanted to be able to make informed decisions when choosing important items such as the car seat, stroller, crib, etc. What I got was a waste of money. Very few ratings, mostly information I can find elsewhere for free (websites and such). I would recommend buying the 6th edition of "Baby Bargains" by Denise and Alan Fields instead. Their ratings and recommendations are much more specific. Consumer Reports really let me down here, they are supposed to be the authority on product ratings.

I read the other reviews and I guess this book does give you a lot of information about a lot of baby products but I found the majority of the information so useless. It tells you things like if you are living in the city, and you are going to take the subway, you should look for a lightweight stroller. I knew that - I just wanted information on the best/safest/most durable lightweight strollers out there. That information is not in there. The most helpful section was maybe the cribs but the rest of the items' descriptions from baby bottles/nipples/breast feeding to strollers just told you what features to look out for... I was hoping more of a review of the actual specific products and which had certain features- this book did not do that.

This wasn't exactly what I was looking for in a Baby Products book. I thought they would make it very clear on exactly what products you should buy, and rate them with stars. Instead, the book gives you a general idea of which way to go, and then you can pay to get on the Consumer Reports website to find out the ratings on the different products. I already paid for the book. I don't want to pay for anything else.

In picking out the items for our new baby, my husband and I were confronted by a lot of choices as well as a lot of confusing information. We picked up the consumer reports guide and got clear and unbiased answers to our questions. This book made our choices much clearer and easier and allowed us to choose our crib, stroller, and highchair (among other items) with confidence. the information is presented clearly and concisely. I cannot recommend it highly enough. This is the only book you will ever need. I know that I could not have done without it. I'm so glad I picked this book up.

I found this book extremely helpful in picking out new baby gear. I was really stressed about what to buy but found this book a fantastic resource. It has all kinds of information about the various types of products, as well as what not to buy. It also has great information in the appendix about baby health. I would recommend this book to any first time mom.