Customer Reviews

Bringing Up Baby: Three Steps to Making Good Decisions in Your Child's First Years

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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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.

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!

I would have loved to have this book when I was a new parent. The authors lay out the most important decisions that parents face. I appreciated the straightforward questions presented that guide readers through the process of making thoughtful decisions about parenting. Readers are not told what to do, but rather what to think about. The authors suggest taking a three step approach to parenting. The three steps include: 1. Develop self awareness, 2. Tune into your child, 3. Make sensitive and effective decisions. By taking the three step approach, parents will be better prepared and have more confidence in their parenting.

The section on developing self awareness was especially helpful. It explained how our reactions to our children's behavior may have more to do with our assumptions and past experiences than the behavior itself. I also enjoyed the section on temperament and how children respond to their world in different ways. Readers are encouraged to use what they know about themselves and their child to make sensitive and effective decisions to support healthy growth and development. The final section on sharing care with other adults was very useful. It provided reassurance and tools to have a good relationship with other adults in my child's life.

I am happy to recommend this book to both new and experienced parents.

Bringing Up Baby offers parents what they need most - help in making decisions that fit THEIR family and THEIR child. It asks parents to look at their beliefs and desires to gain knowledge about themselves. It asks them to learn about their child by watching their child. Instead of taking the advice of an expert, parents can feel confident making tough parenting decisions that are right for their family. While offering plenty of information, the authors do not provide one-size-fits-all answers. The text is easy and quick to read so busy parents can get support without giving up lots of time. The appendix gives typical behaviors and ways to think about typical dilemmas that come up in the first three years of life. I think that parents will refer to this book again and again. It is a welcome addition to the Parent Library at my infant/toddler center.

There are plenty of books that tell how kids behave, some tell why they do so and how parents should deal with that. This one has in additional important factors: how parents behave and why. It's also great at describing child behaviour, its causes and possible meanings. It provides multiple suggestions how to deal with various situations depending on what you are comfortable with. It creates scenarios with open-ended questions to help you as a parent understand what is better for your family.

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: 8 Easy Steps to Reclaiming Balance, Motivation, and Your Inner Diva

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.

This book is very different from a lot of "how-to" parenting guides. It starts by encouraging parents to be self-aware, to understand what motivates them and where they find support in the tough task of parenting. The book goes on to help parents understand what makes their child unique, and how to tune in to his or her specific needs by observing and responding.

The book is written in a way that's very accessible to parents. The authors use lots of examples, stories, and pictures. There are several little scales to help you rate things like your child's activity level and temperament. And the advice is practical and useful without being preachy.

All in all, this is a very useful parent guide. It encourages you to use what you already know about yourself and your child to make good parenting decisions in your child's first few years. I'd highly recommend it to all parents of very young children.

As an early childhood educator, I am always looking for new materials to help educate myself and the families I work with. I found this book to be very helpful because it offers a framework that parents (and other caregivers too) can use to help make wise, thoughtful, and developmentally appropriate descisions about caring for children.

It's very sound advice in an easy to read format.