Customer Reviews

Caring for Your Baby and Young Child : Birth to Age 5

5 star:		(59)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

During the months that my wife and I were eagerly anticipating our first child, I set out to find a few informative books to educate and prepare myself for fatherhood. Although the task was daunting given the huge variety of available titles, I was finally able to narrow it down to three books, including "Caring for Your Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5."

From the start, this reassuring, warmly-written book proved an excellent choice. The tone is conversational but intelligent, and the book informs without being pushy, patronizing or condescending. The information contained is up-to-date and presented neutrally. Also contained are supplementary "Where We Stand" sections, which outline the opinions of the American Academy of Pediatrics (the organization that compiled the book) for further reader consideration. In addition, a helpful 225-page section at the back of the book deals with a variety of important topics including emergencies, behaviour, family issues, immunizations, and assorted developmental concerns.

As a new parent with endless questions and apprehensions, I welcomed the detailed month-by-month explanations of what to expect developmentally after birth (the book covers up to age five). Further, I was delighted to discover from the first chapter that the authors clearly love children and working in the pediatric field. This is quickly apparent from the way that children and parenting are discussed.

My son is now three months old, and I enjoy browsing ahead through the book for a sense of what to expect in the days and years ahead. Overall, this title is to be highly recommended for its good humour, clarity, informative content, and celebration of the very reason it was written--our children. It's amazing how many authors and publishers tend to forget this.

Conversely, "Your Baby and Child: From Birth to Age Five" by Penelope Leach (another of the three books I selected) is to be avoided for its preachy tone and use of scare-tactics. While not a terrible book, I found Ms. Leach's style heavy-handed. The author is prone to making parents believe that if a baby or child is not attended to in a certain way (such as the one she suggests), then dreadful things will result. Despite its many high recommendations on Amazon's site, I found that Ms. Leach's book presents only her set view of parenting. Even the "Parents Have Their Say" supplements throughout seem to do little more than support the author's own opinions on such issues as circumcision. A far better supplementary choice would be the excellent and informative (although bulky) "Mayo Clinic Complete Book of Pregnancy & Baby's First Year."

We have a lovely six-month old daughter, and have been using this book constantly since she was born. The other books that we liked were the "Girlfriend's guides" but this has a lot more detail, and I feel that it covers a lot more basics. My wife relies heavily on her mother, and a Russian version of Dr Spock, but we tend to leave the final decision to the American Academy.

What I really like about this book is that the index is large, and easy to use. So if I look up "rash" there are cross-references to all the various sorts of rash that might appear. Someone has put in a lot of time to make sure that a panicked parent can go straight to this index, and find the key part of the text.

The content is very much aimed at the "average" child. This is good in a way, as it does not worry you with rare ailments, and tells you to go see a doctor if there is anything out of the ordinary. So you get advice on dealing with the more common, middle of the road stuff by yourself, but if, God forbid, something more rare comes up, they send you to the doctor. Fair enough - no one wants a lawsuit for giving advice on a patient that they haven't seen, and every child is unique.

The other thing that is surprising is that the milestones seem to be late - our daughter seems very early compared to the guidelines in this book, as do other children her age. So it may be that they consciously say that you should expect your child to do something later than they actually do, to avoid people panicking if their child develops some skill later in life. This looks like it would be unavoidable in a book that is trying to be applicable to a group that is as diverse as small children.

Anyway, this book has been very helpful to me as the father of a young child, and I hope that your mileage is the same as mine.

This book is just full of useful information and it's presented in a clear and helpful way. First, a month by month guide to infant development and psychology. Then some helpful sections on child proofing your home and finally a large and valuable section on health issues and emergency care. I didn't expect the AAP to write such a handy and easy to read volume.

This comprehensive guide is a parent-friendly reference book that I highly recommend to new moms and dads. Anxious parents welcome kind support and easy to understand facts so that they can become more confident in making the many necessary decisions regarding their children. "Caring For Your Baby and Young Child; Birth to Age Five" is conveniently formatted and offers an abundance of helpful, sound information addressing the many questions and concerns that arise during the early years. It is especially helpful in explaining common health issues thereby often relieving a worried parent on the spot about those many wonders and fears that occasionally come to mind. Although this book covers a wide spectrum of information, I noticed that the advice relating to discipline strategies and child development insights for the 2-to-5-year-old isn't as extensive as the medical information or the specific infant behavior suggestions. I would like to also recommend another helpful reference book to fill that need. "The Pocket Parent" is a troubleshooting A-Z guide focusing on challenging preschool behavior and is written in the same friendly, non-judgmental style as "Caring For Your Baby..." Parenting, especially in the early years can feel scary, lonely, and quite frustrating. These two books are very compatible, having the same underlying positive perspective and philosophy for raising healthy, happy children. Keep them handy whenever you need some fast answers, strategies, or just a little 'verbal hug' to reassure you that you are not losing your mind and that everything is going to be OK.

This book has come in handy for all of my questions and concerns. It has useful sections on development in different age stages, and the back section of the book goes into detail about infant and child illnesses. This health section in the back has been useful when I've tried to determine whether to call my child's pediatrician or what might help my child feel better, as well as how long he might be contagious. The sections on development have useful checklists too. It's the only parenting book I've purchased so far. I usually just check them out from the library but it is well worth purchasing.

This book has been of great help! I am a new mother and had no clue what to expect with a baby. This book will help you through just about everything from teething, eating, sleeping and behavioral developments. There is a informative section in the back of the book for common illnesses, cpr, etc..I buy this book for every baby shower I attend.

This book is our most often used reference. It is well laid-out and well written, although a little dry. Each age range is discussed in terms of physical, intellectual and emotional development. There is a large section on possible injuries and sicknesses, etc. It has a good index and is consistently laid out for easy finding of just what you want to know. Much better than Spock, which seems to be laid out more to be read from front to back, instead of used as a reference.

When may wife I were handed this book we were sure that everything we would ever need to know must be in the book given it's size. Well it turns out that we were correct, at least there has been nothing we have not be able to find yet. Being new parents we needed a resource guide, so by both our purchasing and gifts we now have a rather large collection of pregnancy and early childcare books. We have been reading them and comparing the different books to each other and of course how they relate to our experiences. This book has turned out to be one of our favorites

This is a wonderful resource / guide that provides a wealth of authoritative child-care information in an easy-to-use format. It is a comprehensive book that seems to be able to answer any question we have or provide some guidance for any situation that we run into. The first part of the book gives you almost everything you need to know on parenting including a very helpful month by month guide for the first year. The second half of the book includes a complete and easy-to-use emergency first-aid section, plus detailed information about childhood illnesses, immunization schedules and side effects, and a discussion of behavioral issues.

You come away from each encounter with book very reassured, it just seams like a smart, sound guide that can help you through all those times when you needs some advice or information. It is laid out logically and the writing is very understandable. Overall I would recommend it to any new parents.

How I wish this wonderful, complete reference book had been available when my three daughters were little ones. Now all three are grown adults, and two have children of their own. This is a terrific book, and one which will be highly recommended to those encountering the wonders, and sometimes fearful experiences, of parenthood.

What is so impressive about this particular book is the way it is organized and "complete" - a one stop shop for advice. The fact the advice comes from a sound and reliable source is definitely another huge plus. There are many books available in the marketplace on child care and development but often they contain information based on personal opinion and not necessarily sound and qualified expertise. This book excells in professional and qualified opinions. The extensive content covers a w-i-d-e range of topics: nutrition; basic child care; physical, emotional and social development; first aid and common illnesses; family structures; behaviour issues, etc. The presentation style is easy to read, factual, and outlines the information in such a way that it is practical but does not instill undue fear and anxiety into the parent(s). I believe every parent goes through that stage when we tend to automatically assume the worst possible illness is going to befell our child only to discover, after a visit to our family physician, our fears were totally unfounded. It is human nature to react that way because we love our children and want to keep them safe and healthy. Whether a child has a common cold or an ear infection, we tend to lose as much sleep as the child, simply out of concern and worry. This unnerving experience is magnified if this happens to be your first child. Knowing what I know now, both as a parent and in the field of psychology, if anyone asked me for a book on a child's first formative years, this would be one of the first I would recommend, and it certainly is worth the price.

As you would expect by a group of doctors this book is complete and accurate. There's lots of information on childhood illnesses. However, it's also a bit expensive and wordy and a little hard to find what you're looking for, so I gave it four stars. I also think its time for an update as the book was published in 1998. I like Gentle Baby Care by Elizabeth Pantley for a new and an easier-to-read book.