Customer Reviews

Child Health Guide: Holistic Pediatrics for Parents

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you're someone who finds yourself inexorably drawn to living the healthy life and want the best for your child's health, you should consider buying this book. It's the most concise, accurate treatise I've seen on the subject of children's health. In fact, I intend to buy 10 copies and give them out to friends and relatives as they have kids!

Dr. Neustaedter not only covers traditional subjects like coughs, colds, ear infections, and supplements, but he also broadens the net to include assessments of water filters, safe crib mattresses to reduce SIDS, breastfeeding how-tos, Vitamin K shots at birth, etc. This is but a sampling of what's included! I would highly recommend this book to anyone considering getting pregnant (since the subject matter covers conception to pre-teen health).

What's taken 80% of my leisure time in the last 4 years to investigate on my own, he's drawn together in one handy book for you. Wish he'd published this 4 years ago :-)

BTW, who am I? I am a woman who is into all things healthy and am the lodestone for all I know IRL who want to find out what being healthy means. They've always suggested I should publish a book, but now, I don't have to - Dr. Randy's done it :-)

Lastly, the other book you should have is Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child - which includes every possible illness under the sun, and 4 or 5 alternative, home remedy, and allopathic treatments for each.

The Child Health Guide is hands down the best, holistic book on pregnancy & parenting that I have found yet. I'm still learning stuff that I didn't know -- stuff that helps with my 15 year old!!
The author holds a degree in Oriental Medicine and focuses on scientific information to teach you to make healthier choices for you and your family.

Here's a sampling: Plastic Toys and Phthalates; Environmental Toxins In The Home; Chemicals To Avoid In Shampoo; Why Avoid Soy?; Which Sweeteners Are (Relatively) Safe & Sweeteners To Avoid; DHA Supplementation, Cod Liver Oil Nutrient Content, Fats For Children, etc.; The Most Important Foods To Avoid; Principles Of Holistic Pediatrics For Parents; Vaccines -- Making An Informed Choice.

There is an entire section that focuses on managing acute illness, treatment at home & when to seek outside help.

There is so much more. This IS the book to get for someone looking to get pregnant and raise healthy children!!

Being holistic, I've been waiting a long time for one book to bring together so much vital information for new parents, I cannot recommend this book more--read this even before you get pregnant and before other baby books!! His resources are up to date and quite vast. Randall informs you of what testing, vaccines...and steps/procedures are and are not vital in those early days of your newborn....he tells you all about the covering of newborn mattresses...foods to feed and avoid at what ages (carrots not too early!). Please be aware this is NOT a "granola" book on parenting..if you can't breast feed...it is ok...he gives you recipes for awesome infant formulas...in the toxic world we live in today--this book is a must!! (his other book on vaccines is also essential reading)

This book has RAVE reviews and I hesitate to write a slightly negative one, but here goes. I have an 18-month old. I have been in search for a holistic pediatrician in our area with no luck. After reading these reviews I thought for sure I had found a solution to my problems: A book that would give me some information on how to treat symptoms holistically. My son has had so many ear infections and I hestitate to give him antibiotics for each one, altho our current pediatrician deemed it a necessary evil. I was hoping to find other types of remedies. Same with teething. Same with other things.

As a mother of a toddler, I found no help in a book that dealt more specifically with newborns and the first 6 months of child care. There is a tiny tiny section on Toddlers. That's it. And that section was not very helpful.

In addition, most of the information is stuff I have already heard and read in other books. If you are new to holistic child rearing, then perhaps this book is for you. If you are NOT a novice, then I would say this book give just a general overview of the topics and there may be better other resources out there for you.

I was pretty disappointed and am returning the book at my own expense.

But, like I said, if you are new to this subject or if you have a new baby, then you may find this book very helpful. The title should be changed to Child Health Guide, Newborn to 6 months.

This kind of information can be difficult to get your hands on... What plastics are safe? Do you need to filter your water and what kind is best? What about vaccines (which ones the author considers safe & when to administer) and flouride (author says avoid). What tests are necessary for the newborn? Some other topics include: newborn basics, how to co-sleep safely, and how to "wrap" a matress in food-grade plastic sheeting to reduce the incidence of SIDS.
Nutrition is covered, including allergies. For instance, did you know soy is NOT an appropriate food for babies? For parents who need to give formula there are several recipes for home-made formulas (milk-based, goatmilk-based, liver-based, and how to supplement store-bought formulas).
Other pertinant information includes teething, common childhood illnesses (colds, fevers, ear-aches, etc.) with explanations on how and when to treat with homeopathic remedies, along with chapters about each stage of childhood.
Overall, an interesting addition to your home library, good place to start and many things to think about.

This is so important for new parents and parents who want to make more informed choices with their second or third etc.
The philosophy behind this book is "don't just believe what your pediatrician is telling you to do". Expand your beliefs and resources for the health of your child. There's so much solid info regarding dietary and environmental influences on your child's health, it's amazing.
We would have done things very differently in regards to our son's "spitting up" issues had we read this book earlier and not just followed the advice of our pediatirican to jump on meds which never worked anyway. Fortunately once we saw meds weren't improving the situation we looked further for an osteopath and a homeopath who actually were more effective in resolving his reflux / spitting up issues.
So hooray for Randall Neustaedter for writing this enlightening book!
It's a must have for all.

When I first started this book, I was concerned that it would be too general for me, as I'm pretty granola already. But as I kept reading, I was pleasantly surprised! It turned out to have lots of great info I didn't know before...I'm really glad I found it! It's a good overview of basic child healthcare, and gives lots of practical advice. Because I read it, I'll know not to panic if my child should get a fever that sounds high to me, for instance...Neustaedter explains why fevers can be beneficial, and when to leave them alone, and when to help them go down naturally. There are lots of other great tips, as well as homeopathic remedies.

This book is a wonderful, informative resource to have and will serve you best if you start reading it while pregnant. This is not a book to keep on the shelf until after your baby is born. I spent months doing research online while pregnant and found so much valuable and seemingly illusive information. Then I found this book and when I got it I couldn't believe how much of that info was right here in this book--and more. I lent it to my friend when she was pregnant. It contains information that will help you make the most informed decisions about your child's birth and what alternative choices you can make along with resources. For example, it tells you that they put antibiotic ointment goop in your baby's eyes after they are born, why they do it and help you decide if you want this done at all or if you'd like to have it delayed. They explain the Vitamin K injection and tell you about an alternative oral vitamin K you can purchase and where to get it if you prefer.
They do so much stuff to your baby after birth that you don't even realize and that very often you aren't asked about! This book explains it all and helps walk you through it. And that's just for starters.
I can't recommend this book highly enough! Buy it and be an informed parent!

This is a great book for anyone who wants to better understand how nutrition and natural products can help prevent health problems by building a good, healthy immune system from the beginning of life. My children are not babies anymore, but I found that much of the information applies to our entire family, at any age.

This book is very informative and a good resource for parents. It made perfect sense since my family was already practicing some of the things mentioned in the book. Love it!