Dear Parent: Caring for Infants With Respect (2nd Edition) [Paperback]

Magda Gerber (Author), Joan Weaver (Editor)

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Resources for Infant Educarers (RIE); Expanded edition (February 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1892560062
• ISBN-13: 978-1892560063
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #62,724 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The perfect gift for every new or expectant parent. May 30, 1999

By McDume

Format:Paperback

"DEAR PARENT" presents a simple yet ground-breaking, natural yet thought-provoking way to raise your child. Magda Gerber's philosophy of respect for your infant -- and for yourself as a parent -- changed my life. It transformed me from a baffled, overwhelmed new mother to a confident, fulfilled one.

Magda taught me that if I fully focused on my baby during "caring times" (feeding, diapering, bathing), I didn't have to 'teach' her how to sit, crawl, walk, talk or play. When she was ready to do those things, she did so naturally. And she owned them. I learned to let my child's play time be hers, a time to follow her own curiosity and direciton without interruption. The joy I found in observing my child and her discoveries helped me to survive the loneliness and doldrums of parenting an infant/toddler. My child is still inclined to spend long periods of time without TV, videos, or suggestions from me, entertaining and educating herself with self-initiated activities, creations, and daydreams.

"DEAR PARENT" is packed with Magda Gerber's wisdom from a lifetime of observations and writings. It can change forever the way you view infants, toddlers, all other human beings. Communicating with your child, taking his or her unspoken feelings into account from Day One, establishes a relationship based on mutual respect. This book is the perfect gift for a new or expectant parent, especially one who is willing to use common sense in parenting, foregoing all the latest baby gimmicks and contraptions. "DEAR PARENT" will inspire you (as Magda says) to "do less, enjoy more".

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Good companion volume July 8, 2004

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

This is a good book to have if you have already read Your Self-Confident Baby, actually written by Magda Gerber, and are an enthusiast. It's a series of essays and talks given by Gerber and edited by someone else into a semi-coherent guide. It's the first book we read on the subject, and taking the theory of respect into practice has made a giant difference in our interactions with our son, but we were both annoyed by the occasionally hectoring tone. I have just finished the Self-Confident Baby, and found it to be more coherent, more comprehensive, more sympathetic, and all around more useful. I definitely recommend the RIE method to any new parent or grandparent, it's made a world of difference in the level of peace in our household with our (very) active son, but start with the other book.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars If I were an infant, I would want to be treated this way June 3, 2003

By Jennifer and Mia

Format:Paperback

Gerber's recommendations for caring for infants are direct and to the point, without the "come on, just try it" tone that baby experts sometimes fall into. She doesn't need to talk me into using her approach because it struck me immediately on a gut level that if I were an infant, I would want to be treated this way. Heck, as an adult I want to be treated this way.

She recommends simple, profound gestures that you can use from day one to show your infant that her feelings and preferences are important to you. They include telling your baby what you are going to do before you do it [ie. "Mommy's going to pick you up now"] and other basic ways to connect with your baby as a separate being rather than an object.

I've read Dr. Sears, Burton White, Penelope Leach, and others. There's useful nuts-and-bolts stuff with those other authors, but Magda Gerber's "Dear Parent: Caring for Infants with Respect" is a must-have addition to your parenting library.

This book takes a couple of hours to read and will make a huge improvement in my approach to parenting.