Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care: 8th Edition [Mass Market Paperback]

Benjamin Spock (Author), Robert Needlman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 25, 2004

OVER 50 MILLION COPIES IN PRINT!

THE CLASSIC THAT CONTINUES TO GROW WITH THE TIMES! For sixty-five years, parents have relied on the expert advice of renowned pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Spock. But while children never change, issues and concerns do. Dr. Robert Needlman, himself a top-notch pediatrician, has newly updated and expanded this timeless classic to speak to any parent who is raising children in our rapidly changing world. While still providing reassuring advice on age-old topics such as caring for a new baby, as well as accidents, illness, and injuries, this book also contains expanded information in many new areas, including:

• Cutting-edge medical opinion on immunizations

• Obesity and nutrition

• Cultural diversity and nontraditional family structures

• Children’s learning and brain development

• The newest thinking on children with special needs

• Environmental health

• Increasingly common disorders such as ADHD, depression, and autism— including medications and behavioral interventions

• Children and the media, including electronic games

• Coping with family stress

• And much, much more

With an updated glossary of common medications and an authoritative list of the most reliable online resources, this invaluable guide is still the next best thing to Dr. Spock’s #1 rule of parenting: “Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do.”

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Benjamin Spock, M.D., practiced pediatrics in New York City from 1933 to 1947. He then became a medical teacher and researcher at the Mayo Clinic, the University of Pittsburgh, and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. The author of eleven books, he was a political activist for causes that vitally affect children: disarmament, day care, schooling, housing, and medical care for all. He had two sons, a stepdaughter, and four grandchildren. Dr. Spock, who died March 15, 1998, at age ninety-four, was married to Mary Morgan. Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care has been translated into thirty-nine languages and has sold fifty million copies worldwide since its first publication in 1946.

Dr. Robert Needlman grew up in Chicago, attending the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, where his mother was a preschool teacher. He graduated from Yale University with a BA in English Literature and earned his MD from Yale Medical School. He trained in General Pediatrics and Developmental and Behavioral  Pediatrics at Boston City Hospital, where he led the development of Reach Out and Read, a project to promote reading aloud.  ROR programs now help millions of children to grow up loving books (learn more at www.reachoutandread.org).   In addition to being the revising co-author of Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care, 8th and 9th editions, he is the author of Dr. Spock’s Baby Basics and writes for Drspock.com.  Dr. Needlman practices and teaches Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland and is Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.  He lives in Cleveland with his wife, Carol Farver, a surgical pathologist and educator. Their daughter, Grace, is a graduate of Yale University, where she majored in Art.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 992 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books; 8 edition (May 25, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743476689
• ISBN-13: 978-0743476683
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #236,371 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #18 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Parenting & Families > Parenting > Child Care
  • #41 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Health, Mind & Body > Personal Health > Women's Health > Pregnancy & Childbirth
  • #81 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Parenting & Families > Parenting > General

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential Guide!, July 28, 2005

By 

Beth Starr "bethlehem_starr" (Cali) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care: 8th Edition (Paperback)

This book has the most common sense approach to parenting I have seen to date. Very much an advocate of trusting your own instincts, he allows parents to be comfortable with their decisions.

A great reference guide, quick answers to a lot of those questions that new parents have... even the ones that they don't know they have, and the ones they don't want to admit that they have.

I highly recommend this book!

**********************UPDATE************************

So, my son is 4 now, and my dog-eared copy of Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care still has a place of prominence on my bookshelf.
This book helped me get through a couple of awful colds. It helped me figure out childproofing. Struggles with toilet training (best advice ever- stop struggling!), dinner-time (same advice! :-) ) So many little (and big) questions were answered with this book.

I could research things in the book, prior to taking my son for his well-baby checkups.

I'm a single mom with a really supportive family - that lives a thousand miles away. Dr. Spock helped fill the gaps. It's not a bible, it's not infallible- I don't completely agree, but I don't completely agree with my mother either!

I just can't recommend this book enough.

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Your family will live long and prosper with Spock's advice, February 23, 2005

By 

Fruit Loop (Down South) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care: 8th Edition (Paperback)

Dr. Spock's common sense approach to practical parenting and sound advice on the most basic elements of childrearing will never go out of style no matter how many times this book is revised and reprinted. This is Mom And Dad 101 and covers everything from preconception to teenhood. Spock answers the most elemental stuff - Care and Feeding, Diapering, to health issues and how to answer those tough questions from your toddler. A must-have for any parent, either first time or twelfth.

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love It!! Very Informative, July 7, 2004

By 

A Safiro "axlandra" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care: 8th Edition (Paperback)

I actually borrow this book from my local library. I am quite amazed by Dr. Spock's insight. I know and I've read so many times that each baby has its own unique development. But somehow Dr. Spock explains it in a different way. He also explores the importance of non-physical development, things that we missed on daily basis just because we are too busy comparing other babies are chubbier. Admit it mom!

This book covers different stages of child development. So I don't read all of them at once, only on the sections that relate to my baby's current progress.

Dr. Spock's suggestion is "TRUST YOURSELF". He believes mom knows the unique needs of her baby, and when the world-known pediatrician told you that .. what more can you say?