Parenting Your Toddler: The Expert's Guide To The Tough And Tender Years [Paperback]

Kate Ballen (Author), Patricia Henderson Shimm (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 21, 1993

Here is direct and wise guidance from a professional with over twenty years experience at the highly regarded Barnard College Center for Toddler Development. In Parenting Your Toddler, Ballen and toddler expert Shimm offer help to parents on major issues like limit-setting; first-child syndrome; toilet training; taking a vacation without guilt; what to say when your two-year-old doesn’t want you to leave for work; how to break up fights between children over toys; and how to know if your caregiver is good for your toddler. With an easy-to-use format that features useful anecdotes, checklists, and questions and answers, this authoritative guide will help you navigate the toddler years with solid, practical, and loving advice.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kate Ballen is an associate editor at Fortune Magazine. Patricia Henderson Shimm has run the Barnard College Center for Toddler Development—one of the few schools devoted to providing enriched educational experience for both young children and their families—for more than twenty years.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (July 21, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 020162298X
• ISBN-13: 978-0201622980
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #388,606 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A True Expert's Advice in a No-Nonsense Approach, May 9, 2011

By 

Jennie L. Thornton "Wine Goddess" (New York, NY, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Parenting Your Toddler: The Expert's Guide To The Tough And Tender Years (Paperback)

I have been one of the few lucky parents to send my children to The Toddler Center at Columbia University where author Pat Shimm is the director. I found this school AFTER reading this book. When reading the book I knew I had found the pre-school that would help my kids and, more importantly, me become more socialized humans. The book is written as though you were talking to Pat and her 40+ years of toddler study in the same parenting group. She is a practical, no-nonsense, and encouraging educational theorist / practitioner. She is also a mother and grandmother and NEVER tells you as a parent that you are wrong, but instead reminds you with every page to trust yourself and to enjoy your toddler.

I was able to really find the "joy of motherhood" after reading this book. It changed the way that I raised my children. I stopped trying to be a "perfect mom" and became just me....and guess what: we were all happier for it. and YES: I learned not to tell my toddlers to "share", I let them fight it out over toys (BUT NEVER HIT WITH AN OBJECT), and to have grand adventures on their own (with me watching from a safe distance), I never forced them to eat veggies, and I never denied them TV...and guess what???? Almost like Magic: My kids share, they almost never hit, they prefer books to TV, they are happy to share their joys with me at the end of their days, and yes, they try almost every crazy veggie I put in front of them! Trust yourself, read the book, be a better parent by letting go a bit.

10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars review, April 2, 2002

By 

Cecile "Mother of girls" (Beverly, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Parenting Your Toddler: The Expert's Guide To The Tough And Tender Years (Paperback)

I read this book and it didn't really teach me anything new that I didn't already know. The only thing that stood out to me is something the author suggested that I definitely do not agree with- that you let toddlers of equal size and strength battle it out for toys. Think about it... I found the book "How to raise an unspoiled child" much more helpful and respect the authors approach and credibility.

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book on toddlers out there!, May 19, 2011

By 

April Humphrey (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Parenting Your Toddler: The Expert's Guide To The Tough And Tender Years (Paperback)

I really "get" toddlers now, having read this book. it has changed the way I think about my daughter's behavior and I am sure I am a better, more sensitive parent now. It makes a big difference to understand what they are going through developmentally and see things from their perspective. Highly recommend!

Update: Ok, my daughter turned 2 a couple weeks ago, and like clockwork the terrible twos hit! I just re-read parts of this book and learned loads more about what I can do to make this time more bearable. Lots of really helpful (and realistic) suggestions for how to deal with typical toddler "problem" behavior while taking into account the developmental needs of toddlers.