If Your Kid Eats This Book, Everything Will Still Be Okay: How to Know if Your Child's Injury or Illness Is Really an Emergency [Paperback]

Lara Zibners (Author)

Book Description

As an Emergency Room pediatrician, Dr. Lara Zibners has seen it all. She's cared for a portion of the 25 million children in the U.S. who are taken to the ER each year-and she knows that more than 50% of these visits may be unnecessary. IF YOUR KID EATS THIS BOOK, EVERYTHING WILL STILL BE OKAY shows parents when they may need to take action, and when they might be able to just go back to bed and call their doctor in the morning. With sections such as "In the Diaper" and "His Noggin and the Nervous System," Dr. Zibners covers every part of the body and offers sound advice (for example, did you know that oil is the best remedy for dissolving superglue between body parts?), all while maintaining a lively and often hilarious tone. To the question, "What if she chokes on her vomit?" Zibners answers, "A healthy child will not choke on her own vomit, unless she is drunk or high on Grandma's sleeping pills."

Finally, no more frantic late-night searches through the "why to buy," "how to diaper," or "what to feed him" sections found in other childcare books to find out if little Franny needs to go to the ER. This book focuses on the truly important questions, like how to keep her from electrocuting herself in the first place. Not every child has a pediatrician with specialized emergency room experience living in her home. But this book just might be the next best thing.

Lara Zibners, MD, is a former Assistant Professor of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. Currently, she divides her professional time between New York and London.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Zibners, an emergency room pediatrician who divides her time between London and New York, claims that about 75% of all nighttime Emergency Department visits are unnecessary. To forestall them, she's written a book that every parent needs at 4 a.m. when the baby has a bellyache or fever, and a decision must be made about whether to call the doctor, go back to bed or head for the hospital. Zibners walks parents through all the body parts and processes, including The ABCs: Airway, Breathing and Circulation; The Noggin and Nervous System; Seeing and Hearing: The Eyes and Ears; Bite and Sniff: The Nose, Mouth and Throat and so forth, with a chapter devoted to such newborn issues as the soft spot and the umbilicus. Along the way she answers such questions as what would happen if a child ate a decoration pebble from the fish tank, whether a Barbie shoe fits up a nostril, and how to deal with bites, stings, falls, allergic reactions, household poisonings and other panic-inducing problems. Despite her offbeat, wisecracking sense of humor, the book is filled with critical information, such as the fact that fever in a newborn is an urgency. Zibners gives parents the tools to make logical choices while simultaneously trusting their instincts. (June)
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About the Author

Dr. Zibners holds board certifications in both pediatrics and pediatric emergency medicine, a feat that followed over 14 years of higher education. She can run a helicopter resuscitation over the phone, put a tube into a child's chest in under 2 minutes, make a long leg cast that looks like the American flag, and play peek-a-boo with a baby while his mom visits the ladies room. She and her husband are eagerly working towards their own family of little book eaters.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Life & Style (June 17, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446508802
• ISBN-13: 978-0446508803
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #114,563 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must Read for New Parents and Grandparents, September 1, 2009

By 

Jeneba Jalloh Ghatt "JJ Ghatt" (Washington, DC Area) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: If Your Kid Eats This Book, Everything Will Still Be Okay: How to Know if Your Child's Injury or Illness Is Really an Emergency (Paperback)

If ever there was a super humorous take on dealing with us sometimese frantic over sensitive parents, this is it! I read this book from cover to cover and was cracking up all the way through. It is choc full of helpful descriptions and lay person explanations of common ailments and how we should deal with them, in a manner that does NOT require a trip to the ER.

I do wish I had this book as a resource to read BEFORE I had my first child. I vividly recall a moment when we had just come home with our first kid and out of the blue, he started to cry uncontrollably, turning red. I hopped all over the place, yelling at the hubby to warm up the car, unwrapped my head scarf off my locks and was heading to the ER for sure. All the fuss and ruckus to get the kid help induced the baby to burp. *Belch* ...And then he was fine again. Womp Womp Wooomp! It was only gas!

So what Dr. Zibners does in this book is break down the anatomy of the infant, toddler and child. She explains, yes "his little piggy" will disappear into rolls of fat. That is okay. And, before you come in for a diagnosis of a blue mark, try a washcloth and soap. Yup. Funny, but true. It is a great book for a first time mom, dad or grandparents.

Dr. Zibners even offers natural remedies for common ailments that wouldn't require a medical prescription, for example, like for constipation, treat the child with the "P"s = peas, plums, prunes, peaches. Aaaah! Yes. Put the infant Pepto away,you say?

She goes down the list of common products a child can safely get away with eating and not croaking: a bit of lipstick. No problem. A scoopfull of Vaseline. It will pass (literally and figuratively)...and of course there are mentions of the ones that should be treated with emergency care.

This book is very fun and Dr. Zibners matter of fact writing style gives the reader comfort in knowing, "no, you're not an idiot, just a hypersensitive and worrywart mom/dad"

The best part for me are the sidebars dispersed throughout the book called "911" and "Emergency" which details scenarios when you ARE to call for help or take your child in and I made it a point to read every one of those tabs.

All in all, you can't go wrong in reading this book or giving it as a gift to the new grandparents, babysitter, new moms. It is a quick and easy read and worth being on every shelf!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive but not overwhelming!, January 29, 2010

By 

L. Chibe "lchibe" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: If Your Kid Eats This Book, Everything Will Still Be Okay: How to Know if Your Child's Injury or Illness Is Really an Emergency (Paperback)

I am really a very laid-back parent. Sometimes I wonder if I am being too laid back, even - like with 103 degree fevers, bonks on the head, etc. I got this book on my kindle to see if it would help me define when to worry and when to continue not worrying.

It is overall incredibly reassuring. It is comprehensive and covers the necessary information, but it acts as a wonderful reminder that kids are resilient and can take some bumps without too much parental paranoia.

I was thrilled to see that it is very accurate on the subject of infant circumcision as well. Some books written by American doctors are very blase about the procedure and incorrect about information for intact babies. This one, as it is by someone who splits her time between the US and the UK, does a good job of riding the fence. It is not overtly anti-circumcision, but it does not gloss over the very real possibility of complications like severe blood loss, and it expressly mentions that intact care is very simple and should not involve any retraction or internal cleaning.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Funny and informative, August 25, 2009

By 

Amanda Naprawa (Columbus, Ohio) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: If Your Kid Eats This Book, Everything Will Still Be Okay: How to Know if Your Child's Injury or Illness Is Really an Emergency (Paperback)

I just finished this book and loved it. I read it cover-to-cover in just a few days and thought it was not only funny but informative as well. I would highly recommend it to anyone who has kids, knows a kid, has considered having kids, or who might encounter a kid at some point in the future.