The Wonder Weeks: How to Turn Your Baby's 8 Great Fussy Phases into Magical Leaps Forward [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

by Hetty Vanderijt (Author), Frans Plooij (Author) "Watching their babies grow is, for many parents, one of the most interesting and rewarding experiences of their lives..." (more)
Key Phrases: fussy phase, fussy period, way your baby (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
New parents faced with an inconsolable baby are often desperate for advice and support. So, at first glance, this detailed look at the developmental causes of fussiness in babies by two Dutch child development experts holds great promise. The book is well organized according to each age's major developmental passage (e.g., "The World of Patterns" at eight weeks, "The World of Categories" at 37 weeks). The problem is that the work has the air of a parenting magazine feature article straining to be a book. While some of the observations and advice presented are original and helpful, they are also frequently repetitious and/or simply inane. Moreover, there is a noticeable absence of references to specific research studies to back up the claims presented. Also lacking is a bibliography. A better choice would be Craig T. and Sharon L. Ramey's Right from Birth. For larger infant development collections only.
Kay Hogan Smith, Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham Lib., Lister Hill
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"This is a very practical and entertaining window into the baby's first year and a half. Vanderijt and Plooij have observed and found the vulnerable times in an infant's development that I independently came to in my book Touchpoints (Perseus). The authors' observations and practical suggestions are wonderful."--T. Berry Brazelton, M.D., professor emeritus, Harvard Medical School

"Anyone who deals with infants and young children will want to read The Wonder Weeks. This book will open parents' eyes to aspects of their children's growth, development, changing behavior, and emotional responsiveness that they might otherwise not notice or find puzzling and distressing."--Catherine Snow, Ph.D., Shattuck Professor of Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Books; 1 edition (January 18, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579546455
• ISBN-13: 978-1579546458
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #450,102 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If only this book had been available when my son was a baby!, January 14, 2004

By	Ask Moxie "www.askmoxie.org" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This book is *exactly* what every new parent wants: a guide that tells exactly why your baby is fine one week and freaking out the next. We all know about the physical growth spurts at 3 and 6 weeks and then 3 and 6 months, but there isn't anything else that tells you when developmental spurts are happening. Until now. As soon as I got this book I went back and looked in my journal from when my son was a baby, and all his fussy weeks matched up with the ones in the book! If I'd had this book at the time it would have been so much easier just to roll with it and not wonder what was "wrong".

IME the best thing about this book is that it doesn't tell you how to be a perfect parent, or give you some focacta plan you have to follow exactly to make your baby turn out the right way. Instead it just tells you why your baby is doing what s/he is doing, so you can have patience and not worry that there's something wrong with either you as a parent or your child.

I just ordered two more to give to new parents I know. This is my one constant shower gift. I can't believe this book hasn't gotten more press than it has, because it would really be a lifesaver for any parent with a baby under the age of 1.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Library Journal reviewer is clearly not a parent!, January 30, 2004

By A Customer

The woman who reviewed this book for the Library Journal has clearly never had an infant who acts fine one week and then crazy the next. If she had, she'd love this book as much as I did, and the 3 friends I've given this book as gifts to did. The reason the authors don't refer to other research studies is that they're the only ones who've specifically been studying this, and they use plenty of examples from their own research. Yes, it's true that it's not written in a really scientific way, but is that what you want to read when you're just trying to figure out why your child stopped sleeping and eating all of a sudden? Not me. I'd rather know what developmental leap is coming up so I know how long the cranky phase will last and what I can do to help my child through it. This book is so easily worth the money and time spent reading it, just because it gives you the patience to be able to wait out difficult periods when you know why they're happening and when they'll stop. No things you should and shouldn't do, just a sort of refernce manual of what's going on and why. Buy the book and your life with your infant through 12-month-old will improve immensely.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Book is being reprinted, August 23, 2007

By	Patricia A. Santarpio "Tricia S." (New Jersey) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I give this book to every new mother I know, it's that good. However, the used book prices are insane. I emailed the author in the Netherlands and he said they are in negotiation with a new publisher to reprint the book.
There is no reason to pay $80.00 - $175.00 for a $20.00 paperback.
People all over the world have written to him asking to have it reprinted and he's very anxious to do so.
Tricia