[.ca] Baby and Child Care (ISBN 084230889X)

buy a hardback if available:
This book covers conception through college. Although published by conservative Christians, a term which does not describe our family, it is not some preachy religious tract. For every age it has comprehensive information on the medical issues that arise, the psychology and development of children at that age. And it is written for normal people, not experts. Thanks to this book, I have been able to figure out some things that my young children have allergic sensitivities to; I have been able to avoid dehydration when my infant had diarrhea; I know better how children of a given age think and what they may be capable of. I especially appreciated the emphasis on the children's emotional needs. For example, given my limited experience with children before having my own, if this book hadn't mentioned how much the day-to-day interactions with babies mean to their emotional wellbeing, I'm not sure I would have gone out of my way to make moments like diaper changes and feedings fun. There is easy to use information on everything from taking a rectal temperature to diagnosing allergies to understanding how a child at a given age thinks, what she may be capable of doing, and even what kind of toys go with what age. Finally, I have found that the information in this book has always been consistent with what our pediatrician says, and with the generally accepted practices mentioned in childcare magazines, so I think it is very credible. Buy a hardback if available because you will want this to last awhile.

Evenhanded, non-dogmatic approach:
I really appreciate the laid back attitude of this book. The authors provide useful information and guidance, but without the sense that any given situation has only one right answer or response. They provide lots of encouragement to use your parental judgment in situations. Every child is different, and this book provides the right flexible approach.

Only for those of same religious persuasion:
This book has much excellent information, but it is not for you if you are not a conservative Christian. If you are, you will probably love it; if not, its philosophy of child rearing may conflict with your own.

Mostly a fine book, but not the best choice for everyone:
I greatly enjoyed reading this resource, and finished it in a little over a week, despite its length! It is written in an easy style, but it still has lots of information about kids of all ages. There are two types of parent who are probably *not* going to like this book. One is the "natural parenting" type, who is interested in home/birth center birth, attachment parenting, etc. The book is very biased in favor of hospital birth(a big drawback), and has little information about attachment parenting methods. Those of us with any interest at all in using some or all of these methods should be consulting other books as well. The second sort of parent who could dislike the book is one who has very strong views about spanking, which the book favors. Actually, this book takes much more space telling the parent when they should *not* spank their child, but for those who see any physical discipline at all as "brutality" or "violence", this won't be enough. However, for the Christian parent who wants a single, mainstream reference work for the entire child rearing experience, the book has not only plenty of sound advice and counsel, but also extensive medical and safety information of the most practical sort. A great investment!

Excellent parenting help:
I had my first son in 1998. I purchased this book a few weeks after he was born. I have used it as a resource many times. There is excellent, practical advice on everything from breastfeeding to picking a pediatrician to ear infections. It covers pre-birth through the teen years and hits all of the major topics/issues that come up daily. I have recommended this book to many moms. It is the best child care book I own. Every family should have this on their bookshelf. Thanks Amazon for making it available.