Parents can never get too much advice, right? Here is Lowcountry Child's top picks for the best parenting books — from newborn to toddlers.
Caring for Your Baby and Young Child
By Steven P. Shelov, MD, MS, FAAP Editor in Chief, Tanya Remer Altmann, MD, FAAP, Associate Medical Editor
This is the American Academy of Pediatrics' reference book for infance through preschool. The fifth edition offers new chapters on sleep and allergies, resilience, prebiotics and probiotics, as well as an expanded section on obesity, exercise and nutrition. Other highlights:
- Basic child care from infancy through 5 years
- Guidelines and milestones for physical, emotional, social, and cognitive growth
- A complete health encyclopedia covering injuries, illnesses, congential diseases, and other disabilities
- Guidelines for prenatal and newborn care with sections on maternal nutrition, exercise, and screening tests during pregnancy
- An in-depth guide to breastfeeding, including its benefits, techniques, and challenges
- A guide to choosing child care programs and car safety seats
- Ways to reduce your child's exposure to environmental hazards such as tobacco smoke
Heading Home with Your Newborn
From Birth to Reality
By Laura A. Jana, MD, FAAP, and Jennifer Shu, MD, FAAP
This is everything new parents need to prepare for the first few months of their infant's life. It's written by two pediatricians , who also are parents, with information on appearance, health, feeding, sleeping, changing, dressing, traveling, sickness and more.
From the American Academy of Pediatrics Web site:
Drs. Shu and Jana eliminate the feelings of anxiety, guilt, and inadequacy that inevitably plague first-time parents home alone with a newborn. They provide authoritative yet compassionate advice on topics like feeding, hygiene, the process of elimination, and how to enjoy those special moments.
Baby & Child Health
The Essential Guide from Birth to 11 years
By American Academy of Pediatrics; Jennifer Shu, MD, FAAP, Editor
This American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) resource focuses on preventative health care, psychological well-being and positive parenting.
According to the AAP Web site:
Backed by the authority of more than 60,000 AAP member physicians, this beautiful yet practical guide offers current information and reassuring advice in engaging, accessible language, enhanced by more than 600 color photographs, drawings, medical scans, and microscope image
The Portable Pediatrician
By Dr. Laura Nathanson
Parents can't visit their pediatrician every time for every question. This book could be the next best thing. This book offers advice on:
- Keeping up with, or even one step ahead of, your child's rapidly changing needs
- Setting limits before the one year birthday
- Planning the arrival of the next baby in the family
- Coping with your own as well as with your child's separation anxiety
- Dealing with the four I's: illnesses, injuries, immunizations, and insurance coverage
- Getting prompt medical attention for serious crises — and what to do in the meantime
- Preventing childhood obesity and eating disorders later
- Confronting complex behavior and medical problems, including ADD, autism, asthma, oppositional behavior (including potty resistance)
Child of Mine
Feeding with Love and Good Sense
By Ellyn Satter
Nutritionist Ellyn Satter pens an essential guide for every new parent concerned with nutrition and appetite. Child of Mine offers information on all aspects of feeding, from pregnancy through toddler years.
From the Washington Post:
An excellent source of solid nutrition information. . . . it espouses a philosophy of moderation and common sense that fosters good health, good eating habits, and, most of all, a loving relationship between parents and children.
Baby Play and Learn
The Most Complete Book of Games and Learning Activities for Babies and Toddlers
By Penny Warner
A life-saver for any mom in need of ways to entertain her child, this book offers 160 age-appropriate ideas for games and activities that "will provide hours of developmental learning opportunities and rewards for babies," according to Amazon.com. Each game and activity includes:
- Step-by-step instructions;
- Clearly marked recommended ages;
- A detailed list of easy-to-find materials;
- Variations for added fun and enhanced learning;
- Safety tips to make sure the baby doesn't get hurt while playing;
- Illustrations demonstrating how to play.
The Toddlers Busy Book:
365 Creative Games and Activities to Keep your 1 1/2 to 3-Year-Old Busy
By Trish Kuffner
This book offers an activity to stimulate your toddler every day of the year with information on how to prevent boredom during the longest stretches of indoor weather with ideas for indoor play, kitchen activities and arts and crafts projects; to stimulate a child's natural curiosity with entertaining math, language and motor-skills activity; to encourage a child's physical, mental and emotional growth with ideas for fun music, food, water and outdoor activities; to keep toddlers occupied during long car trips or cross-town errands.
The Pocket Parent
By Gail Reichlin and Caroline Winkler
Literally the size of a pocket, this book has been marketed for its common sense, parental wisdom and sanity. Written by two professional parents, this book serves up advice for every parent of a 2-to 5-year-old. The Pocket Parent approach to discipline is based on unconditional love but firm limits while aiming to keep the child's dignity and self-esteem intact. Contents include: "I" statements, modeling, family meetings, and "one word" requests. Once the ground rules are set, the guide moves to an A-to-Z compendium of common problems. Just look it up-Anger, Bad Words, Biting, Chores, Doctor Visits, Fears at Night, Lying, Separation Anxiety-and find the "Sanity Savers" list of suggestions, easy-to-follow bullets, anecdotes, and more.
Beyond Baby Talk
From Sounds to Sentences, A Parent's Complete Guide to Language Development
By Kenn Apel
The first five years of a child's life are the most critical for speech and language development, and, as a parent, you are your child's primary language role model. This book shows parents fun, easy and engaging ways to: evaluate your child's language development, understand and deal with environmental impacts, such as television and cultural styles, recognize the signs of language developmental problems.
How to Raise a Brighter Child
By Joan Beck
Children are like sponges of learning before the age of six. The book incorporates scientific findings on brain development to help boost your child's potential from birth with early learning techniques to aid development in your child's own style and at their speed. The late Joan Beck wrote the award-winning "You and Your Child" column for The Chicago Tribune for many years. She pioneered coverage of new research and brain development, the battle against birth defects and the struggles of parents to balance family and careers.
Mommy Calls
By Tanya Remer
A book for parents of children up to three, this book is small enough to fit into a diaper bag but serves up solid-sounding advice in a warm, funny and straightforward style. The author is a favorite on NBC's Toay Show. This book answers questions like this:
- How can I be sure that my newborn is getting enough to eat
- What should I do if I think my child swallowed a coin
- Should I worry that my child has a fever after getting his shots today
- She feels better – is it safe to play with other children now
- Does his cut need stiches
- And most importantly: How do I know when to call the pediatrician
Topics include:
- Basic Baby Care
- Breastfeeding
- Formula Feeding
- Solids, Milk, and Other Feeding Issues
- Pooping
- Stomachaches and Vomiting
- Fever
- Illnesses
- Skin
- Ingestions, Injuries, and First Aid
- Growing Up
- Sleep
Siblings without Rivalry
How to Help Your Children Live Together So You Can Live Too
By Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
From Richard Farr, Amazon.com Review:
With a title like this, it's no surprise that authors Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish had a monster bestseller on their hands when the book first appeared in 1988. From the subsequent deluge of readers' stories, questions, and issues, they have created nearly 50 pages of new material for this, the 10th anniversary edition. The central message remains the same, and sounds almost too simple: avoid comparisons. But parents know that's easier said than done. The value of Faber and Mazlish's discussions is precisely that they talk you through umpteen different situations and outcomes to help you teach your brawling offspring a new set of responses. The highly informative text is punctuated with helpful summary/reminder boxes and cartoons illustrating key points. It's a must-read for parents with (or planning on) multiple children. But parents of young children who get along fine (so far) should read it too--as the authors make very clear, rivalry is inevitable. The only question is how to manage the rivalry with intelligence and compassion, and on that subject they offer a wealth of good advice.
The Out-of-Sync Child
Recognizing and Coping with Sensory Integration Dysfunction
By Carol Stock Kranowitz with a forward by Larry B. Silver
From Amazon:
Do you know a child who plays too rough, is uncoordinated, hates being touched, is ultra-sensitive (or unusually insensitive) to noise or sensations of heat and cold? Many pediatricians and other experts are beginning to recognize a link between some of these apparently unrelated behavior patterns. Children with perfectly normal "far senses" (such as sight and hearing) may have, because of a poorly integrated nervous system, serious problems with their "near senses," including touch, balance, and internal muscle sensation. It's called Sensory Integration Dysfunction, or SI. The announcement of yet another new syndrome is bound to raise skeptical eyebrows--and with good reason. (How do we know which child really has SI, and which one just happens to share some of the same symptoms?) Author Carol Stock Kranowitz argues convincingly, however, that for some children SI is a real disorder, and that it is devastating partly because it so often looks like nothing so much as "being difficult." And, whatever the scientific status of SI, Kranowitz carefully details many routines and remedies that will help children--and the parents of children--who exhibit the behaviors described. This book is a must-read for all doctors, pediatricians, and (perhaps especially) childcare workers.
Moms on Call Guide to Basic Baby Care
The First 6 Months
By Laura Hunter and Jennifer Walker
From the back cover:
Because babies don't come with instructions! This simple guide, written by two pediatric nurses (and moms), will help answer questions and give you the information you need to successfully make it through your baby's first six months. Find out:
- what to have on hand in preparation for your newborn's arrival
- what symptoms warrant a trip to the emergency room
- how to know if your baby is getting enough to eat
- what to keep in your medicine cabinet to avoid a midnight trip to the pharmacy
- how to get your baby to sleep through the night so you can too Plus, on the included DVD the authors show you step-by-step how to clip nails, swaddle, give a bath, change a diaper, take a rectal temperature, and more.
This easy-to-use book and DVD is like having your own pediatric nurse in your own home. It will give you the confidence you need and help you better understand and enjoy your precious new little one. Laura Hunter, LPN, is an infant care consultant and mother of five, including twin boys. Jennifer Walker, RN, BSN, is the mother of three, also including twins. Both are on-call pediatric nurses for a busy pediatric practice in Atlanta, Georgia. They have a combined twenty years nursing experience.
Baby 411
Clear Answers and Smart Advice for Your Baby's First Year
By Ari Brown and Denise Fields
Babies need some serious handholding, but parents do, too — especially first-timers. Baby 411 addresses the need for guidance on pediatric medical issues with reliable and reassuring information. Ari Brown draws on her work as a full-time pediatrician and mother, and Denise Fields brings her practical experience as the mother of two boys to this thorough guide to baby’s crucial first year. The authors cover a wealth of topics, including what to ask at a prenatal visit, accurate vaccine information and antibiotic resistance, the latest American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines, circumcision, secrets of sleep, autism, and more. It helps modern parents make educated decisions on breastfeeding, supplemental newborn screening, and new vaccines. The book empowers parents with the medical information they need to become not only good parents but good partners in their child's health.
Dear Parent
Caring of Infants with Respect
By Magda Gerber
From Amazon Reviewer McDume:"DEAR PARENT" presents a simple yet ground-breaking, natural yet thought-provoking way to raise your child. Magda Gerber's philosophy of respect for your infant — and for yourself as a parent — changed my life. It transformed me from a baffled, overwhelmed new mother to a confident, fulfilled one. Magda taught me that if I fully focused on my baby during "caring times" (feeding, diapering, bathing), I didn't have to 'teach' her how to sit, crawl, walk, talk or play. When she was ready to do those things, she did so naturally. And she owned them. I learned to let my child's play time be hers, a time to follow her own curiosity and direciton without interruption. The joy I found in observing my child and her discoveries helped me to survive the loneliness and doldrums of parenting an infant/toddler. My child is still inclined to spend long periods of time without TV, videos, or suggestions from me, entertaining and educating herself with self-initiated activities, creations, and daydreams.
