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Newborn and Infant Care

Sleeping Issues

Diet and Health

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Books!

General Health

Your Child's Health, by Barton Schmitt

The Parents' One-Stop Reference Guide to: Symptoms, Emergencies, Common Illnesses, Behavior Problems, and Healthy Development

Infancy

Your Baby's First Year, by the American Academy of Pediatrics

This authoritative and invaluable fully revised edition from the organization representing the nation's finest pediatricians brings state-of-the-art answers to all your medical and parenting concerns. Here is sound, reassuring advice on baby care that covers everything from preparing for childbirth to family issues such as adoption and stepfamilies to age-appropriate toys.

The Happiest Baby on the Block, by Harvey Karp

Karp, a pediatrician in Santa Monica, Calif., and assistant professor at the School of Medicine, UCLA, offers a new method to calm and soothe crying infants. While nursing or being held satisfies some babies, others seemingly cry for hours for no reason. These babies suffer from what Karp calls the Fourth Trimester.

Childhood

1-2-3 Magic, by Thomas Phelan

If your child has begun to rule the roost a bit more than you'd like, this book provides a system to get your family operating smoothly. Especially sensible is Phelan's theory that children shouldn't be argued with endlessly to convince them to do what you want them to do. He also wisely points out the best way to get your child to repeat unwanted behavior is to have a highly emotional reaction to it. The plan is simple, and though it's not quite magic, it may feel like it is.

How to Talk so Kids Will Listen, & Listen so Kids Will Talk, by Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish

Faber and Mazlish (coauthors of Siblings Without Rivalry) provide a step-by-step approach to improving relationships in your house. The "Reminder" pages, helpful cartoon illustrations, and excellent exercises will improve your ability as a parent to talk and problem-solve with your children. The book can be used alone or in parenting groups, and the solid tools provided are appropriate for kids of all ages.

Raising Your Spirited Child, by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka

Spirited children possess traits we value in adults, yet find challenging in children. Studies now show that these children are "wired" to be more reactive to the world around them. The solution, rather than medication or punishment, is understanding temperament and working with it. Kurcinka in a supportive, warm style is able to reveal to parents how to do it, often leading them to ask, "How did she get into my home?"

The Blessing of a Skinned Knee: Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children, by Wendy Mogel

Frustrated with a therapeutic practice that "shifted too frequently to be an anchor" for parents struggling with issues like overindulgence and overscheduling, clinical psychologist Mogel turned to her religious heritage for ways to help her clients and her own family "find grace and security" in an increasingly complex world.

Adolescence

The Good Teen, by Richard Lerner

The book jacket promises Groundbreaking Research Reveals Everything You Think You Know About Teens Is Wrong, but what the book really delivers is simply the notion that the teen years need not be a time of sullenness, angst and rebellion. Lerner encourages parents to promote healthy, positive, admirable, and productive behaviors in our young people.

Get Out of My Life - But First Could You Drive Me and Cheryl to the Mall, by Anthony Wolf

This is a survival guide for parents who find themselves marooned among volatile and incomprehensible aliens on Planet Teen. Area maps cover the obvious ground--there are chapters on school, sex, suicide, and so on--but it's the title of Chapter 2, "What They Do and Why," that best captures the book's spirit and technique. Anthony Wolf's modus operandi is not so much to make pronouncements about what parents should do, as to explain adolescent behavior in a way that's bound to leave parents with a changed view of the plausible options.

Sleep

The No Cry Sleep Solution, by Elizabeth Pantley and William Sears

There are two schools of thought for encouraging babies to sleep through the night: the hotly debated Ferber technique of letting the baby "cry it out," or the grin-and-bear-it solution of getting up from dusk to dawn as often as necessary. If you don't believe in letting your baby cry it out, but desperately want to sleep, there is now a third option, presented in Elizabeth Pantley's sanity-saving book The No-Cry Sleep Solution.

Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, by Marc Weissbluth

Dr. Marc Weissbluth, a distinguished pediatrician and father of four, offers his groundbreaking program to ensure the best sleep for your child. In Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, he explains with authority and reassurance his step-by-step regime for instituting beneficial habits within the framework of your child's natural sleep cycles.

Solve your Child's Sleep Problems, by Richard Ferber

When your child isn't sleeping, chances are that you aren't either. Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems--a tired parent's essential for more than 10 years--offers valuable advice and concrete help when lullabies aren't enough to lull your child into dreamland. Based on Ferber's research as the director of Boston's Center for Pediatric Sleep Disorders at Children's Hospital, the book is a practical, easy-to-understand guide to common sleeping problems for children ages one to six.

Nutrition

Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right: The Food Solution That Lets Kids Be Kids

Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions: More than 18 million American children are considered obese and are at risk for health problems. In fact, today’s generation of kids may be the first to experience shorter life spans than their parents.

Leading pediatrician Dr. Joanna Dolgoff's Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right teaches kids how to make healthy choices based on the principles of the traffic light: green light foods are nutritious, yellow light foods are eaten in moderation, and red light foods are occasional treats.

 

Ending the Food Fight, by David Ludwig, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Ludwig, who developed the OWL (Optimum Weight for Life) program at Children's Hospital Boston, outlines his program in Ending the Food Fight, allowing parents from all over the country to incorporate this program into their own lives. This book will take families from A to Z in learning to eat and live more healthily. It begins by explaining why kids are prone to overeating, and how quality food creates the building blocks of a healthy lifestyle. It explores fun options for exercise, even for non-athletes, and focuses the home as a fortress against the seemingly insurmountable commercial messages to eat more and more junk food. The heart of the book is its 9-week program that creates an enjoyable experience for the whole family and will get everyone on the road to a healthier lifestyle.

Feeding Your Child for Lifelong Health, by Susan Roberts and Melvin Heyman

This book tastes great and it's good for you, too. Feeding Your Child for Lifelong Health: Birth Through Age Six is based on the principle of "metabolic programming," the scientifically rooted idea that foods eaten in early childhood directly affect the function of individual cells that control strength, intelligence, the immune system, and other vital functions. Think of it as a convoluted molecular take on the old maxim "You are what you eat."

Handbook of Pediatric Nutrition, the AAP

A seminal guide that covers the latest clinical research, accepted practice protocols, and study of the normal child from preconception through adolescence. In a practical and detailed manner, this comprehensive guide provides cutting edge research and resources on the most important pediatric practice issues and therapies.

Be Fit, Be Strong, Be You, by Rebecca Kajander and Timothy Culbert

Tweens learn effective, easy-to-use self-care skills to take control of their fitness and diet while developing healthy self-esteem. Whether they are underweight, overweight, or just the right weight, this book shows kids how to take a positive, holistic approach to their health and wellness.

Mental Health

What to Do When You Worry too Much: A Kid's Guide to Overcoming Anxiety, by Dawn Huebner

What to Do When You Worry Too Much is an interactive self-help book designed to guide 6-12 year olds and their parents through the cognitive-behavioral techniques most often used in the treatment of generalized anxiety. Metaphors and humorous illustrations make difficult concepts easy to understand, while prompts to draw and write help children to master new skills related to reducing anxiety. Engaging, encouraging, and easy to follow, this book educates, motivates, and empowers children to work towards change. Includes a note to parents by psychologist and author Dawn Huebner, Ph.D.

Helping You Anxious Child: A Step-by-Step Guide for Parents, by Ronald Rapee, Susan Spense, Vanessa Cobham, and Ann Wignall

All kids get scared, but some fears can escalate into paranoias with long-term ramifications. This step-by-step guide tackles the why, how, and what now of anxiety disorders. Written in everyday language, it describes in detail strategies and techniques parents can combine into a comprehensive self-help program for managing a child's worry while building confidence and self-control.