Rating: 
Summary: No more colicky baby!
Review: My baby was labeled colicky. After reading this book and using the "listening" and "observing" techniques I realized that my baby did not have colic but was "overtired". I now know what my baby wants by the cries or jestures that he makes. Life is so much easier for my baby and me! I would recommend this book to anyone with a baby. she also has charts to keep track of baby's activities as well as feeding, diaper changes, etc. This book has literally given me time to sleep again!! Thank you Tracy Hogg!
Rating: 
Summary: A Little More Respect Please, Luv
Review: What distinguishes this book from other childcare books is the author's emphasis on learning to empathize with one's child in order to better meet his/her needs. In this, the book truly excels. There are also some very useful ideas regarding schedules and activities.Where the book falls short, however, is in its portrayal of new parents and the tone it takes in advising us. With the exception of one "mum" (who follows the author's method to the letter), the author seems to see new parents as bumbling morons who couldn't find their own tushies, much less their babies', with two hands. That is, of course, until the Baby Whisperer rescues them. It's too bad this book -- like most childcare guides -- treats parents like dolts, because it contains some valuable insights which will be lost to those who become too annoyed to keep reading. Unfortunately, it slips into condescension just often enough to be fairly irritating to a sleep-deprived parent like me. (I assume this is the audience the author is trying to reach.) The worst moment is when the author asserts that women who breastfeed longer than a year probably do so in order to keep their children dependent, since these mums secretly like being the only ones who can comfort their babies. I find that downright offensive, and I'm not even all that wild about breastfeeding. Also troubling is that the book does not acknowledge that some babies -- i.e. those with severe reflux and other digestive disorders -- will often be unable to conform to the schedule the author advocates. Attempting a schedule may be helpful even for these children, but one needs to acknowledge that there will probably be no "three-day magic." A significant minority of babies have chronic digestive problems that happen because their systems are immature -- not because of anything the parents are or aren't doing. For these children and their parents, the schedule for many days (and nights)during the first year will include a lot of time simply trying to make the child comfortable. On these days, no one will care whether sleep comes after eating or after activity. The bottom line is: read the book, take what helps you, and ignore the rest. You know your baby better than anyone else. Here's hoping someone will someday write a childcare guide that respects both parents and babies.
Rating:
Summary: Great for new and expectant mothers.
Review: This book is a great read if you are having your first child, or if you are having another. "The Child Whisperer", by Matt Pasquinilli, is another great book once you have children. "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer" contains invaluable hints and advice to help you learn how to overcome the anxiety and stress associated with parenthood. I strongly sugest that you get both books and read them over and over as your children grow.
Rating:
Summary: Best Book I have Read Yet
Review: This has been by far the best gift I have received from another mother who swears by it!!!! This book gives common sense advice and a fresh look at how to communicate & understand your baby from the very beginning. Tips included will help you learn to get your baby on a regular sleep pattern etc....
Rating:
Summary: This book is a jewel
Review: This book is a jewel. I recommend it for both first time parents and for experienced parents. I bought it when I was about to have my second child and it helped a lot. Even though it is mostly common sense advice, well, parenthood deprives us of our common sense sometimes. Hogg's book is witty, funny, full of information and super easy to read.
Rating: 
Summary: Some good ideas for busy parents, but only as a supplement.
Review: First, a warning: do not use this book as your only source for parenting. There are areas where she omits or misrepresents information in a way that I consider negligent and she is very quick to judge other parenting approaches as "fads" -- ironic for someone who resides in Los Angeles. For example, in the section on breast feeding, she judges the benefits of breast feeding as "overstated". She gives passing acknowledgment of current research on the benefits of breast feeding, but serves up the platitude "but modern formulas are chock full of nutrients" as sufficient reason to choose formula feeding, thereby diminishing the overwhelming consensus of research from around the world. She even calls the recent preference for breast feeding a fad, forgetting that formulas were invented within the last century while breast feeding has been around for a few million years. While the decision to breast-feed is extremely personal (and there are many good reasons to opt for formula feeding), I believe that a parent should at least be given all available information in order to make an educated decision. If you buy this book, make sure you also purchase an established parenting classic, such as "Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care" by Benjamin Spock, "The Baby Book" by William and Martha Sears, or "Caring for Your Baby and Young Child" by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Her parenting approach can be illustrated by the example of infant sleep. The standard espoused by many current parenting classics is to progressively let the baby cry it out (the Ferber method). Dr. Sears offers the controversial opposite proposal of bringing the baby to bed with the parents. Miss Hogg labels both approaches as extreme, calling the Furber method "cruel" and coming close to outright labeling Dr. Sears as a fad. Perhaps Dr. Sears' methods are a fad, but at least he backs up his recommendations by citing scientific research regarding benefits to the infant -- research that Miss Hogg conveniently omits and, therefore, does not attempt to dispute. In fact, she takes considerable effort throughout the book to pejoratively label Dr. Sears' style as "Kangaroo" parenting (her quotes), but she never makes clear what is so negative about Kangaroos. Miss Hogg offers a compromise approach to infant sleep. In conjunction with setting up a daily routine, she suggests that you lay the infant down in her crib just as her eyelids are getting heavy. If the infant begins fussing or crying, offer comforts such as soothing talk or the touch of a hand, but do not pick up the infant. Unlike most parenting classics -- which tend to offer suggestions but encourage the parents to do whatever works -- Miss Hogg offers no alternatives and actually suggests that if these methods do not work, it is due to the parents' faulty execution of these methods. Some of the other reader reviews here suggest what can happen with this inflexibility. Miss Hogg's recommendations regarding the establishment of a routine are the central focus of her book and her suggestions are well written, if rather conventional upon deeper inspection. She explicitly formalizes in more accessible terms what other parenting classics already preach in more general terms. Generally, this book is geared towards parents who have great demands on their time and cannot afford the full-time parenting approach endorsed by most other books. The back cover hints at this: testimonials from people such as Greg Germann (star of "Ally McBeal") and Dana Walden (president of Twentieth Century Fox Television), but no endorsements from health care professionals. I believe that crafting a parenting philosophy is a personal and complex process, and a parent is entitled to make an informed decision. Although this book offers some good suggestions, it is not a reference-quality book with which to base such a difficult decision.
Rating: 
Summary: Made me think of The Child Whisperer by Matt Pasquinilli
Review: This book reminded me of another book with a similar title. The Child Whisperer, by Matt Pasquinilli, talks about how to use simple language and other types of communication to effectively parent young children. Secrets of the Baby Whisperer is a great introduction to the philosophy of changing our thinking about kids.
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Summary: Second time Parent Thanks Tracy for her Guidance!!
Review: With my first child I read the Sears Baby Book and followed on demand feeding, child in our bed, etc. etc. I was very inexperienced and wound up with a baby that was over tired, over stimulated, colicky and difficult. We were exhausted and very discouraged for the first year of her life.
I saw Tracy on a TV program and bought this book when I was preparing for our second child. In hind sight, our first parenting experience would have been MUCH easier if we had had access to Tracy's recommendations.
We put our second child on EASY from day one and she has slept well, rarely cries, eats well and is a JOY!! Her flexible thinking schedule is so helpful for newborns and parents. I find three points of Tracy's essential to new parents:
1. Child sleeps in own bed from day one.
2. Stimulation is reduced to absolute minimum for newborns (no bouncy chairs or swings!!!!).
3. One breast feeds, every 2.5 to 3 hours.
4. Study your child and learn from Tracy how to interpret signals.
As an experienced parent, I cannot say enough about how helpful this book is for new parents or parents of newborns.BUY IT!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Could be harmful
Review: This book could be harmful as the author presents some very ignorant and biased opinions that contradict the scientific evidence on babies' physical and psychological needs. For better information I recommend: Our Babies, Ourselves by Meredith Small; The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding; Attachment Parenting; and The Baby Book by Sears and Sears. Some of the poor advice in the book relates to the decision to breastfeed, early weaning, and not holding your baby "too much," either to put him/her to sleep or at other times. Other reviewers have expressed surprise that Ms. Hogg is a lactation consultant. As far as I can see, she never actually claims to be a certified lactation consultant, something she would surely not fail to mention if it were the case. Instead she describes herself as a "lactation educator," which means ... ? Ms. Hogg's suggestion that breastfeeding is merely a current fashion, and that formula feeding is an equally valid option, is ignorant and misleading. To suggest that a mother's concern over her body image may be a valid reason not to breastfeed, is sickening. Breastfeeding is currently more "popular" because we now have scientific evidence about its overwhelming superiority to formula, and mothers are becoming better-educated about this. Ms. Hogg also misleads when she says that "feeding on demand" can produce a demanding, overfed baby. "Feeding on demand" is better described as "feeding on cue." It does not mean trying to feed your baby whenever he/she cries. It means recognizing PRE-crying cues that your baby is *hungry*, and responding to them promptly by feeding. This creates a trusting baby whose nutritional needs are well-met, not a demanding baby! The World Health Organization, based on scientific evidence, recommends breastfeeding for a *minimum* of 2 years. Not all mothers can manage this, but in regard to those mothers who do wish to breastfeed for an extended period, it is extremely ignorant and warped of Ms. Hogg to suggest that they are only doing this out of some selfish psychological weakness in themselves. Yes, mothers usually derive psychological pleasure from this close relationship with their babies/toddlers ... we are biologically designed to feel this way *because* it is in our babies' best interests! Ms. Hogg's ideas about not holding your baby too much (allowing your baby to fall asleep against your body is a "bad habit"??!), are also refuted by the books I mentioned above, and other sources. Be aware that techniques designed for parental convenience can erroneously be presented as being in babies' best interests, e.g. helping to develop babies' "independence." Certain techniques may "work," but in what sense? In the sense of creating behavior that is convenient for parents, or in the sense of being truly beneficial for babies? Keep in mind that just because a baby or toddler may appear to adjust ok to not having a need met, does not mean that the need was either unimportant or has magically disappeared, nor does it mean that there will be no repercussions on his/her health and happiness later as an adult, even if the connections are not obvious. Our parenting decisions *are* important, they *will* have effects down the road, and we owe it to our children to base these decisions on the best scientific evidence currently available, rather than on the personal opinions of unqualified, although "experienced," people such as Ms. Hogg. More accurate sources of information are not difficult to seek out, although not currently on the bestseller lists and perhaps with less catchy titles.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful and enlightening book!
Review: Secrets of the Baby Whisperer is a book all new parents should have. If you don't get anything else out of the book, you should get the fact that your new baby is already a person and deserves respect along with patience and love. We were very lucky in the fact that our baby is close to an "angel" baby but this book helped me to have a more relaxed attitude towards caring for my child. That attitude may have helped her to be more content. I love how practical Tracy Hogg is and her theories are very down to earth and easy to follow. On a personal note, I wish there was a little more on going back to work, but that was not the focus of the book!
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