Rating: 
Summary: A real gem
Review: This book is awesome for those of you wanting to pursue Attachment Parenting. This book is also really great even if your not sold on attachment parenting because it also gives you lots of knowledge on just understanding your baby and how to best meet your babies needs, which is something we all want to do. Read it with an open mind and there is lots you can learn.
Rating: 
Summary: Good basic book
Review: I personally don't like attachment parenting. If you read this book dont feel guilty if you dont follow ALL of the practices. The babywearing idea is interesting, which may work well for discreet breasfeeding in public. I dont like having a kid in my bed, who cares? She sleeps great in her own bed. Although in the early weeks its great not to have to get out of bed to breastfeed. This book has great information in other areas, like breasfeeding. You could find good advise about babys in general in this book. But you should also get advice from others, like a pediatricain, other Moms, and other books. Find out what works for YOU, not them.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent helper for new parents
Review: This book went into just the right amount of detail for me. It had plenty of detailed information on what to expect in terms of sleeping, eating, etc., at different stages of my baby's first year, and plenty of easy-to-follow advice on helping my child to be a good eater and sleeper, and what toys go great at what developmental stage. I liked that he gave alternative ways to get things done, since not all things work for all people. It also brought in ideas on "wearing" your baby in a sling (versus the baby bjorn or just using a stroller all the time) which turned out to be great for my baby, because he could be close and I could have my hands free to do other things! I use this book and the Baby Whisperer by Nancy Hogg all the time.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent information
Review: After reading just about every book on the subject of babies and toddlers, this one in my opionion is one of the best. It is definately geared toward attachment parenting so if you do not feel comfortable with this style of parenting, then this may not be the book for you.
I found as some other reviewers did that some of the advice and info was a bit outdated or just plain unrealistic for today's families. But overall I thought it was very open for an attachment parenting book since it did talk about what to do if you cannot breastfeed or if you have to work. Being a mother who couldn't breastfeed because of medication I always ended up feeling like I wasn't providing proper nutrition for my daughter after I read other attachment parenting books, but not so with this one.
I just think if you are a new parent that you should check this book out. I found that wanting to stay home with my daughter, and letting her sleep in our bed made everyone I know think I was crazy and told me I was doing the wrong things. As a new parent you tend to trust what others say instead of going with your gut feelings on parenting. That's where this book made such a difference for me. It made me realize that everyone else's opinions(including Dr. Sears), should never ever make you doubt what you know and feel is right for your child. So although I don't follow the attachment parenting style all the way, I do believe in doing what you feel is right for your child and I think this book has been a great help in doing that!
Rating: 
Summary: So what am I then? Unattached? Please.
Review: I bought this book when I was pregnant and thought it was fabulous. Now that I'm a mom (she's a thriving seven-month-old) I laugh when I read it because it's so ridiculous. And patronizing. (Example: "How sick are you? Be honest.") Get Dr. Spock instead. It's only a few bucks and it's a perfect non-judgemental reference. And realize that helping your child learn to sleep, trust other care givers, see her mom as a fulfilled professional, etc. are loving and not self-indulgent as many attachment-parenting advocates claim.
Rating:
Summary: Old fashioned parenting.
Review: Dr. Sears is a pediatrician and father of 8, his wife is an R.N.
This book promotes a "concept" he calls attachment parenting, in reality this is really parenting the way it was before the medical establishment stepped in.
The primary concepts within are as follows:
Breastfeeding to allow for optimum nutrition and bonding between mother and child.
Co-sleeping with the child in the parents bed to promote bonding and to ensure childs needs are met quickly at night.
Wearing of baby in sling during the day to maximise contact.
There are other chapters dealing with nutrition, behaviour, high needs infants and newborns but they all follow the basic premise that children need their parents and that more contact is better - a need met is a need fulfilled.I find that while Dr. Sears has very definite ideas, his primary advice is for parents to follow their intuition and to do what feels right. You can pick and choose what you want from this book. I did in fact follow a lot of the ideas and have found that far from clinging, my daughter is one of the most independant children I know. I also seem to get more sleep than parents who put their children in cribs so it seems to be very parent friendly too.
Rating:
Summary: If I could, I'd give this book 0 stars
Review: I am a first-time mom, who was very nervous about the whole motherhood-thing. So I bought a few books to help me. Unfortunately for me, I read this book first, before I delivered my baby. From the first minute, I was made to feel guilty, since I had a planned c-section. It scared me and made me feel so guilty that my husband put it on the top shelf of the bookcase, which I can't reach. Basically this book should be called "The World of Child-Rearing According to Dr. Sears (and everyone else is wrong)". This attitude of "my way or the highway" is pervasive in many child-rearing books, not just this one. The Sears's present their method of parenting as the only good way of parenting (which it may have been for them). They do so with lots of anecdotal evidence pretending to be factual evidence. And they managed to make me feel guilty when I chose not to follow their rules. I am sorry, Dr. Sears, but not every woman is able to stay at home with her children, not every woman is capable of wearing her child, not every mother or father is comfortable with the idea of co-sleeping... I have actively not recommended this book to other new mothers. Yuck! I'd give it 0 stars if I could.
Rating:
Summary: ALL PARENTS SHOULD HAVE THIS BOOK!
Review: Hooray for Dr. Sears! This EXCELLENT book will help you take care of your baby in the best possible way, the way nature intended. I have been using all of the techniques he discusses in his book with my now two-year-old son (learned from this and other Sears' books and by following my instincts) and we have the most wonderful relationship. He trusts me, he's healthy and strong, and he's happy. He's enjoys bedtime (as he sleeps w/Mom & Dad) and knows that his needs will always be met. He rarely has tantrums because he understands his boundaries are for his own benefit and respects that we want what's best for him. Our world would be so much more harmonious if all parents practiced this style of parenting.
Rating:
Summary: This is the book that makes sense to me
Review: I'm the father of four kids, ranging in age from 1 year old to 9 years old. Generally it's my wife who reads the parenting books, but there are a few that we've gone through together. Dr. Sears' "Attachment Parenting" is the method that makes sense to me. It's all about giving young children a sense of security--the security that comes from knowing that they are always loved, and at the same time that there are always expectations on them. Both of these build security. And it brings those abstract ideas down to Earth with a lot of concrete practical tips. When my sister had her first baby, this is the only book I gave her--and it "rang true" with her as much as with me. But it was my mother who gave the book the ultimate tribute. She said she wished something like this had been around when she was raising me in the 60s, to counteract the "formula is better than nursing and all feedings should be scheduled" mentality that she always, deep down, knew was not right for her.
Rating:
Summary: Dr. Sears' advice works beautifully for us and our babies.
Review: As with any book, you will have to decide what concepts in this book work best for you. While baby-wearing and co-sleeping were not realistic for my family, I liked the overall tone of the book, specifically that the Sears advise a caring, hands-on approach to parenting. The medical advice is practical and sound, and I especially appreciated the section about how to handle illnesses. Best of all, while general guidelines for developmental milestones are listed and discussed in depth, the approach to milestones is more relaxed, which should be a comfort to nervous first-time parents. The section on breastfeeding was helpful and explains the potential hindrances, which was valuable information since breastfeeding isn't as easy and natural for some mothers as we are often led to believe. Other sections, like the one about baby-wearing, may not be of interest to those for whom that's not an option, although I still found it interesting; I decided that instead I would hold my daughter as often as possible, which has seemed to meet her need for contact.
Some of the reviews about this book have been near-hysterical, and it sounds like those parents are feeling guilty because of not being able to follow the book's advice exactly. I'm not sure why anyone would feel compelled to obey any book, and I simply employed the Sears methods that were appropriate for my family and ignored the rest. My daughter has responded very favorably to our customized style of attachment parenting, and I thank Dr. and Mrs. Sears for offering an alternative to some of the anti-child supposed baby care books out there--some of which have been medically proven to cause failure to thrive. The bottom line is what's best for the child, and for many of us, Dr. Sears' advice works beautifully for us and our babies.
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