Rating: 
Summary: excellent reference material
Review: I have a one-year-old, and have had this book since I was pregnant. It has been extremely useful to me when I needed to look up questions about sleep, nutrition, and milestones, in particular. This book was recommended to me by my pediatrician and has saved them from countless phone calls from me! Occasionally, I find myself wishing that it had a little more information on certain topics, but overall, I beleive you won't find a better reference book out there.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty one-sided
Review: I bought this book when expecting our first baby and hoped it would provide information and peace of mind. Yes on the former, no on the latter. Although the basic information is reasonable, it often seems to ignore alternative perspectives. In terms of getting baby to sleep and back to sleep, they advise against feeding, cuddling, or bringing the baby to bed, and fail to acknowledge the very wide range of perspectives on this subject. Also, they make weaning at 4-7 months sound "normal" (even though breastfeeding is recommended until age 1) and advise introducing a bottle around this age! Anyone who breastfeeds and also uses a bottle for Dads or caregivers will tell you that nursed babies need to learn about bottle much sooner than 4-7 months. We introduced a bottle at around 3 weeks with no problems then or later. This may seem minor but I imagine it could really be problematic if someone waited this long to introduce a bottle and then tried to wean.Overall, decent information, but I'm going to look around for different perspectives.
Rating: 
Summary: Not worth it.
Review: I am a physician and bought this book for a family member. Luckily I didn't have it sent directly to her because I am now sending it back for a refund! I found it to be full of advice that anyone with common sense could figure out on their own. It also devotes a fair amount of space to disorders most kids will never get. My advice is: buy this for a gift if you have enough time to send it back and get something else instead if you decide you don't like it.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent: I buy for all my 'new parent' friends...
Review: This book is well organized. One section covers your child's development, health concerns, parenting suggestions by your child's age. Another covers childhood illnesses in good detail. My friend is a pediatric resident and recommended the book to me, after she read it (required reading) for one of her med. classes. I now make sure to give it to all my young parent friends.
Rating: 
Summary: The index is what sets it apart
Review: We have a lovely six-month old daughter, and have been using this book constantly since she was born. The other books that we liked were the "Girlfriend's guides" but this has a lot more detail, and I feel that it covers a lot more basics. My wife relies heavily on her mother, and a Russian version of Dr Spock, but we tend to leave the final decision to the American Academy. What I really like about this book is that the index is large, and easy to use. So if I look up "rash" there are cross-references to all the various sorts of rash that might appear. Someone has put in a lot of time to make sure that a panicked parent can go straight to this index, and find the key part of the text. The content is very much aimed at the "average" child. This is good in a way, as it does not worry you with rare ailments, and tells you to go see a doctor if there is anything out of the ordinary. So you get advice on dealing with the more common, middle of the road stuff by yourself, but if, God forbid, something more rare comes up, they send you to the doctor. Fair enough - no one wants a lawsuit for giving advice on a patient that they haven't seen, and every child is unique. The other thing that is surprising is that the milestones seem to be late - our daughter seems very early compared to the guidelines in this book, as do other children her age. So it may be that they consciously say that you should expect your child to do something later than they actually do, to avoid people panicking if their child develops some skill later in life. This looks like it would be unavoidable in a book that is trying to be applicable to a group that is as diverse as small children. Anyway, this book has been very helpful to me as the father of a young child, and I hope that your mileage is the same as mine.
Rating:
Summary: excellent, easy to use book
Review: As a first time parent, I find this book is indispensible. I use it all the time! Easy to read & find things. I highly recommend it!
Rating:
Summary: Good information
Review: Having this book around is like having a pediatrician available for answers to your questions. The information is helpful and useful, but like a conversation with your Doctor, rather dry and boring too. I use this one for "health" related issues, but when I want more lively, practical advice on discipline and behavior issues I turn to my other handbook: Perfect Parenting, The Dictionary of 1000 Parenting Tips because it has realistic ideas and is easy to read.
Rating:
Summary: A must have reference guide!
Review: I bought this book right before I had my first child. It was very easy to read and broken up very well for a quick reference. On top of the great information for age specifics, the medical reference in the back is a must have. I have used it too many times to list. The information in this book is honest and true. The best part of all is that doctors follow the guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics so what better reference book is there than the one with the information your doctor would offer? My son is now 16 months and I use it just as much as I did in the beginning. If you're looking for a book to give a friend who is almost due or for yourself, this is the one!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book written by prestigious organization
Review: I bought this book when my wife was pregnant. Our daughter is now 2 days old. I have much more trust and confidence, in a book backed by a prestigious organization, like The American Academy of Pediatrics, than I would in a book written by one or two Pediatricians. If this book is also available in Spanish, I will purchase it in Spanish, for my wife, since that is her native language. I have already referred to this book, for guidance with our newborn baby. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A reassuring, well-written book for all parents
Review: During the months that my wife and I were eagerly anticipating our first child, I set out to find a few informative books to educate and prepare myself for fatherhood. Although the task was daunting given the huge variety of available titles, I was finally able to narrow it down to three books, including "Caring for Your Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5." From the start, this reassuring, warmly-written book proved an excellent choice. The tone is conversational but intelligent, and the book informs without being pushy, patronizing or condescending. The information contained is up-to-date and presented neutrally. Also contained are supplementary "Where We Stand" sections, which outline the opinions of the American Academy of Pediatrics (the organization that compiled the book) for further reader consideration. In addition, a helpful 225-page section at the back of the book deals with a variety of important topics including emergencies, behaviour, family issues, immunizations, and assorted developmental concerns. As a new parent with endless questions and apprehensions, I welcomed the detailed month-by-month explanations of what to expect developmentally after birth (the book covers up to age five). Further, I was delighted to discover from the first chapter that the authors clearly love children and working in the pediatric field. This is quickly apparent from the way that children and parenting are discussed. My son is now three months old, and I enjoy browsing ahead through the book for a sense of what to expect in the days and years ahead. Overall, this title is to be highly recommended for its good humour, clarity, informative content, and celebration of the very reason it was written--our children. It's amazing how many authors and publishers tend to forget this. Conversely, "Your Baby and Child: From Birth to Age Five" by Penelope Leach (another of the three books I selected) is to be avoided for its preachy tone and use of scare-tactics. While not a terrible book, I found Ms. Leach's style heavy-handed. The author is prone to making parents believe that if a baby or child is not attended to in a certain way (such as the one she suggests), then dreadful things will result. Despite its many high recommendations on Amazon's site, I found that Ms. Leach's book presents only her set view of parenting. Even the "Parents Have Their Say" supplements throughout seem to do little more than support the author's own opinions on such issues as circumcision. A far better supplementary choice would be the excellent and informative (although bulky) "Mayo Clinic Complete Book of Pregnancy & Baby's First Year."
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