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Summary: Do your own research before buying this book!
Review: I am totally against this book but don't just take my word for it. Do your own research before even considering buying this book. You will be amazed at what you find. I knew after reading it that I would never be a Babywise mother. The principles in this book go against every natural maternal instinct in my body. I started researching and I found numerous sources that told me my instincts were right. Very reliable sources! This book is dangerous to children.
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Summary: Publisher should apologize- authors should be incarcerated
Review: I cannot begin to tell you how flawed and dangerous the principles found in this book are... The adherents often become brainwashed cult types. I've seen families and churches split over this psuedo-medical-spiritual nonsense... I've seen babies become so distraught and traumatized that they honestly failed to thrive...
The authors should be incarcerated for trying to give medical advice causing harm to children without a medical liscense!
I've seen mothers have nervous breakdowns and be admitted to mental health facilities from trying to adhere to the rigid formula endorsed by the Ezzo's. Worst of all, the Ezzo's honestly believe that infants are evil manipulators who must be controlled and restricted and have their spirits broken to "grow up God's way". Growing Kids God's Way is a follow-up series to the Baby Wise material, and also should be avoided like the plague. The Ezzo's have earned "Cult" status with the Ross Institute. Everyone from the American Academy of Pediatrics to the Wall Street Journal have reported the dangers of this book and its authors... Don't buy this book... The Ezzo's live in a compound with others they deem worthy and they teach their followers in churches throughout the country not to allow their children to have relationships with children whose parents don't enroll in the classes. They have no qualifications to write or give advice. Don't let your friends or loved ones buy this book.
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Summary: Used this book and never had to let baby cry
Review: This book was recommended to me by several friends who each said to take it with a grain of salt. While some of the text seems preachy and dramatic, I found extremely helpful the nurse-wake-sleep cycle concept and the foucs on napping during every cycle. Our son slept through the night at 8 weeks and we never had to let him "cry it out" or avoid nursing him when he was hungry. The previous version of this book was more strict and is likely the cause for much of the negative reviews. This version contains helpful information and has proven useful for me and many of my friends. I too now recommend it with the grain of salt caveat.
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Summary: Read 'The Baby Book' By Dr. Sears instead
Review: The advice in this book is counter recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics and can lead to problems like failure to thrive.
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Summary: Every parent needs this book
Review: This is the best baby book out there. It helped us to teach our newborn to sleep through the night by 10 weeks old. Several of our friends have used the principles in this book and have taught their babies to sleep all night at an early age also. What many people don't like about the book is that Ezzo advocates letting your baby "cry-it-out." We didn't do this with our newborn and the other principles still worked to help her sleep well. I recommend this book to every expecting parent that I meet.
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Summary: THE "BABY BIBLE"!
Review: My husband and I call this the "BABY BIBLE." I always told myself I would never raise my child based on a book but until I read BABYWISE, it seems cruel NOT to raise her with this approach. Our child was sleeping through the night at 7 weeks and she is a HEALTHY and HAPPY BABY! If you really study this approach and practice it with "routine and flexibility" as the author suggests, then there is no going wrong. As a first time parent with little experience/knowledge in raising children, this book was nothing but a blessing to us. This book was recommended to us and now we are recommending it to all of our friends! All of this nonsense about cruelty to children, whatever! Our child is surrounded by an abundance of love and guidance and at 4 months and 1 week, we still follow the BABYWISE plan! THANK YOU FOR BOOKS SUCH AS THIS!
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Summary: Was Skeptical But It Works
Review: I had done the research on Ezzo and vowed not to use this book. He does have character flaws and no formal medical background. However, after trying "attachment" parenting and constantly guessing what my little boy was trying to tell me with his frequent cries (for 8 weeks) I was at wits end. Within 1 week of implementing a FLEXIBLE 3-hour schedule as outlined in the book and keeping a daily log of his wake, feed and sleep patterns, he was sleeping 8 hours at night, breastfeeding well and taking regular naps of at least 1.5 hrs. He quit crying all the time. He woke up cooing. He would fuss for 5 minutes when he was sleepy (and I knew it was b/c he was sleepy b/c it was NAPTIME). Most importantly, I saw how happy and secure he became once I quite trying to follow his lead, but took loving, responsive leadership of his day. He could relax, knowing the routine. He still sleeps great at 1 year (11 hrs/night) and takes 2 scheduled naps, which he goes down for with no fuss and still wakes up cooing. Many people comment on how lucky I am and what a good baby he is. I am happy, too and even though I am not a fan of Ezzo's, he hit on something that works for babies.
Attachment parenting seem to put the baby in the lead; I chose this method as I want to lovingly guide my child, and give him a secure place in the context of our existing family. My goal is not to do anything to make him happy but to raise a child who will responsible, exercise self-control and be a blessing to others. This book outlines a family-centered (not baby-centered) approach and offers a guideline for the wake/eat/sleep cycle that can be used flexibly to bring order to the home. I would also emphasize that many moms, including myself, felt frustrated when we tried something new and didn't keep it consistent for 3 days-- when you try once and it doesn't work, don't give up. It takes 3 days of constancy to learn any new trick.
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Summary: Let me ask you this...
Review: First, let me say, that we do not think that everyone must use this book or they will be a failure as a parent. There is no ONE way to baby care.Let me ask you this. Would you choose to raise your baby in such a way that you are never quite sure what to do or would you want to have basic game plan? Would you rather have a plan that will allow you to get a full night's rest somewhere between the second to tenth week or would you choose to get up during the night for MONTHS AND MONTHS, maybe even years? Do you choose to have a baby that seems incredibly happy, well fed, and well adjusted or a baby that just can't seem to find comfort? "YOU ARE JUST SO LUCKY!" That is what we have heard over and over again about all three of our children. The book says that we would hear that! Our friends that use the book, say that they hear the same thing. We have had three kids. We have used Baby Wise for all three of our kids and found it to be an incredibly successful way to raise them. We recommend this book FREQUENTLY. People often tell us that our kids seem so good natured, and ask us how we do it. I know that not every situation is the same (I feel sorry for parents whose baby has colic), but we see parents that do not have any plan over how they raise their kids. They are constantly "reacting" to the child rather than "directing" the child. This book encourages a proactive and loving method of caring for your baby. The book does encourage the moderation and personal implementation, that some of the reviewers indicate are not in the book. It is a different way to raise a child, so you will get some flack from the some quarters, especially people who follow methods like Dr. Spock's. But you just can't argue with results of happy, well-rested parents, and happy, well-rested, healthy babies. On a personal note, we do agree that each parent has to adapt the plan so that they are comfortable. I would not want a person without common sense to use this book.
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Summary: Wish I could give it zero stars!
Review: This book advocates a harmful, dangerous, and medically unsound method of parenting. Ezzo is not a doctor, nor he does even hold a college degree! The advice in the book is premised on the notion that babies, even from the earliest days, are basically manipulative and bad, and that parents must "control" their babies from birth. This "parental control" is exerted by withholding feedings until the prescribed time and leaving the baby to cry for extended periods of time. Medical professionals have documented numerous cases of infants that failed to thrive because the parents were using the Ezzo method. The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued formal statements against the Ezzo method. I think this book has enjoyed the popularity it has because busy parents want easy solutions to make their infants sleep longer at night. But developmentally, babies are not supposed to be sleeping "through the night" as early as Ezzo advocates. As a full-time working and nursing mom, I am certain that is possible to be a responsive and attached parent, even with a busy professional life. From what I have observed, comparing (1) babies who, in the early months, are forced to "cry it out" or otherwise wait for the parents to respond at their convenience and (2) babies whose needs are responded to quickly and appropriately in those early months -- babies in the first category grow to be fussier and more impatient, and babies in the second catetory are happier and more patient. I believe this is because the babies whose needs are met develop a trust that babies who are taught that their needs will not be promptly met do not. For a book that offers medically and developmentally sound advice about parenting, see the Dr. Sears Baby Book.
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Summary: A BABY OWNERS MANUAL THAT EVERYONE MUST HAVE!!!
Review: If you LOVE your kids, and if you want SANITY, use this book! This book is based on LOVE and DISCIPLINE, not cruelty like the other reviewers said. I like discipline myself,because discipline is what keeps your life in order. I strongly believe that discipline starts early in childhood, NOT when your child is already a 'trouble two' or when he turns to a teenager or even adult. The earlier you discipline your child, the sooner you establish rules and boundaries, the happier your child will be. The later you wait, the harder it will be to correct his 'bad behavior/habit'. The book doesn't tell you to starve your child to death, instead it tells you to give him a FULL FEEDING so he could stretch for up to 2-3 hours (newborns-3 months), or 3-4 hours (4 months and up). By scheduling baby to a routine, you stabilize the baby's feed/wake/time cycle, so it will stabilize his nighttime sleep. Routine makes your baby feel secure, because he knows what to expect next. The book also suggests that a healthy breastfed baby is capable of sleeping through the night (8hrs) by 2 months old, and that exactly happens to my boy! By 6 months old, he sleeps for 11 hours ... and he still does. At first it was hard to let the baby cry to sleep, especially the first 2 months. But since you have the feed/wake/sleep cycle, you KNOW that crying is a sleepy cry. I was persistent not to pick him up as soon as he cried when bed time comes, but WAIT AND SEE what he NEEDS, NOT what he WANTS. When he is sick I would pick him up and rock him to sleep, but when he is healthy I continue the routine. Sometimes he would fuss, but if I let him fuss he will go to sleep within 5 minutes. IT pays off!! Now at 13 months, whenever I put my son for a nap or for nighttime sleep, he would stand on his crib, look at me and smile, and went to sleep after I left HIS room. He would wake up with a cooing sound and WAIT IN HIS CRIB until I come to pick him up. He eats 3 meals a day plus liquid feeding before bedtime, is a neat eater, taking 2 naps a day on the scheduled naptime, and play alone in the play yard happily on a scheduled play time... all because I TRAINED HIM since he was a baby. and my son KNOWS AND FEELS that I Love him. RAISING A HAPPY CHILD NEEDS LOVE, AND LOVE CANNOT BE SEPARATED FROM DISCIPLINE. My baby has grown to be a son that I can be proud of. All my friends love him and love to care for him ... it's all because of DISCIPLINE! Without discipline, your life and your child's life will be chaotic, and your child will more likely to have trouble interacting/socializing with peers. In conclusion: if you want to have a happy child and be a proud parent, GET THIS BOOK, READ IT CAREFULLY over and over again, and APPLY IT WITH LOVE ..... IT IS GUARANTEED TO WORK! I HAVE PROVEN IT WITH MY FIRST CHILD, AND WILL USE IT AGAIN FOR MY SECOND ONE! A couple of my friends want to use this book for their child because they have seen the results in my child!
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