Rating: 
Summary: New parents can easily find answers to hundreds of questions
Review: "Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care" (1997 Ed.) is as good as it gets and is still the right book for new parents. Clearly outlined, it's a snap to find answers to the hundreds of questions that trouble new and re-newed parents alike. Explanations are carefully drawn in a straightforward manner that doesn't belittle parents seeking basic information about how to tell the difference between measles and a reaction to a new food. Spock was the first to understand that caring for young children according to strict time schedules was as unpopular with sensitive parents as it was unpleasant for newborns. Each parent has always been encouraged to use his/her own judgment while at the same time keeping ahead of the child. The newly initiated parent is searching for the right technique, a balancing act that becomes even more difficult when a parent must return to the workplace. Spock and Rothenberg have included insights about this transition period in the life of a young family. Still a 10 on my scale.
Rating:
Summary: Reassuring and Valuable Advice
Review: "Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care" is an essential resource for parents. The book is well organized and covers its subject matter in a clear, common sense manner. I relied on it, along with "How to Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of Your Doctor" by Dr. Robert Mendelsohn. These books provided essential parenting support: they helped me cope and successfully manage many crises, incidents, and minor problems through my daughter's infancy, childhood, and early teens. Dr. Spock's respect for his readers helped me gain self-confidence and follow my own instincts and judgment. His encouragement to "trust yourself" is coupled with medical information and parameters that enable appropriate decisions.
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Summary: Nothing else as thorough and easy to read
Review: As a second-time mother who's read Dr. Spock, Dr. Brazelton, and Dr. Sears' baby care books, I still reach for Spock whenever I have a question, or an uncertainty about something. This book is extensive in its coverage of both big and little issues, from diapering to feeding, and on into adolescence, ecompassing details as well as emotional aspects of what you're doing, if applicable. I find his philosophies and techniques to be a terrific common sense, middle ground, and reassuring resource. Even if you enjoy other parenting books, this one is a must- sort of an encyclopedia of infant/child issues, as the index is detailed and thorough. Keep this one in your library!
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Summary: BabyLounge.com gives 2 pacifiers (of 5) to Dr. Spock
Review: Dr. Spock was considered the baby care guru in the 1950's and many parents took his advice as the word of the Lord. I have no doubt that after years of research, and of practicing pediatrics, that he is very knowledgeable in the field of baby and childcare. However, the revised edition of his once revered book is not my first choice for obtaining information. This book covers everything under the sun, but perhaps it is too comprehensive and not detailed enough as some of the other books out there. Dr. Spock writes in a condescending tone that sounds more like he is talking to his young children, instead of adults with children seeking information. He is preachy, instead of informative, and speaks in absolutes and generalizations. Getting your baby to sleep through the night is a hot topic where everyone claims to have the solution. I believe that many of the methods have the potential to work, but Dr. Spock's suggestion is cruel and may even border on child abuse. He suggests that you let your baby cry in their crib for as long as it takes until they fall asleep, and that under no circumstances should you go in to check on them. The clincher is his advice that you should not go to your baby even if he vomits because he gets so upset. He says you can clean it up after your baby falls asleep! Maybe Dr. Spock should be claiming he has frontal lobe disorder! If you are looking for a reference book that touches a little bit on everything you can imagine, then this may be the book for you. Otherwise, I think your money is better spent elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: For those who read it thoroughly, an excellent work
Review: It would appear that some reviewers vehmently loath Dr. Spock yet they quite blatantly have missed the very key point of everything he said. Throughout the book he stresses numerous times the importance of following YOUR instincts and that he is only SUGGESTING methods for CERTAIN situations and he states quite clearly that it is of the utmost importance to realize that every child is different and parents are human and therefore you should not apply his methods, or any other "experts" methods to ALL cases without using YOUR OWN judgements. The core of everything Dr. Spock said was love your children and enjoy the experience of being a parent. He gives confidence to first time parents and a great deal of helpful advice on every aspect of baby and child care. One can get a great deal out of Dr. Spock's work, but only if they are patient, thorough readers with a certain amount of common sense.
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Summary: The Final Frontier... of childcare?
Review: Any "Star Trek" fan would not want this book! It turns out it's not about "Star Trek"! It's about Childcare! Who would have guessed? We're loosing power, Scotti!
Rating: 
Summary: Dr Spock and Baby Wise
Review: I own both of these books, and I've read Sears too. I think they are all a little extreme in their beliefs. I don't believe in letting your child sleep with you, so that's why I put a cot in my twins' room and slept with them the first 3 months. I believe in teaching good sleeping habits because I know that it is BEST for my child, and I'm willing to look at their long-term happiness and not just their short-term happiness, and ways to ease MY conscious. I pushed my children a little every night to sleep further and further, and it was not a traumatic experience at all. Once they proved to me that they could do it we never looked back. My twins have slept from 8pm to 7am since 3 months of age, and only get up if they are sick. I've not let them get sick often so I haven't had to worry about them forming the habit of waking up. They are extremely secure with putting themselves back to sleep without my assistance if they happen to wake up for no reason. My kids take wonderful naps because I truely believe that a well rested child sleeps better at night. I certainly agree with the other reviewers that you should never let your child scream until they vomit. That is just cruel! I just feel sorry for people who have 2 and 3 year olds who still get them up during the night. Shame on you PARENTS, for not doing your job!!!
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Summary: The Best Childcare Book Ever !
Review: I'm shocked that some people didn't like this book. I have found it to be warm, practical, compassionate and right on the money when it comes to describing the typical developmental stages children go through, as well as any problems or medical ailments they might have. It's definitely the first book I reach for whenever my children get sick, or enter some new developmental stage I'm not familiar with. Forget Penelope Leach, Terry Brazelton and the rest; Dr. Spock is the best!
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Summary: A little on both ends . . .
Review: His views on a vegetarian diet are right on. I find it sad to read through these reviews and find the sick sort of people who say "oh, I'm an omnivore, so I'm just going to feed my child pieces of dead animals and pretend I'm not malnourishing her." Theer is a good reason Dr. Spock touts vegetarianism. On the other hand . . . he's a paediatrician, not a psychologist. I think parents who have sexual feelings when co-sleeping with their children certainly aren't fit to parent and shouldn't co-sleep with their children. Whereas on the other hand those of us who are normal are perfectly fine to cuddle with our little ones through the night. What normal person equates sleeping with sex, anyway? And further more, one might think that letting one's child cry themselves to sleep would cause said child to develop a deep sense of insecurity and mistrust. I'm no more of a psychologist than he is, but he himself said we should learn to parent by our gut instincts, and my gut instinct says a crying child should be picked up and hugged. Part of being a good parent is having the sense to sort out logic from fiction (and cruelty.)
Rating: 
Summary: Not Even Worth 1 Star
Review: It's a shame I can't give this book 0 stars. Somehow having heard Dr. Spock's name growing up I thought this would be a good book to get. I couldn't have been more wrong. His views about co-sleeping with babies are rather twisted (makes me wonder what sick thoughts went on in his mind) and the most laughable is his advice on letting your baby cry him/herself to sleep, even to the point of vomiting. I'm with another reviewer on this topic: research his personal life and see what kind of father he actually was himself. If this man were still alive, I would not leave him alone with my child for one second.
I suggest that people who want to learn more about medical issues regarding their children as well as good and LOVING parenting read "The Baby Book" by Dr. Sears. It was recommended to me by a friend and I have since bought several of his other books. He and his wife co-write everything and it is really wonderful. Dr. Spock's book should be abandoned and thrown into recycling bins everywhere. My husband was right. Dr. Spock was nothing more than a man with connections who built a publishing empire.
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