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Summary: An important resource for humane child-rearing.
Review: Meredith F. Small has written a very important book. This book is easy to read and it is very informative. Many parents who are utilizing humane intuition to rear their children would gain greater confidence in their parenting abilities if they read this book.At the same time, I would like to point out that the voluminous work of the distinguished anthropologist Ashley Montagu predates nearly everything that Meredith F. Small has written in her book. Over the past six decades, Ashley Montagu has written extensively about every subject that Meredith F. Small discusses in her new book. For those readers who are interested in learning more about a significant body of research that advocates humane child-rearing, I would recommend Ashley Montagu's books, many of which are available through Amazon.com.
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Summary: Eye-opening and refreshing!
Review: After the intial panic of realizing the incredible responsibility I suddenly had with a newborn...I raced out and read every "expert" child dev book I could find. None of them truly resonated with my instincts...I often felt conflicted...Sears vs. Ferber vs. Brazelton...Should I let my baby fall asleep in my arms, feeding or not? Should I try to force her into some sort of "schedule" norm of sleeping and eating or not? Every little detail of her precious new life felt magnified under the glare of grandparents and pediatricians and Dr. Brazeltons. Fortunately -- Our Babies, Our Selves, saved me. What a revelation to think that mothers and babies work in harmony to achieve the best for baby! I wanted to hold her every second of the day and guess what! I should be! I wanted to lounge and feed her as often as she wanted and guess what! I should be! And most of all, I wanted to be close to her at night, snuggling next to her little soft body and guess what...I absolutely should be! To think that SIDS is probably so high in this country BECAUSE we don't sleep with our babies! This should be primetime news, in my opinion. Anyway -- I obviously loved this book. The only negative thing I would say is that Small comes across as a bit arrogant. Almost as if she single handedly discovered ethnopediatrics. While I am most grateful that she wrote this book...there are clearly many, many people working towards a better understanding of human infant biology and parenting. I would like to know more about these other people, as well. This book is a great first step.
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Summary: Finally a sensible look at babyhood
Review: After reading dozens of baby books this past year it was refreshing to get a different point of view from the standard Western phylosophy on raising children. After reading about the evolution of babyhood and cross-cultural studies I understand a lot more about my own child's behavior. I've also learned that its OK to listen to my instincts and not only to what society dictates.
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Summary: Excellent to build family understanding, from the start!
Review: My wife and I are expected our first child in a couple of months. Ours is a multicultural marriage (my wife is Japanese). Taking on this new responsibility is monumental for both of us, since we both live far away from family and relatives. We want to do what is right for our child; but what is right? It is difficult to evaluate which culture has the "best" methods for child rearing. Which methods of my American upbring, or my wife's Japanese upbringing, will be suitable for a multicultural child of the 21st century? Meridith Small's book has given us the understanding to work past the culture, past the motherly and neighborly advice, and past the "expert" baby books, down to the core values of our family and what foundations we give to our child. No where was this more evident than in the baby's sleeping arrangements. My wife refused to even consider the baby crib located six feet away from our bed for the newborn! She, as a infant, spent the first months of life sleeping on the floor next to her mother, as everyone in Japan does. Co-sleeping (though my wife doesn't use this term) is easier for the baby, and the breast feeding mother. I, myself, could not appreciate the different the six feet could make? The solution was a bassinett that is open on one side, and mounts next to the bed to permit co-sleeping and still provide safety and comfort for the baby and parents. Beyond our own nuclear family, this book has given me the resolve not to be threatned by questions like "Have you outfitted the baby's room yet?". Well, for the first year or so, the baby will not have his or her own room, the baby will sleep with us, and the baby will grow up just fine!
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Summary: FANTASTIC for multicultural parents
Review: My husband and I are from two very different cultures. This book is an absolute must for others like us. Small gives unbias information on topics like why SIDS in so much higher in the US, and why babies from certain cultures are generally more coordinated than those from other cultures. She writes factual (backed up w/real research) info on the pros and cons of sharing a bed with your baby. Lots of books give us lots of information, but the books are written by Americans and assume that the American way is the best way. This book makes no judgements, but rather presents tons of interesting and helpful info so that parents can make much more educated decisions about how they want to raise their children. In siduations like mine where my husband is from a different culture, this book has really helped us choose the best of what each culture has to offer and incorporate it into how we will raise our children. The book also helps one to understand their partners differing attitude toward pregnancy. For ex, my husband is very excited to become a daddy, but sees no point in early preparation. After reading this book together, I realized that his attitude was that way because the infant mortality rate in his country is almost 90%!! It's about time a book like this was written. I'm waiting for her next book now!
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Summary: A very moving and exciting book for parents and grandparents
Review: As a parent of five grown children and grandparent to two, I was delighted to read this book which focused on cross-cultural origins of child-rearing practices. It is a must read for grandparents who may not feel comfortable with the ways in which their grandchildren are being raised, e.g., extended periods of breastfeeding and family sleeping habits, etc. It also provides greater understanding of other cultures with respect to childrearing styles and behaviors which is a must in our multicultural America. Dr. Small's writing is easy to understand and reads more like a novel than the serious work of scientific study it is.
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Summary: Excellent
Review: Small's book is an outstanding and refreshingly objective discussion of parenting practices. By giving a cross-cultural comparision of parenting practices, she sheds light on how culture affects how we raise children. In addition, she explores what scientific backing, if any, certain parenting choices have. It was an eye-opener---so many things that we take for granted in America with respect to child rearing appear to be the result of our culture, and not scientific research. Small makes the point that even a lot of seemingly objective scientific research contains Western, and particularly American, biases.
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Summary: Great read, informative cross cultural analysis of parenting
Review: As a new Mom I have been faced with too many decisions about raising an infant. I enjoyed M. Smalls book very much it helped me understand why I have made some of the choices I have made, and why these choices are so hard to make. We live in a society/culture that honors certain qualities (like independence) our child rearing style has a tradition that comes out of the desire for our children to excell in these qualities. Yet, often these designs are in conflict with biology. As gaurdians of our children we want to help make the best people we can, with out telling me what to do this book has helped me understand that sometimes I will choose for biology and sometimes I must choose for culture. I want my daughter to thrive but, I also want her to fit in and do well in society.
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Summary: The best explaination of baby behavior I've read.
Review: The whole field of sociobiology is facinating to me and I was truely excited to find this book. Putting infant behavior in the context of biology and cultural response is brilliant. This book helped me understand better than any other, why my baby acts the way she does, and gives me permission to follow my instincts rather than advice, in responding to her. The book is well written, and easy to understand, even for the non-scientist. All parents and health care providers should read this and re-examine how we treat our infants.
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Summary: Excellent non-political book on cross-cultural infant care
Review: I highly recommend this book to anyone about to become a parent. This is a scholarly, non-political account of cross-cultural ways to raise children. By being so objective, Small puts the North American baby-rearing practices also in a fairly objective light. This allows readers to understand what choices may well be social/cultural and what may be inate/evolutionarily determined about childcare. She also gives the reader an opportunity to make an INFORMED decision about how he/she wants to care for an infant. I have already bought this book for my two sisters who are also having children right now. What makes this book even more exciting, is that it is so well written that I had trouble putting it down toward the end. For those who are not about to become parents, this book may well act as an important "source book" or overview to infant practices in other cultures.
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