Caring for Your School Age Child : Ages 5-12

Rating:
Summary: Contrary to above reviews ...
Review: I have found this book to be up-to-date and very helpful. This is not a traditional medical guide -- don't look here for the symptoms of meningitis -- rather, it is a guide to the key developmental and behavioral issues of this age group. The book does NOT endorse an authoritarian approach-- to the contrary, it encourages parents to learn to communicate effectively with their kids, to develop a trusting, supportive relationship. Neither does it reinforce traditional gender roles. It shows the wide range of what is normal, including helpful descriptions of various temperaments, and what kind of behavior parents should consider warning signs that more help is needed. I've found this to be an insightful, compassionate guide to my son's inner (and outer) world, and it has helped my husband and me to be better parents.

Rating:
Summary: Contrary to above reviews ...
Review: This book carries the imprimatur of the American Academy of Pediatrics and so one might reasonably expect it to be informed and informative. Disappointingly, it is neither. The information is always lightweight and moreover egregious in many instances. For example, should your child be the victim of a playground bully, this book advises your child "to look the bully in the eye and say, 'now stop that.'" Perhaps this kind of advice appeals to geriatric authors whose memories of their own schooldays are now sufficiently vague for this to appear a plausible means of dealing with violent aggression. More probably, it is the anodyne formulation of authors wishing to avoid a potential lawsuit and who therefore choose blithely to ignore the reality that confronts unfortunate children in such circumstances.

In other cases the authors' advice appears to be aimed at readers trapped in the nineteenth century, for example regarding "appropriate gender identification:" boys should be encouraged to play with trucks while girls should play with dolls. No doubt this was felt to be sterling advice sometime around 1870 but (the purveyors of Barbie and the authors of this book aside) the world has moved on somewhat since then.

As well as evincing antique social attitudes, the authors are also clearly authoritarian in posture. For children who suffer from deep anxiety about going to school, the only permissible response is for the parent "to be extra firm" with the child to ensure that it does not miss a day of schooling. No doubt a bracing cold shower in the morning and some strenuous Christian hymns would also help, though strangely this latter advice is absent, at least in the paperback edition.

In summary, it is quite impossible to find anything positive to say about this simple-minded book. It aims to be a compendium of knowledge and advice about the various travails parents will encounter as they raise their children, but instead it succeeds only in being a second-rate paper-weight. It is not worth the time required to read it (even if you read with great facility) nor the money to purchase it. Avoid at all costs.

Rating:
Summary: A Worthless Paperweight For The Home
Review: This book carries the imprimatur of the American Academy of Pediatrics and so one might reasonably expect it to be informed and informative. Disappointingly, it is neither. The information is always lightweight and moreover egregious in many instances. For example, should your child be the victim of a playground bully, this book advises your child "to look the bully in the eye and say, 'now stop that.'" Perhaps this kind of advice appeals to geriatric authors whose memories of their own schooldays are now sufficiently vague for this to appear a plausible means of dealing with violent aggression. More probably, it is the anodyne formulation of authors wishing to avoid a potential lawsuit and who therefore choose blithely to ignore the reality that confronts unfortunate children in such circumstances.

In other cases the authors' advice appears to be aimed at readers trapped in the nineteenth century, for example regarding "appropriate gender identification:" boys should be encouraged to play with trucks while girls should play with dolls. No doubt this was felt to be sterling advice sometime around 1870 but (the purveyors of Barbie and the authors of this book aside) the world has moved on somewhat since then.

As well as evincing antique social attitudes, the authors are also clearly authoritarian in posture. For children who suffer from deep anxiety about going to school, the only permissible response is for the parent "to be extra firm" with the child to ensure that it does not miss a day of schooling. No doubt a bracing cold shower in the morning and some strenuous Christian hymns would also help, though strangely this latter advice is absent, at least in the paperback edition.

In summary, it is quite impossible to find anything positive to say about this simple-minded book. It aims to be a compendium of knowledge and advice about the various travails parents will encounter as they raise their children, but instead it succeeds only in being a second-rate paper-weight. It is not worth the time required to read it (even if you read with great facility) nor the money to purchase it. Avoid at all costs.