Rating: 
Summary: Don't use if child is sick!
Review: This book is full of unnecessary information - No suggestions for basic things like a fever! my child registered 103.7 at midnight - treatment ideas were very limited and lots of paragraphs on temperature taking techniques - and references to heat stroke and potential convulsions. misses the mark on other areas too.
Rating: 
Summary: Best Parent Friendly Book I've Seen
Review: This book is the most parent friendly reference book about small children that I have read. It far surpasses the concept that the "What to expect" series format popularized. It is easy to read. (Doesn't read like a medical textbook.) I particularly enjoyed the limits section and the essay on oppositional behavior as I have been having difficulty with my son with a strong personality since my second son was born. I have read Dr. Dobson and Dr. Brazelton extensively and understood concepts when dealing with a strong-willed child, but Dr. Nathanson's book provides vebatim examples and also includes how to look, what to make the child think and what your goal is in discipline. Her examples have helped enormously, and I am beginning to enjoy my 4-year old again instead of constantly engaging in a battle of wills with him all day long.The book combines medical advice with behavioral information that I do not get at my well-child visits. (Which makes me question the quality of our visits...) I must have the newer edition (white and blue), because mine does not have the horrible illustrations mentioned in previous reviews. I have already recommended this book to several fellow parents. And I was excited to see today that there is an older version for kids 5-12 as my oldest son is 4 and I was sad that the first book was ending at age 5. I would recommend the second book sight unseen just by how much I have liked the first volume.
Rating:
Summary: The Only Child Reference Book You'll Need
Review: This is the first reference book we turn to when we have a question about the health or personality stages of our child. The author is right on the money every time. The one and only complaint I have is with the illustrations, which are horrible! They normally appear at the beginning of each chapter and picture children at various ages playing. Because they are not integral to the text or stand in the way of obtaining additional information, the illustrations do not diminish my rating of 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Top notch information with dreadful illustrations
Review: This is the first reference book we turn to when we have a question about the health or personality stages of our child. The author is right on the money every time. The one and only complaint I have is with the illustrations, which are horrible! They normally appear at the beginning of each chapter and picture children at various ages playing. Because they are not integral to the text or stand in the way of obtaining additional information, the illustrations do not diminish my rating of 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Could have been excellent...
Review: Very comprehensive, nice special sections like glossary, and how to recognize illness/injury. But I finally had to throw it in the trash because I got sick of her promotion of masturbation, "sex play" and sex "education". Nathanson proudly lists in her index 16 references to these subjects, including required "masturbation by child 9 to 12 months", ditto for 12 to 18 months, 3 to 4 years, and 4 to 5 years. Talk about an obsession with the subject. I also found the constant lecturing against spanking smug and patronizing. Since when do doctors know how to raise children better than parents? Dr. Nathanson is definitely someone with an agenda. All I wanted was medical advice.
Rating:
Summary: Could have been excellent...
Review: Very comprehensive, nice special sections like glossary, and how to recognize illness/injury. But I finally had to throw it in the trash because I got sick of her promotion of masturbation, "sex play" and sex "education". Nathanson proudly lists in her index 16 references to these subjects, including required "masturbation by child 9 to 12 months", ditto for 12 to 18 months, 3 to 4 years, and 4 to 5 years. Talk about an obsession with the subject. I also found the constant lecturing against spanking smug and patronizing. Since when do doctors know how to raise children better than parents? Dr. Nathanson is definitely someone with an agenda. All I wanted was medical advice.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best
Review: Wanting to be as well informed as possible when it came to raising my kids, I read just about every child-care book out there. I found this book to be the most comprehensive, easy to understand and reasonable. She gives the most extensive information concerning common(and not so common)childhood illnesses AND how to deal with them, and her views on child psychology are right on the mark. As with any author on this subject, you may not agree with EVERYTHING she says, but at least she provides explanations with possible solutions for most problems you'll encounter with children. I find myself referring to this book almost everytime I need information concerning my kids. Her sense of humor is a real boon, and this is the book I give to anyone I know having a child. I saw she was criticized for the "illustrations" and lack of color, but if you need to be entertained and/or dazzled while reading a book of this nature maybe the welfare of your kids isn't your top priority!
Rating:
Summary: A must-have for every parent!
Review: We use this book constantly. When our kids develop rashes, fevers, or other worrisome conditions, (usually in the middle of the night) The Portable Pediatrition helps us pinpoint the problem and advises us. It also cleverly addresses developmental and social issues. Dr. Laura Nathanson Walther guides us through the first five years of parenting with her humor and wisdom. Entertaining and essential.
Rating:
Summary: The only book we still use
Review: With two children, we probably received 15 different childcare books as gifts. The only one we still use is this one (5 years later). We now give it as gifts to friends expecting babies. This book is an excellent, quick reference for all those health and developmental worries (big and small, imagined and real) that parents have. It provides very practical advice for always concerned parents. And its written with great humor and style, always reminding us that raising kids requires humor as well as doctors! I would advise getting this book for anyone with children under 5.
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