Kid-Wrangling by Kaz Cooke

Rating: 4 out of 5
Paperback: 784 pages
Publisher: Ten Speed Press (October 1, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1580085571
ISBN-13: 978-1580085571

So now you have a baby. Now what do you do with it? This is the guide for you.

This books covers pretty much all issues from a newborn to preschooler. Issues such as getting through the first weeks, sleeping, eating, illness, getting ready for school, teaching kids to behave, using dummies (or not), tv shows for kids, books for kids, and the list goes on.

Her advice is practical, non judgemental, and makes sense. She also brings in a big dollop of humor, to lets face it a dry subject, which will have you chuckling. For instance in a section about dealing with tantrums, she lists ways to deal with tantrums then right at the end she writes "Or you can feign unconsciousness".

The version I have is the Australian one. I do not know if the UK or USA version is the same or if she changes parts for the overseas market. Personally I would think she would change certain information, otherwise I could see the point in her releasing it overseas. For instance when she talks about Australian laws (for cots, toys, broadcasting, car seats etc), I would imagine for over seas books this information would need to be changed.

Also a new edition has recently been released in Australia. This particular edition I read is from mid 2000's and some of the advice reflects this (she mentions the teletubbies as a good show for babies/toddlers and I'm pretty sure this show is no longer broadcast in Australia anyway). It is not glaringly out of date but there were some things that I noticed. However I assume the new edition addresses this.

This would be a great book for the new parent

Raising Boys by Steve Biddulph

Rating: 4 out of 5

Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Harper Thorsons; New edition edition (8 July 2003)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0007153694
ISBN-13: 978-0007153695

This is a book about how to raise boys. Steve Biddulph is a Psychologist who has worked with children for over 27 years.

This book looks more into the psychology of boys at various stages of their lives. He divides a man's life into roughly three stages; 0-6 years, 7-14 years, and 14- adult. Then discusses each stage, what is happening, what to expect behaviour wise, and what strategies you can implement to ensure your son navigates these stages as safely as possible.

The book focuses on what influences a boy in each stage. For instance the 0-6 year stage, the mother is the strongest influence in the boys life, but by 14 and over this has shifted to someone outside of the family. Biddulph gives some tips for single mothers how to ensure these influences are met for their child, and how to select a good candidate.

Most of the book is pretty common sense. But it is helpful to see the stages and the ideas for how to navigate them laid out. The style of writing is easy and chatty, it feels like you are sitting down having a coffee with the author and you are having a nice chat with a friend about the subject. There are no big words that have you reaching for the dictionary, nor does he talk in a condescending manner.

Biddulph refers to many studies and trials that support his advice. He also uses a lot of testimonials and examples from clients he has had through the years. These are interesting and in the case of some of the trials (one in particular about a school in the UK that seperated year 8 boys and girls maths and english classes) makes you wonder why the education system has not changed.

My only gripe is he makes statements like "a boy should not be put in daycare till he is 3 years old". This is all well and good (the argument is they do not thrive as well as girls and require more one on one care) but the fact is in today's society this is just not practical. Most parents need double income to survive and need to put their children into care. I would have liked the author to perhaps give more advice on how to help your child through this period, rather then say "don't do it". Just telling the reader to not do it is not helpful, especially when there is no other choice. All it does is make the reader feel guilty.

This book is not in depth enough to deal with real meaty behaviour issues. It also does not give detailed advice on parenting or discipline. That is not the point of this book. This book is to give you an insight as to what is happening over all in a boys life, and what could be causing any bad behaviour.

A good book for any parent who has boys and wants to gain a better insight into what drives them.

Gymboree The Parent's Guide To Play

Rating: 5 out of 5

Stuck for ideas on how to entertain your child? Want games that are educational and develop your child's skills? This is the book for you. It has 170 games and activities that cover the ages of birth to two. All the games have been proven to help with your child's development as well as keep them entertained.

Gymboree has been providing fun, educational and age appropriate programs to children for 30 years . They have early child centres in 30 countries. It was started in 1976 by a Californian mother who was trying to find activities she could provide her child with.

The book is broken down into age groups so it easy to find fun and relevant games for your child. Most of the games and activities are simple involving every day items around the house such as the good old pots and pans as musical instruments. This is handy if like me you don't have a lot of space for endless amounts of toys.

Each activity also has valuable information on what it helps to develop like fine motor skills, language and balance to name a few. There are also useful facts scattered through out the book based on research, like the importance of reading stories to babies to develop their language skills.

There is a bright coloured picture that shows you the activity and gives you an idea of how it should be done. Colour coded pages make it easy to find the age you need to find activities for. The book is easy to navigate and understand.

This is an excellent resource for any parent. I highly recommend it.