Lord of the (Teething) Rings Part III
Oct. 23rd, 2004 01:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
library_mamaOK, only one book reviewed this time. What can I say? I’m still reading.
Guide to Natural Family Living by Mothering Magazine This was another attempt to find a really liberal parenting book for my friend Teb. I think I (or actually, my husband) did pretty well finding it. Though I couldn’t find the title she requested, Liedloff’s The Continuum Concept, it is quoted here. Unlike most of the books I’ve read so far, this book covers everything from pregnancy through the teen years, with special sections on Difficult Issues like death and divorce. But liberal. Or is it conservative, when the book tells you not to take even Tylenol during pregnancy, and that you really should do the best you can to stay home with your child. Another concept I found a little radical: the no-punishment method of child-rearing. Not that nothing happens when they misbehave, but that you should first try to understand them, and then, if they were deliberately misbehaving, you should reason with them, or help them come up with a good way to make up for what they did. There’s plenty of good advice in here, too, from dealing with sexuality at different stages of life to alternative healthcare and schooling options. This book won’t tell you when your baby should be crawling, but it is a good resource for instinctive and attachment parenting styles. It shares one of the features I most admire about Mothering magazine, which produced it: even when I disagree with their conclusions, everything is meticulously researched, with citations given for multiple studies on both sides of an issue.
This leads me to an update on Babywise and Gary Ezzo Again, my dear husband was disturbed enough by what I told him of this book (recently reviewed) to do some background research. This has forced me to take back my half-hearted semi-commendation of the book. Turns out, the man has no medical background, and not even an undergrad degree. The book has lots of flat-out medical misinformation, and has led to a couple of hundred cases of Failure to Thrive and dehydration in babies whose parents followed the advice. The American Association of Pediatrics has issued warnings about the book, but it’s still really popular. Holy cow! We will be pulling all his books from our library, though, which is a small step. My current advice: don’t read the book. If your friends are reading it, pass on a warning. You can find more info at www.ezzo.info
Guide to Natural Family Living by Mothering Magazine This was another attempt to find a really liberal parenting book for my friend Teb. I think I (or actually, my husband) did pretty well finding it. Though I couldn’t find the title she requested, Liedloff’s The Continuum Concept, it is quoted here. Unlike most of the books I’ve read so far, this book covers everything from pregnancy through the teen years, with special sections on Difficult Issues like death and divorce. But liberal. Or is it conservative, when the book tells you not to take even Tylenol during pregnancy, and that you really should do the best you can to stay home with your child. Another concept I found a little radical: the no-punishment method of child-rearing. Not that nothing happens when they misbehave, but that you should first try to understand them, and then, if they were deliberately misbehaving, you should reason with them, or help them come up with a good way to make up for what they did. There’s plenty of good advice in here, too, from dealing with sexuality at different stages of life to alternative healthcare and schooling options. This book won’t tell you when your baby should be crawling, but it is a good resource for instinctive and attachment parenting styles. It shares one of the features I most admire about Mothering magazine, which produced it: even when I disagree with their conclusions, everything is meticulously researched, with citations given for multiple studies on both sides of an issue.
This leads me to an update on Babywise and Gary Ezzo Again, my dear husband was disturbed enough by what I told him of this book (recently reviewed) to do some background research. This has forced me to take back my half-hearted semi-commendation of the book. Turns out, the man has no medical background, and not even an undergrad degree. The book has lots of flat-out medical misinformation, and has led to a couple of hundred cases of Failure to Thrive and dehydration in babies whose parents followed the advice. The American Association of Pediatrics has issued warnings about the book, but it’s still really popular. Holy cow! We will be pulling all his books from our library, though, which is a small step. My current advice: don’t read the book. If your friends are reading it, pass on a warning. You can find more info at www.ezzo.info
