I dreamt that I was a soldier, riding into battle ... completely naked, and on the back of a large, inflatable duck.' Matt Coyne's life was turned upside down by the arrival of his first child, Charlie. After three months of fatherhood, he logged on to Facebook and shared his experience of being newly responsible for 'a furious, sleep-murdering, unstable and incontinent, breasts-obsessed midget lodger'. Within days, his post had gone viral - and Matt is now a hero for parents everywhere, through his popular blog: 'Man vs. Baby'.Dummy is no average parenting book. It's packed with completely impractical, hands-on advice for the inept mum or dad - stuff you just won't find in any baby manual or guide: 'Profanity Bingo' for labour; a categorisation of various nappy disasters; how to counteract the baby plank manoeuvre, and much more. But it is also a story of how becoming a parent is a kind of beautiful insanity. A thing that changes you.Above all, Dummy will keep you laughing like a broken lunatic through the exhaustion, the mystery and the madness of bringing up your own children. This is the parenting book for real people.

    The first three years of life are too important for experiments, but the Montessori guidelines presented here have held true all over the world, no matter what the culture of the child, for over 100 years. It is the goal of this book to help parents look for, discover, appreciate, and support the mental, physical, and emotional needs of the child in the first three years of life. There are over 180 black and white pictures from the author’s work around the world with children from birth to three years of age. "The Joyful Child" is used in Montessori teacher training centers, middle school human development classes, birth preparation classes, and it is of interest to anyone studying education and child development. It has been translated into several languages and is often used as a text for parenting classes. Chapters: The First Year—The senses: Before birth; music and language; crying as communication; seeing and processing; the absorbent mind; materials The First Year—Reaching Out and Grasping: The development of movement; toys that aid the natural development of movement; natural materials for toys The First Year—Sitting up and Working: The child’s Work; eating and working while sitting up; safety concerns with new movement abilities; number of toys available at any one time, and learning to put them away; suggested toys The First Year—Freedom of movement; a safe and natural environment; crawling, pulling up, standing, and walking; toys and equipment that aid movement development The End of the First Year—Unique Development and the Child’s Self-Respect: Each child’s path of development is unique; aiding the beginning of a good self-image; preparing the home to welcome the newborn; clothing that supports free movement; attachment and separation, preparation for weaning and toilet learning; sign language and elimination communication (EC); materials that support optimum growth and development; unconditional love; the end of the first year Age 1-3—Care of Self, Others, and the Environment: Participating in the real life of the family; kinds of practical life activities; the work environment and concentration; materials; undressing and dressing; a place for everything and everything in its place; The child's purpose; the needs of the parents; adults and children working together; the child's research of the rules of society; teach by teaching, NOT by correcting; offering choices Age 1-3—Toys and Puzzles: Selecting toys; organizing and rotating toys; learning to put toys away; respecting concentration; visual discrimination and eye-hand control; puzzle toys; open-ended toys Age 1-3—Music: Dancing and singing; percussion instruments and other music materials Age 1-3—Language: Listening comes first; a second language; listening and including the child in conversation; vocabulary, words, pictures, and books; formal language; storytelling, reading and writing; biting; imagination? lying?; materials; supporting language development Age 1-3—Art: Art is more than drawing; art materials; art appreciation; art work Age 1-3—People: Daily life of people of the world; materials Age 1-3—Plants and Animals: A natural love of nature; experiencing and naming plants; gardening; observing and caring for animals; materials Age 1-3—Physical Science and Math: The beginnings of physicals sciences; the beginnings of math Age 0-3—Preparing the Environment: What do we need for a new baby? safety; general environment principles; the environment and the absorbent mind; the outside environment; materials; conclusion Age 0-3—Parenting and Teaching: A gentle birth; gentle family togetherness in daily life; clothing and materials; developing trust in the world; a gentle beginning, the role of the father; a sense of order; the changing environment; the child’s ne

    Fertility medicine today is all about aggressive surgical, chemical, and technological intervention, but Dr. David and Blakeway know a better way. Starting by identifying "fertility types," they cover everything from recognizing the causes of fertility problems to making lifestyle choices that enhance fertility to trying surprising strategies such as taking cough medicine, decreasing doses of fertility drugs, or getting acupuncture along with IVF. Making Babies is a must-have for every woman trying to conceive, whether naturally or through medical intervention. Dr. David and Blakeway are revolutionizing the fertility field, one baby at a time.

    It will teach prospective fathers, in no-nonsense terms, how to survive the first 24 hours; how to Prepare and Plan to Prevent Poor Parental Performance; how to maintain morale in the ranks; how to feed, clothe, transport, and entertain your troops; how to transport the troops successfully on maneuvers; how to increase your "flash to bang" time and "square away" tasks along the way; and much more. Let training commence.

    In Sweden children play outside all year round, regardless of the weather, and letting young babies nap outside in freezing temperatures is not only common—it is a practice recommended by physicians. In the US, on the other hand, she found that the playgrounds, which she had expected to find teeming with children, were mostly deserted. In preschool, children were getting drilled to learn academic skills, while their Scandinavian counterparts were climbing trees, catching frogs, and learning how to compost. Worse, she realized that giving her daughters the same freedom to play outside that she had enjoyed as a child in Sweden could quickly lead to a visit by Child Protective Services. The brewing culture clash finally came to a head when McGurk was fined for letting her children play in a local creek, setting off an online firestorm when she expressed her anger and confusion on her blog. The rules and parenting philosophies of her native country and her adopted homeland were worlds apart. Struggling to fit in and to decide what was best for her children, McGurk turned to her own childhood for answers. Could the Scandinavian philosophy of “there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes” be the key to better lives for her American children? And how would her children’s relationships with nature change by introducing them to Scandinavian concepts like friluftsliv (“open-air living”) and hygge (the coziness and the simple pleasures of home)? McGurk embarked on a six-month-long journey to Sweden to find out. There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather is a fascinating personal narrative that highlights the importance of spending time outdoors, and illustrates how the Scandinavian culture could hold the key to raising healthier, resilient, and confident children in America.

    Melissa Stanton’s The Stay-at-Home Survival Guide is an all-encompassing, truth-telling how-to book that addresses the many practical and psychological issues facing stay-at-home moms today.How do you create time for yourself? Is there really time to do it all (feed the kids, keep them busy, clean the house, balance the checkbook, and take a shower)? How do you deal with the absence of the “professional you"?An invaluable resource for mothers, The Stay-at-Home Survival Guide includes interviews with stay-at-home moms, discussions with experts (family therapists, educators, medical specialists, career counselors), checklists to help you make the most of your time and keep you balanced, and Melissa Stanton’s own experiences leaving a career as an editor for People magazine to become a stay-at-home mom herself.

    Now, with her expanded edition of What to Do, she includes new information on breastfeeding, gear, sleep, and having two when you already have one, as well as: • creating your twin birth plan, • maintaining a realistic sleep schedule, • managing tandem breastfeeding, • stocking up on what you'll need (and knowing what high-tech products are now available and what's a waste of money), and • building a special bond with each of your twins.Accessible, informative, and humorous, What to Do When You're Having Two is the must-have manual for every parent of twins.

    This book is a straightforward, no-nonsense answer to one of the biggest challenges new parents face when they welcome a brand new baby home. This book is written for exhausted parents, giving them immediate access to the information they need. Reassuring and easy to understand, Dr. Kennedy addresses head-on the fears and misinformation about the long-term effects of crying and takes a bold stand on controversial issues such as co-sleeping and attachment parenting. With polarizing figures and techniques dominating the marketplace—and spawning misinformation across the internet—Dr. Kennedy's methods and practices create an extensively researched and parent-tested approach to sleep training that takes both babies' and parents' needs into account to deliver good nights and days of sleep, and no small dose of peace of mind. The Good Sleeper is a practical, empowering—and even entertaining—guide to help parents understand infant sleep. This research-based book will teach parents the basics of sleep science, determine how and when to intervene, and provide tools to solve even the most seemingly impossible sleep problems.

    10,000 Americans turn 65 each day, and their average life expectancy is another 20 years--and many will live longer. But will they just live or have a meaningful life? The truth is that many--if not most--people approaching the latter years do not have a plan, much less a strategy to thrive instead of just survive. Packed with information based on research as well as common-sense wisdom, here are some examples of what readers will discover: - How retiring at the wrong time increases the likelihood of dying 89%. - What can delay Alzheimer's onset an average of 9 years. - How everything that makes you happy comes in just 3 forms. - Which partner is most likely to initiate divorce after decades of marriage and why.

    Benjamin Spock. But while children never change, issues and concerns do. Dr. Robert Needlman, himself a top-notch pediatrician, has newly updated and expanded this timeless classic to speak to any parent who is raising children in our rapidly changing world. While still providing reassuring advice on age-old topics such as caring for a new baby, as well as accidents, illness, and injuries, this book also contains expanded information in many new areas, including: • Cutting-edge medical opinion on immunizations • Obesity and nutrition • Cultural diversity and nontraditional family structures • Children’s learning and brain development • The newest thinking on children with special needs • Environmental health • Increasingly common disorders such as ADHD, depression, and autism— including medications and behavioral interventions • Children and the media, including electronic games • Coping with family stress • And much, much more With an updated glossary of common medications and an authoritative list of the most reliable online resources, this invaluable guide is still the next best thing to Dr. Spock’s #1 rule of parenting: “Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do.”

    Most doctors are trained to think of a “good” birth only in terms of its medical success. But Dr. Anne Lyerly knows firsthand that there are many other important elements that often get overlooked. Her three-year study of a diverse group of over one hundred expectant moms asked what matters most to women during childbirth. The results, presented to the public for the first time in A Good Birth, show what really matters goes beyond the clinical outcome or even the usual questions of hospital versus birthing center, and reveal universal needs of women, like the importance of feeling connected, safe, and respected.Bringing a new perspective to childbirth, the book’s wisdom is drawn from in-depth interviews with women with a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences, and whose birth stories range from quick and simple to complicated and frightening. Describing what went well, what didn’t, and what they’d do differently next time, these mothers give voice to the complete experience of childbirth, helping both women and their healthcare providers develop strategies to address the emotional needs of the mother, going beyond the standard birth plans and conversations. Transcending the “medical” versus “natural” childbirth debate, A Good Birth paves the entryway to motherhood, turning our attention to the deeper and more important question of what truly makes for the best birth possible.

    Sleep expert Alexis Dubief, of the wildly popular website Precious Little Sleep, imparts effective, accessible, and flexible strategies based on years of research that will dramatically improve your child's sleep.This book will help you tackle the thorniest sleep snags, including:Navigating the tricky newborn phase like a pro Getting your child to truly sleep through the night Weaning off the all night buffet Mastering the precarious tango that is healthy napping Solving toddler and preschooler sleep struggles If you're looking for practical solutions to improve your child's sleep in a book that won't put you to sleep, this is for you!

    Her successful parenting approach harnesses the power of this basic fact: Your baby is unique and will grow in confidence if allowed to develop at his or her own pace. The key to successful parenting is learning to observe your child and to trust him or her to be an initiator, an explorer, a self-learner with an individual style of problem solving and mastery.Now you can discover the acclaimed RIE approach. This practical and enlightening guide will help you: Develop your own observational skills Learn when to intervene with your baby and when not to Find ways to connect with your baby through daily caregiving routines such as feeding, diapering, and bathing Effectively handle common problems such as crying, discipline, sleep issues, toilet training, and much more.

    In a world of modern, involved, caring parents, why are so many kids aggressive and cruel?  Where is intelligence hidden in the brain, and why does that matter?  Why do cross-racial friendships decrease in schools that are more integrated?  If 98% of kids think lying is morally wrong, then why do 98% of kids lie?  What's the single most important thing that helps infants learn language?NurtureShock is a groundbreaking collaboration between award-winning science journalists Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman.  They argue that when it comes to children, we've mistaken good intentions for good ideas.  With impeccable storytelling and razor-sharp analysis, they demonstrate that many of modern society's strategies for nurturing children are in fact backfiring--because key twists in the science have been overlooked.Nothing like a parenting manual, the authors' work is an insightful exploration of themes and issues that transcend children's (and adults') lives.

    Hilarious yet informative look at pregnancy from one of Australia's funniest writers