What to Expect the Toddler Years
What to Expect the Toddler Years
They guided you through pregnancy, they guided you through baby’s first year, and now they’ll guide you through the toddler years. In a direct continuation of What to Expect When You’re Expecting (over 9.6 million copies in print) and What to Expect the First Year (over 5.6 million copies in print), America’s bestselling pregnancy and childcare authors turn their uniquely comprehensive, lively, and reassuring coverage to years two and three.
Organized month by month for the second year (months 12-24) and quarterly through the third year (months 24-36), What to Expect the Toddler Years covers each growth and development phase parents are likely to encounter-when they’re likely to encounter it. Hundreds of questions and answers treat everything from eating and sleeping problems to day care, tantrums, bottle mouth, shyness, self-esteem, and more. An entire third section of the book is devoted to toilet training, safety, and health, and a fourth covers special concerns-the exceptional child, siblings, and balancing work and parenting.
Remarkably thorough, caring and intelligent, What to Expect the Toddler Years is as valuable for the seasoned parent as it is for the new parent. 2.4 million copies in print.
User Ratings and Reviews
3 Stars Some good information but it’s overwhemled by preachiness and outdated info
If you’ve read the other reviews you can see a lot of people ticked off about the way this book approaches breastfeeding past the age of one. Now, I don’t care what you do as a parent and don’t judge you for your choices, but to someone that is either thinking about extended nursing or actively following the recommendations to do so it’s pretty offputting. It’s a bit funny to see the hysteria this books seems to have at the very start about what is actually a complicated and deeply personal choice for many women, and it sort of sets the tone for the rest of the book. Parenting choices that are complicated and personal are made to be cut and dry in many sections of this book. Some people might think that it’s “common sense” but I suspect that most people will find something to either roll their eyes at, be hurt by, or even a little offended at the way their perfectly acceptable parenting style over one more more issues is treated as damaging/abnormal/abhorrent. If you can let the obviously biased advice roll off your back there’s some good stuff in here, but for a new or unsure parent that can be pretty difficult– after all, this book is written by “experts” and it’s easy to doubt yourself in the face of “expert” advice.
ANYWAY, beyond that flaw there’s the obvious issue of milestones. I know of a friend that was given this book as a gift and was constantly calling me up, distressed that her perfectly normal child hadn’t reached whatever monthly milestone this book decreed all children should have reached. Some children focus on language development, others focus on physical development. Most of the time it’s 100% normal to not reach the milestones this books says they should reach and even when you intellectually know that it can be scary to see a big book telling you otherwise. Also, the book isn’t all that well organized and frankly even on issues that have nothing to do with the obvious anti attachment parenting viewpoint, the book still manages to be way too preachy for the average modern parent.
That being said, there is some good information in here, you just have to work to find it. The section on first aid applies to everyone, whether you bottle fed from birth or extended nursed until your kid was 4 and everyone else in between. Some of the answers to common questions are also applicable to everyone, but honestly there are many other updated, non judgemental toddler books out there that have things organized in a more approachable way. I do find myself going to this book from time to time, but probably 3 out of 5 times I end up reading what they say and chuckling to myself about the recommendation and turning to other sources for something a bit more nuanced. Check out Your Toddler Month By Month or the excellent and brand new The Toddler Care Book: A Complete Guide from 1 Year to 5 Years Old for example.
2 Stars Disappointing
I was very disappointed with the advice in this book and found myself disagreeing with some of it. Incredulously, the author DIScourages breastfeeding beyond 12 months of age! I guess she must not be aware of all the evidence that points to breastmilk being beneficial up to 2 years+. A lot of other advice in the book seems arbitrary, anti-AP, and not backed up by research or proof. It is a huge book and of course there is some good information in it. But the bad advice touched enough of a nerve that I would never give this book away to a friend.
1 Stars Outdated information on breastfeeding
This is a huge book which probably has lots of helpful information on raising toddlers, but I couldn’t get past the first chapter and so will never know.
Within the first chapter of the book, the authors have presented misleading and inaccurate information on breastfeeding beyond one year of age. Their “advice” is contrary to current recommendations from the American Association of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization. It also just plain doesn’t make sense, as it suggests children and mamas who breastfeed beyond one year will be maladjusted and malnourished. From my own experience and that of many friends, this is baloney!
Too bad that such a popular series has such bad information.
5 Stars Love the series…
I love the What to Expect Books. They offer the best parental advice for different situations.
5 Stars Similar to the rest of the series
I have the rest of the series, and this follows a similar format. I find the information pretty applicable and a good resource.
Filed under: Parenting Advice Book Reviews