Ages and Stages: A Parent's Guide to Normal Childhood Development

This is exactly what I was looking for. It explains each age range (Infant to 18mos), etc. and in several categories including, emotional, physical, mental, etc. It tells you what to expect from your child and things you should and shouldn't do to encourage growth at each stage. It's written well, but simply so it's not too wordy and confusing. The first age section was only about 10 pages, just enough to give me the info without overwhelming me. I found it helpful for hints about my 8 month old son. Most things I knew, but helpful hints like to allow them to be a little frustrated with a toy, but not let them get into a full meltdown. A little frustration is good to help them learn and if you swoop in to help at the slightest problem it's not good for them. So, it's good to know these things so my good intentions don't actually do more harm. I'll be referencing this book for a long time.

As a busy child therapist, this is my go to...for myself! It’s quick, has a wonderfully pleasing layout, and isn’t inundated with too much information (sometimes I just need to know that what is happening with my kiddos is normal and what I can do, fast!). It reads more like a child development book with tips for parents. It’s such a value-add to my life!

I downloaded this a while back and only started reading it now that my son is 2.5. I wish I had looked at it before. The content isn't overly long and it gets right to the point about what you can expect developmentally at certain ages. It also gives straight-forward ideas if there is an area that you want to focus. After one evening of reading I was full of all kinds of ideas of things to try. Some things will hopefully help areas where we are running into trouble (like not wanting to go to preschool, which he loves when we are there). Other suggestions are simply things that I never thought to try, but as soon as I read about them, I knew my son was ready and would probably enjoy (like simple daily chores).

I have a 10 year old and a 1 year old - due to their age gap it's hard to find a single book with information on both of their ages.The book was well written but I didn't feel that the younger stages information was any different than what you'd read in the 'what to expect' books. Although there is duplicate information, there is still a lot of additional information I have not read in other books. Overall it was an easy to read book with a nice layout.

Bought this and overnight shipped as a gift for my son and wife. I tell them a few things they might want to know to help them as first time parents raising a baby, but they do not believe until they read it in the book. Then they say Mom did you know... The book has backed me up and they love it. Discovering things for yourself is better than being told.

Bought for a college class, good book.

We had one of those "baby's first year" books, but when the baby in question turned 1, it was time for a sequel. I chose this one based on reviews that it was kind of dry and objective, which is what I wanted. There are plenty of options for books of cute anecdotes - I just wanted to generally know what our little guy might be developmentally ready for in the next few years. This one fits the bill, more or less. It's just over 200 pages covering 10 years, so not a ton of detail. It's super easy to read and kind of has a "For Dummies" look and layout. That's all ok. What bugged me is that in the first section (0-18 months) there are already some contradictions. Page 9: "Consistently and immediately respond to your baby's cries of distress." Page 43: "Responsible adults take care of an infant's need for food, affection, and physical comfort as soon as possible. They don't let babies scream themselves into a fit to teach them who's in charge." ... except if the distress is regarding bedtime, apparently: Page 41: "let your baby cry for about 10 minutes to lull himself to sleep. The crying won't hurt him, and the experience will nurture his sense of autonomy." Regardless of which side of the CIO debate you're on, I'd like to see consistency within the same book. Some of the advice also goes against things I've read in other places. It recommends talking about yourself in the 3rd person "Mommy's going to give Katie a bath!" (p29), whereas other research supports using natural language with kids ("I'm going to give you a bath!"). It also promotes "self-soothing", which other sources claim is a biological impossibility until the part of the brain responsible for emotional regulation matures, which doesn't happen until school age (and possibly beyond). That said, plenty of the infant section did agree with things I'd already learned. So, like any book/blog/article, take it with a shaker of salt. I got a general idea of what toddlers and pre-schoolers are like, which is what I was looking for.

Children do not come with instructions and Parents need to be informed and guided through there young child's first years which are crucial to their growing up to be loving, caring contributing members of society. Most parents want to do the right thing and many depend on books like this to guide them. I used this in my college yeaars, Associates, Bachelor's and Masters Degrees and I gave this as a gift to my best friend's granddaughter who recently became a first time mother, and she wass very grateful because she found it helpful to her and the baby's Dad.