Childcare Books

This short is an easy read and it lets the reader know more about two wonderful people. It is a must read!

"Miracles Happen on Horseback" provides a window into the extraordinary lives of Rick and Virginia Hawthorne and their Valley View Vaulters team. I had the privilege of knowing Rick and Virginia when I started to vault many years ago, and then to have them coach my own kids. Their day to day work with children and adults or all abilities is an inspiration to all of us who have had the privilege of working with them. Through reading this short story, you too can catch of glimpse of the miracle -- one that unfolds in small doses of decency and hard work, accumulating over months and years into incredible accomplishments.

I enjoyed this short book very much and want to know more. It's a great story about some really amazing people and what they do to make a real difference.

J. Spundstrom

Wonderful Story of inspiring people, heartwarming seeing people give all their time and energy to help others.
Ron Tabachnik

I KNOW "Miracles Happen On Horseback". My son, Joey, started vaulting with Rick and Virginia Hawthorne in 2004. Joey was 10 and has Asperger's Syndrome (a high functioning autism). Autistic children are not coordinated, nor do they work well in groups. Through Rick and Virginia's patience, praise and love, Joey proved the 'experts' wrong. Joey loves vaulting, loves the horses, loves the rest of the team, and most of all loves Rick and Virginia. They are the kind of people that parents get down on their knees every night and thank God that our children are fortunate enough to have them in their lives. They are truly the most altruistic couple that I have EVER met. They have NO 'agenda', other than sharing their passion for and teaching the sport of Vaulting. Joey placed 1st in California and 7th in Nationals in 2006. He competed with both neurotypical and handicapped kids. He was so proud of himself.

This story only begins to touch on the work that gets done by Valley View Vaulters.I would encourage ANY parent to come for a visit and see for yourselves what "Miracles Happen On Horseback".

Sharon Shulby, RN CCHP
(and Joey's Grateful Mom)

Este libro te ayudará a escoger el nombre más FAMOSO PARA TU BEBE, para cuando sea grande te lo agradezca.....

su primera impresion es agradable y no se olvida... porque a mi hijo lo precede el prestigio de un nombre famoso

BEAUTY AND PRESTIGE !
What else could we want for our baby?

and filled with oretige and History.,...
Whatever you're looking for the baby...it's here !

will ever become famous.
But I am convinced that the name of a FAMOUS MAN OR WOMAN will help enhance his/her self esteem...
Besides, this names are really AMAZING !

Written by Robert W. Drago (Professor of Labor Studies and Women's Studies, Penn State University), Striking a Balance: Work, Family, Life is not a self-help book for the individual, but rather a scholarly examination of the modern societal problems of the care gap (too many children, elderly, and disabled, particularly among the poor, are not getting the care they need), the gender gap (women are forced to choose between success in their careers and providing adequate care to their children, or any other form of care work for low or no pay) and the income gap (the rich get richer and the poor get poorer). At the heart of these problems is not just cold hard economics, but also societal norms - the "motherhood norm" that insists women should provide care for little or no pay; the "ideal worker norm" that conditions employers to expect their workers to put in long hours up to an inhuman level; and the "individualism norm", a society-infused belief that the government should not help those needing care. Striking a Balance prescribes society-wide remedies to these growing problems: paid family leave, early childhood education and child care financing, guaranteed health insurance, and a minimum wage increase indexed to inflation, and the simple importance of allowing men and women from all walks of life to have their voices heard. Extensively researched, Striking a Balance: Work Family Life is a persuasive academic treatise about the need for social change, and highly recommended for reading for not only college library shelves, but also anyone looking for a better understanding of why the government needs to pay more attention to minimum wage, health care, and paid family leave issues.

This excellent analysis of the current state of working and trying to live at the same time in America is a great wakeup call from the overwork hypnosis reining for too long. Unlike in other advanced nations, we've never had a real national conversation about the impacts of large numbers of caregivers in the workplace and skyrocketing workweeks. Drago makes those repercussions of work without end very clear, in imploding families, skyrocketing health costs and absentee lives. Armed with a trove of research, he shows us not only the downside, but also a way out, when we can see the unconscious norms that skew our value system and sanity--the ideal worker norm, the motherhood norm, and the individualism norm. This much-needed book should should be required reading for every exec, congressperson, and presidential-candidate policy guru in the land.

This is one of the best sociological books I've read in years--which is saying quite a bit, since the author is an economist! Bob Drago's latest book is both scholarly and eminently readable. He pulls together the best analysis of the challenges confronting women, families, and workers--which pretty much includes all of us, now doesn't it?--with the most enlightened thinking about what we need to do to change the structures that produce those challenges. The book is written in very clear prose and presents a persuasive argument that gets right to the point. I think just about any reader concerned with social problems (the working poor, strains on families, gender inequalities) will find plenty of cause for optimism here. And readers who just want to make sense of why life is so hectic for themselves, their co-workers, family members, and neighbors will come away from this book with a clearer understanding and ideas for action. I highly recommend this book.

Bob Drago has long been recognized as a leader in the work-life balance world through his work with Take Care Net and on the Work and Family Bill of Rights. After decades in the wilderness, many of us have reached a shared vision of what does and doesn't help us to lead balanced lives. Drago captures this new consensus, explains why it has taken so long for us to reach this point, and provides a blueprint for change. Anyone stressed about their own lives, and what to do about it, should read this interesting, insightful, wise, and humorous work, and then join with Drago and others to change things.

This book is for anyone who feels that life is complicated and getting more so all the time. In clear language Drago gives data to show that Americans are working more and defines 3 important gaps Americans face: a care gap, a gender gap, and an income gap. These are interrelated, of course, as Drago makes clear. And he contributes to our understanding of the gender gap by expanding it to include the gap between women who are involved in actual care work (whether paid or not) and those successful in professional jobs and hence not directly involved in care. He anchors his discussion in three norms, all of which contribute to these gaps: motherhood, ideal worker, and individualism, and supports his discussion with both data and stories. A particularly interesting formulation is his definition of balance, by which he means involvement in all three of paid work, unpaid work, and leisure. He describes the kind of social infrastructure necessary to support such balance for all people in our society and ends with a work and family bill of rights. A great discussion of the challenges we all face.

We live in a time when fourth graders are suspended from school for "sexually harassing" little girls on the playground and the names of 10-year-old boys names are published as registered sex offenders Texas. Some publicly proclaim, "sex before 8 or it's too late." And the American Psychological Association was forced by a nationally known a radio advice show hostess to explain itself for publishing perfectly good, peer reviewed literature about the lasting effects of child sexual abuse, because it suggested the some politically unpopular (though scientifically supportable) conclusions. A sense of balance and fairness is badly needed and Dr. Toni Cavanagh Johnson provides a good dose of it in this book.

Children are sexual people and she isn't afraid to say so. But she also describes how their sexuality is different from adult sexuality and how the two don't mix without risking dire consequences for the child.

Dr. Cavangh Johnson describes normal childhood sexuality as one end of a continuum. Most children fit that description. A few are on the other end - sexually aggressive children who assault others. In between are sexually reactive and sexually pre-occupied children, also carefully described. Concerned adults are given guidelines for assessing their child's sexual behavior, putting it in context and acting without over-reacting, when action is indicated.

As a practicing psychotherapist and Continuing Education Instructor for Child Welfare social workers, I'm whole-heartedly recommending this thorough, yet short and easy-to-understand book to parents, foster parents, teachers, social workers and anyone interested in sexual development and sexual behavior of children.

We live in a time when fourth graders are suspended from school for "sexually harassing" little girls on the playground and the names of 10 year old boys names are published as registered sex offenders in the state of Texas. Some publicly proclaim, "sex before 8 or it's too late." And the American Psychological Association was forced by nationally known a radio advice show hostess to explain itself for publishing perfectly good, peer reviewed literature about the lasting effects of child sexual abuse, because it suggested the some politically unpopular (though scientifically supportable) conclusions. A sense of balance and fairness is badly needed and Dr. Toni Cavanagh Johnson provides a good does of it in this book.

Children are sexual people and she isn't afraid to say so. But she also describes how their sexuality is different from adult sexuality and how the two don't mix without risking dire consequences for the child.

Dr. Cavangh Johnson describes normal childhood sexuality as one end of a continuum. Most children fit that description. A few are on the other end - sexually aggressive children who assault others. In between are sexually reactive and sexually pre-occupied children, also carefully described. Concerned adults are given guidelines for assessing their child's sexual behavior, putting it in context and acting without over-reacting, when action is indicated.

As a practicing psychotherapist and Continuing Education Instructor for Child Welfare social workers, I'm whole-heartedly recommending this thorough, yet short and easy-to-understand book to parents, foster parents, teachers, social workers and anyone interested in sexual development and sexual behavior of children.

While this is not an introductory text, it does cover many topics that are areas of concern for parents. Since there are so many children who have been exposed to adult sexuality, abused, or just experimenting with growing up, it is important for parents and clinicians to be able to access accurate and uncomplicated information. Dr. Cavanagh-Johnson has articulated this well in this book. A very good read.

This book is an excellent reference for educators and parents of a child who has been abused, but it may not be what the average parent is looking for. If you are simply looking for ways to help your child develop a normal sexuality, a different book would be better. If you have a child with a persistent sexual behavior which disturbs you, then this is your book. It can help you decide what is normal, what is not, and what to do next. Some of the statistical information is confusing and poorly explained, but the practical information could be invaluable.

This is a wonderful book explaining in simple language various levels of sexual behvior and development. Helpful to parents and professionals, you will be able to identify and recognize differences between normal, inappropriate and troublesome sexual behavior. Also helps parents understand how to talk to their children about sex at the child's developmental level.

This is a wonderful book for new parents or even grandparents who want to understand how they can help their baby grow into a confident person who can have a full emotional range. The book also helps a parent understand his or her own feelings and how those can affect the baby. I give this book as a baby gift now.

The Greenspans have offered up a concrete, easy to understand gathering of what all new (and maybe not so new) parents should know about infancy and toddlerhood. The best thing next to self esteem a parent can offer a child is to teach that child an emotional language. "This feeling goes with this label...". A child begins to associate, "Oh, so THAT'S what this funny feeling is about" and before long you have an individual who is aware of feeling states and then moves on to appropriatley expressing them. Give this gift to YOUR child!

This book is a must read for any parent that is worried about the emotional health of our society today. We live in a society of repressed emotions that come out in violent outbursts. This books tells parents how emotions develop in a baby and toddler and what we as parents can do to help our baby develop all of their emotions. It also teaches us how we can help our baby handle and express all emotions so that they don't become bottled up and come out in violent outbursts. Most of the advice in this book goes against conventional parenting advice, but in my view we've been following conventional advice for 50 years and look where it has gotten us. It is time for a new, more sensitive way of parenting that teaches our children that emotions are ok and can be expressed in appropriate ways. I give this book my highest recommendation.

As a single parent of a 2 1/2 year old boy, I have found this book to be the best teacher, guide, and sanity-saver since the day he was born. This book has given me concrete options for understanding and dealing with every perplexing behavior of my son's. He has a flourishing emotional life because of this book, and I have managed to keep sane.

The book is easy to read, gives several solutions to each problem presented, has tables and lists to help explain concepts, and offers a contiguous view of the child and his family's development. If a parent could only read one parenting book, *this* is the one they should read, take to heart, dog-ear and memorize techniques from, through the start of pregnancy through all their children's first years. The family foundations and relationships it helps to establish make the most solid beginnings for family life. Thank you, Greenspans, for this seminal contribution!

Your child's EQ (emotional quotient) is more important to their future success, health and happiness than their IQ (intelligence quotient) and this book can help the both of you off to a great start. As an Emotional Intelligence Coach, I strongly recommend this book. Your child's EQ can't develop farther than yours. Take an assessment and see how yours is, get some EQ coaching from a trained and certified EQ coach, read this book and get to work. Your child's future depends upon it.

In a chapter titled "A Child's Anger", they mentioned this as "the most difficult part of parenting" And it is. It would have been nice if they have expand a bit than what was written. Instead, the chapter becomes an advertisement for the book they've previously write. I don't mind advertisement, but when presented this way, it leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

This book has value even for newlyweds considering parenthood.The concepts are easy to apply, and easily overlooked in the business of modern life. My children responded immediately to the new ways I was able to express my love for them. My only regret is that I didn't read it ten years sooner. But it does apply to children of any age, it's never too late to really love our children.

Excellent! Excellent! A must read for all parentsMakes a great baby shower gift!

This excellent book is a must-have for all parents. I'm already waiting for the sequel, "How to Really, Really Love Your Children".

This book has been out for over 20 years and continues to be an international bestseller. This updated version should be on every parent's list of "must read". The basic concepts of parenting are easily understood but often overlooked in the day to day hassles of living. Over a million copies have been sold. Check it out.

How can I review this book if it's been over a month and I haven't even received it yet?!!!

Do you remember what they taught you at school? Me neither. I learned to read very early on, mostly at home, and I still remember some math, but only because I balance my checkbook and know when I'm getting correct change at the market. All those years, isolated from the real world in the artificial environment of school, sitting at a desk all day with 30 of my same age peers, how was I to learn about what an actual life in the world is like, or about what I wanted to do with mine? I remember learning to take tests. Now I never take them. A lot of it was pleasant enough, some of it was not, most of it was boring, and somehow I never noticed that I was mostly wasting my time.

Now I know better having read John Holt, a sweet, caring man and a wonderful writer. He's radical, but he never rants. He persuades, gently, eloquently. He learns through years of careful, loving observation and by trial and error and he shares that with you in a way that makes it seem as though he's one of your oldest, most comfortable friends. He reminds you of what you went through in school. He makes sense. He's fun to read. And you know he's right as you read him, because we have all gone to school.

In this unofficial treatise for the homeschooling movement, John Holt, longtime private school teacher, maintains that the traditional classroom model no longer works and may, in fact, ruin kids for learning. He exhorts parents to challenge the conventional wisdom and be their children's teachers. You don't need to be a homeschooler to benefit from Holt's books; you simply need to care about children and education and to have uttered, if only once, "There's got to be a better way."

Don't read my review. Buy the book and read it instead. If you only ever puchase one book on home education, then let it be this one. John Holt is simply the best.

This single book completely transformed our family's plan for educating our child. After 3 years of perfectly normal, traditional (private and public) schooling, the light bulb went off and we are now embarking on the incredible journey of homeschooling. John Holt speaks such truth, and reminds us that all human beings are born naturally curious, wanting and able to learn. Imagine the potential of our world if each child spent 11,000 hours out in the real world, hungrily soaking up all that life has to offer, instead of sitting all day, being fed information to regurgitate with no apparent and immediate relation to their needs, their interests or their lives. Holt reminds us that "school" is a relatively new invention, and that earlier generations who could not only write exquisitely, invent, create, build and lead, were all schooled at home. Holt also helps every parent who has ever said "I could never homeschool my children" rethink the entire idea of being "the teacher". Rather, every parent can assume the role of "facilitator"... simply providing access, resources and examples... and watching the miracle of natural human development take off on its own. Take the journey. You will never look back.

I found this book to be an essential starting point for new parents. I have given it for several baby shower gifts and all of them have raved about it.

The Baby Guide is a wonderful book for anyone who needs baby information. And if you're a new parent or an expecting parent, you need baby information! One of the best features of the book are the 800 numbers and web site addresses of hundreds of companies and organizations. If you want to order products, catalogs, or find information, this is the only reference book you'll need. In addition, the book provides helpful advice from experts and "real-world" experts: parents who have the benefit of experience. Advice is provided on topics ranging from preconception preparation to postpartum depression. The Baby Guide is truly "your total resource for pregnancy, birth and beyond!"

This new approach was worth the ten bucks. It includes hundreds of resources for preparing for the baby. You need a good pregnancy guide, too, but this book covers new ground that I haven't seen in all the other books I've read about pregnancy and babies!

This is my first pregnancy and my husband and I have read just about every book out there. We love this book because it gives you more than just the facts - you get incredible life stories, tons of information on baby products, and coupons to save you some money. This book understands that pregnancy is more than just facts, it is an emotional journey. Finally, this book is a great buy - I'll be giving it as a gift at every baby shower I go to!

Journalist and biographer Thomas Maier presents a candid portrait of one of the most famous child care advisors in America in Dr. Spock: An American Life, an informed and informative, 540-page biography that shows this public figure's human side, as well as his willingness to face down controversy, whether in the realm of raising children or in his stringent opposition to the Vietnam War. A detailed, involving, and evenhanded depiction, Dr. Spock: An American Life is very highly recommended reading.

"Dr. Spock: An American Life" is a powerful story. In fact, once I got started, I couldn't put down Thomas Maier's book. The writing is crisp and to the point. At the same time Maier fills his book with wonderful details that brings Benjamin Spock to life.

Maier does a terrific job of capturing the different facets of the doctor's life and personality. The author devotes a good part of his book to Spock's troubles with his children and his first wife. Yet "Dr.Spock" never demeans its subject.

If you are curious about Benjamin Spock, or enjoy intriging stories...or just delight in good writing,read this book!

My mother read Dr. Spock, as did I when I had my kids. He was not permissive and did not advise us to raise impolite poorly behaved children. Fortunately this book manages to convey this. Dr. Spock's legacy has been maligned and cheapened by ignorant people, most of whom never read the good Doctor. This book presents a full picture of the man in his weakness and strength. I think Spock would have been content to stand on the record. This book is long overdue. Thank you to Thomas Maier and thank you to Dr. Spock.

I've been reading biographies lately and this one is the best I've read so far. I found it interesting and easy to read. I was impressed with the extensive research done by the author and I was impressed with how we are given an honest portrayal of Spock...the good points and the bad.

Although we are given glimpses of the dark side of this famous man, I did not end up disliking him. In fact, it made me want to go out and reread his childcare book. It's weird, but in a way I respect his opinions more, knowing he was not perfect.

I highly recommend this book!

This book is a very interesting read. Desmond Morris does a great job of delving into the nature of the human baby. It was fascinating and hard to put down. It would even make a great gift to parents-to-be, or new parents. I love this book.

I love the text and pictures in this book. It would make a wonderful new baby gift for any couple. I wish it were still in print so that I could find more copies. I would keep a 'stash' and have one ready as soon as I found out a friend was having a baby.

After the birth of my now-four-year-old daughter, this was the only "baby book" I read that made any sense at all. Morris' describes the mother-child contract, a reciprocal exchange of the baby making his/her needs known and mother fulfilling those needs. He puts into words the joy each mother finds in responding to her baby, and the incredible base of life-long security established in an infant whose needs are met by a loving, playful, and competent mother. I read the chapter "Why do Babies Cry?" every other day to remind myself that what I did instinctually with my baby (i.e., pick her up whenever she cried and figure out what she needed) was exactly right. Reading "Babywatching" always boosted my confidence, and made me feel like part of a competent mother-child pair. Reading other baby books (Spock, Brazelton) always made me feel unsure and question whether I was doing the right thing. The chapters "Where do Babies Sleep?" "What do Babies Eat?" "Why do Babies Cry?" and "What Comforts a Baby?" should be issued to every parent before they take baby home from the hospital. Truly caring for a baby means connecting to your baby on many levels: physical, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual (baby intellect being the mimicking and copying they employ to learn human communication.) Babywatching describes, in simple terms, how to make these connections with your baby, and, by extrapolation, with all of the people in your lives

This book didn't serve as a reference on the "how to's" of infant care, but instead provided me with answers to so many of the fundamental problems new parents agonize over. It was such a wonderful change to hear Mr. Morris, a zoologist, dispell cultural myths and observe nature for explanations and suggestions. Reading this book was fun and made me feel confident that my parental instincts were in line with good care for my baby.