Just wanted to share my experiences with everybody and would hate to call this as a review of this great book. The reason for writing I guess is my way of saying thanks to the author of the book.
Also if you are reading this review then most likely you are expecting too. If you are, then hearty Congratulations and best wishes.
Why I liked it:
The book Dr Spocks baby and child care is described as a handbook on the cover and this is exactly what it is. If you remember from our school days we used to have the lewis and clark’s table book always handy for all our labs as a ready reckoner. This book meets the same needs for a parent. It is that handy as it glves you a much needed glimpse of what should happen next when you start bringing up your child. The reason why that is important is, that when you see it actually happening and mind you it does, then that experience is absolutely beautiful. I think more so it helps to answer the anxiety questions that is never asked but each parent has. For us as we were all by ourselves without any family by our side in a foreign country this book played a much bigger role.
Why You will like it:
When my wife and I realised that we were expecting (it was not planned but we had decided not to plan), the realisation took us through a lot of emotional roller coaster. Yipppeee TO Oh Boy and then Maaan how are we going to manage it TO we can do it ! To all the folks who have not had this experience I am sure you might not fully appreciate this but you will go through the same and enjoy every bit of it afterwards. But then why the heck are you reading this review so early??! ;-) Anyway this book and ’’What to expect..’’ became our bible, I mean Gita! I am sure they will become yours too.
Book Structure And Focus:
The book helps us to take the baby steps as parents. One era at a time !! The language is simple and direct. The whole book is structured as bullet points. This shows how much material is there in this book. It raises questions and makes you think. Not all questions are answered as DOs and Donts but gives a balanced views on the merits and demerits of each approach. To take a simple example I had seen a few parents put their child on a leash (literally) and found that to be horrifying. The book raises that question and gives a balanced opinion on both the sides and suggests when someone might want to use one. Yes, this book is also very diplomatically written. The years of experience of the author as a paediatrician shows in his style of writing.
The focus of the book is both the parent and the child. Actually on second thoughts it is may be more about the parent. It establishes for proper growth the experiences need to be enjoyed by one and all. How to achieve this is the focus area of the book. Also the starting line of the book is THE theme. (I am not divulging it here.)
About the author :
I ’’googled’’ to discover this book. And if you do the same you will find tonnes of material about the author. For a quick take refer to this link: https://drspock.com/about/drbenjaminspock/0, 1781, , 00.html A very respected and a remarkable human being.