On Becoming Babywise II -Parenting your Pretoddler

As a mom and, and an avid reader, I have read a large variety of parenting books. Some have been interesting, but not that useful to me while others have been invaluable and played a huge role in the happiness and development of my children....namely On Becoming Baby Wise: Giving Your Infant the Gift of Nighttime Sleep by Gary Ezzo M.A. and Robert Bucknam M.D. This book was a wonderful guide for me. I followed the principles laid out by Ezzo and Bucknam and both of my children ate well, and slept well from early on. My children also are generally happy and adjust well when needed. All children are different, but the principles of parent directed feeding (while understanding your baby's cues) good sleep training, and distinct patterns of sleep time/wake time are beneficial for every family.
Currently, I am reading Babywise II: Parenting Your Pretoddler and am amazed and how helpful it is. One of my favorite concepts introduced in the book is that of "train, don't re-train." This really hit home for me; why teach my baby that spitting food is acceptable behavior now at 7 months and then try to teach him at 1 year that it is not acceptable. This book expands upon the basic Babywise principles by teaching you to help your child develop a foundation of right learning patterns that he can build upon in later years. The book focuses on "taking advantage of natural learning opportunities presented during feeding time, awake time and sleep time" and learning how to "instill solid fundamental skills that will equip your pretoddler to successfully manage instructions, directions, freedoms, limitations and relationships." The authors define pretoddler as 6 - 15 months, but I have found their learning methods apply, and are useful, well into toddlerhood!

I highly recommend Babywise and Babywise II for anyone who would like to be a bit more 'wise' about parenting and teaching their babies!