The Informed Parent: A Science-Based Resource for Your Child's First Four Years Paperback – April 5, 2016

As someone who has very recently become a foster parent and has never had children of her own, this has been a valuable resource regarding education and growth .

Finally! A science-based discussion on parenting. As the father of a two year old & newborn, I was really happy to find this book, as I was sick of all the other parentings books that tended to be based on anecdotes, and lacked any solid grounding.Much of what's covered may already be well known to a moderately informed parents. E.g., you're probably already vaccinating your child. So the discussion on that topic probably won't directly change how you parent, but can be helpful when talking with nimwi... er, people not sure if they're going to vaccinate.There were some chapters that did help us directly. Specifically the chapter on co-sleeping helped us make an informed decision on how to approach the matter with our second child. Likewise for our toddler, reading out disciplining, preschooling and the like was helpful.I don't give a full five stars, as I do think the book falls short in a few areas:- I wish they would present more data directly from the reports. The analysis is useful, but I always feel more confident in an analysis when I can see the data myself.- Sometimes the book lacks the specifics that would actually help the parent take action. E.g., when discussing that factors they mention a small student to teacher ratio -- without ever stating what defines small.All-in-all, I would recommend for any parent.And I hope this is the start of a new wave of science-based parenting books.

I am going to recommend this book to every new parent I know. I wish I had had it during my pregnancy! Instead I read the popular What to Expect book and was very disappointed. While it was more in depth about everything I felt it lacked hard information on the questions I really wanted answered.The Informed Parent has this information. And it presents it in a factual way, without the heavy biases you find online these days. I was able to read sections that pertained to where I am now with a 6 month old and feel like I can make smart decisions.Another great aspect is that they explain the problems with studies on all sorts of issues and aren't afraid to explore that very few things have a clear cut 'perfect' way to parenting. But when there is heavy evidence supporting something, even if it is controversial, they present the facts as such.I love this book, and now feel armed with evidence!

The book was not for me, it was written by a males perspective. Yes the author sounded like a very experienced father but it just wasn't what I was seeking as a first time mom. I read the first few chapters and felt myself aggravated as I read so I ended up returning.

When you are the mother of a large family, it's easy to be skeptical about how much you are going to learn from any new book about babies. This book is, beyond a doubt, an exception to that rule. Ms. Haelle and Dr. Willingham do a phenomenal job covering a breadth of topics that is nearly overwhelming. From drinking in pregnancy to home birth and beyond, the authors take the most important points present in the literature and make them accessible to the savvy parent who wants more information than is often given.If there was one improvement I would have suggested, I feel that the authors could have encouraged greater wariness regarding home birth. As someone whose home birth midwife committed negligence, I wish that more detail had been given in terms of properly vetting care providers. However it is one area of disagreement in an otherwise excellent book.

Kylie, are you sure about the references? When I read the book the authors cited ALL their references. As noted by the authors, the sheer number of references was extensive, thus they are all online. It's quite easy to see how they link directly to the study: http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/RQIR7QJGIOZTD/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_viewpnt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=0399171061#RQIR7QJGIOZTDThe references: http://theinformedparentbook.com/book-references/However, I can understand how one may come to that conclusion if perhaps the book was skimmed.I appreciate the authors transparency and unbiased scientific approach. It was to the point, facts-based, informative and without all the unnecessary fluff. Thank you for giving me a valuable resource I can easily reference back to again and again!-Mom of a 2 & 5 yr old

I really enjoyed the book. I've read source literature on many of their topics and thought their summaries were accurate and easy to understand. I personally would have preferred to see sources included in the printed text as well, but its disingenuous to say they 'don't provide' sources: they repeatedly state sources with links to the original research are on their website and give the link. If you go to the website there are literally hundreds of sources with live links. That really is more useful for those who want to check the direct source, but it doesn't fully replace that instinctive flipping to the back for those of us who are used to reading sourced non-fiction.My only issue with the book is that about 2/3 of the content covers preconception, pregnancy, and childbirth. Over the past few years there have been SO many more science based pregnancy resources and to be frank, nothing different here. I would have liked to see more post-birth content such as exposure to music, foreign languages, outdoor engagement, etc. However, if you were looking for one book to cover pregnancy and early years this is a great one.