The Children's Hospital Guide to Your Child's Health and Development

Parenting literature is rife with specialization, and all-encompassing guides are often too general to be helpful; this new book from Children's Hospital Boston is an admirable exception. Assembled by a highly credentialed team of Harvard educators, with input from over 75 members of the hospital's staff, and presented in a friendly, matter-of-fact style with simple but helpful illustrations, it is a veritable encyclopedia on current developmental theory, medical recommendations and diverse parenting ideas, divided into five major sections: Setting the Stage discusses preparing for birth and postdelivery procedures; Your Child Age-by-Age includes five detailed chapters covering development, behavior, safety and parenting for newborns through school-age kids; Getting Help elucidates selecting and working with a pediatrician and choosing child care; Childhood Illness & Injury addresses what to do for a sick child and how to prepare for emergencies; and the Guide to Common Childhood Illness, Injury & Conditions is a 300-page catalogue of health issues arranged alphabetically. Break-out boxes (Questions Parents Ask, A Father's Story and When to Call the Doctor) are sprinkled throughout to emphasize crucial issues and summarize major points. (Feb.)