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Your One-Year-Old: The Fun-Loving, Fussy 12-To 24-Month-Old
The child from twelve to twenty-four months of age is a joy to have around—some of the time, that is. This child is growing at an incredible rate, learning to walk, learning to touch, learning to love, and learning to say “No!” for the first time. All of this can be quite a handful for the new parent.
In this first book in the series from the renowned Gesell Institute, which includes Your One-Year-Old through Your Ten- to Fourteen-Year-Old, the authors discuss all important questions that concern the twelve- to twenty-four-month-old child. They examine the various stages of development between infancy and toddlerhood: what new things the child can do; how the child acts with parents and other people; what the child thinks and feels.
Included in this book:
• Sleeping and feeding routines
• A one-year-old’s view of the world—and herself
• Accomplishments and abilities
• The basics of toilet training
• Stories from real life
• A list of age-appropriate toys and books
• A bibliography for parents
“Louise Bates Ames and her colleagues synthesize a lifetime of observation of children, consultation, and discussion with parents. These books will help parents to better understand their children and will guide them through the fascinating and sometimes trying experiences of modern parenthood.”—Donald J. Cohen, M.D., Director, Yale Child Study Center, Irving B. Harris Professor of Child Psychiatry, Pediatrics, and Psychology, Yale School of Medicine
In this first book in the series from the renowned Gesell Institute, which includes Your One-Year-Old through Your Ten- to Fourteen-Year-Old, the authors discuss all important questions that concern the twelve- to twenty-four-month-old child. They examine the various stages of development between infancy and toddlerhood: what new things the child can do; how the child acts with parents and other people; what the child thinks and feels.
Included in this book:
• Sleeping and feeding routines
• A one-year-old’s view of the world—and herself
• Accomplishments and abilities
• The basics of toilet training
• Stories from real life
• A list of age-appropriate toys and books
• A bibliography for parents
“Louise Bates Ames and her colleagues synthesize a lifetime of observation of children, consultation, and discussion with parents. These books will help parents to better understand their children and will guide them through the fascinating and sometimes trying experiences of modern parenthood.”—Donald J. Cohen, M.D., Director, Yale Child Study Center, Irving B. Harris Professor of Child Psychiatry, Pediatrics, and Psychology, Yale School of Medicine
192 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1983
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324 people want to read
About the author
Louise Bates Ames
63 books44 followers Louise Bates Ames was an American psychologist specializing in child development.[1] Ames was known as a pioneer of child development studies, introducing the theory of child development stages to popular discourse. Ames authored numerous internationally renowned books on the stages of child development, hosted a television show on child development, and co-founded the Gesell Institute of Child Development in New Haven, CT.
Ames's work found that children go through clear, discrete developmental phases based on age. She demonstrated that various age groups feature unique behavioral patterns, to be considered by parents and doctors in monitoring children's development. Perhaps the best-known legacy of her work was the coining of the term "Terrible Twos," to describe the rigid, conflict-laden behavioral patterns of two-year-olds.
Ames's work found that children go through clear, discrete developmental phases based on age. She demonstrated that various age groups feature unique behavioral patterns, to be considered by parents and doctors in monitoring children's development. Perhaps the best-known legacy of her work was the coining of the term "Terrible Twos," to describe the rigid, conflict-laden behavioral patterns of two-year-olds.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 116 reviews
October 20, 2013
I started reading this book when Louisa was in the midst of a particularly demanding period that involved lots of frustrated grunting at us and the occasional tantrum. At first it provided great insight and perspective on what can be expected from a one year old developmentally, and how to deal with them. I particularly liked the explanation of how children go through alternating periods of emotional equilibrium and disequilibrium, largely attributable to developmental changes they are dealing with. Then towards the end, this book got pretty weird. It places heavy emphasis on the validity of Constitutional Psychology, a way of classifying personalities based on the belief that we behave as we do largely because of the way our bodies are built. The author suggests that you can predict how your child is going to behave in life based on whether their bodies are "round and soft", "hard and square", or "linear, fragile, and delicate". Really?
I attribute the weird aspects of this book to the fact that it was written in the early 80s. A section called "Stories from Real Life" was particularly revealing of the era in which it was written. The author publishes letters she's gotten from parents and her responses to them. I was really looking forward to that part of the book, hoping for humorous stories I could relate to as a parent. Not much humor, but rather a ridiculous amount of parental references to smacking their children, largely from desperate sounding young mothers. And the responses were often judgmental and snarky.
This book is valuable for the timeless insights it provides, and somewhat entertaining in an anthropological sort of way for the 80s era pop psychology and parental angst.
I attribute the weird aspects of this book to the fact that it was written in the early 80s. A section called "Stories from Real Life" was particularly revealing of the era in which it was written. The author publishes letters she's gotten from parents and her responses to them. I was really looking forward to that part of the book, hoping for humorous stories I could relate to as a parent. Not much humor, but rather a ridiculous amount of parental references to smacking their children, largely from desperate sounding young mothers. And the responses were often judgmental and snarky.
This book is valuable for the timeless insights it provides, and somewhat entertaining in an anthropological sort of way for the 80s era pop psychology and parental angst.
November 17, 2010
This book gives a good overview of what one-year-olds are like, but I didn't learn anything I didn't know already (except that in the 80's people were way more sexist and they hit their kids a lot more). Entertaining, short, and probably useful for someone who hasn't been around a one-year-old before. My favorite things about the book are the index entry "'Up, up.' See Being picked up and carried, child's desire for" and the excerpt: "Supplementing such books as those rather ludicrous ones mentioned above are many others which tell young parents how to play pat-a-cake with their baby, how to roll a ball to a baby, how to play peekaboo, how to talk to the baby. If your own natural intelligence and instinct do not tell you how to do all these things, by all means read a book and find out how" (p. 97).
March 6, 2025
(for Isabella 😊). I found this book to be a fair overview of a typical 1 year old. And for someone like me, who has never lived with a toddler before (until now!), the information about child psychology at the beginning of the book was interesting and will be a good reference. However, factual and medical information was dated (published in the 1970’s) and very, very conventional. Some advice for moms tired of training and disciplining included putting your young toddler in nursery school (I’m not saying moms don’t need a break, but leaving that up to nursery school? No way). There were some anti-husband/dad comments. Mother’s instinct goes a long way, but sometimes dads can see the forest for the trees. I’ve heard good things from good sources about this book series (all the way up to age 14 I think!) so I’m interested to read the different ages as they come along for me and perhaps glean some wisdom where I might agree. 2 stars are still stars! ⭐️ ⭐️
May 20, 2018
This book is what I was looking for so I know what to expect; it explains where one year olds are emotionally and developmentally. I gained a few insights into my 16 month old. Some of the information is outdated - ashtrays and harnesses are mentioned a few times. And starting to potty train at a year?! But, overall, it was a quick, comprehensive read and I got what I wanted out of it. I will check out the other books in the series as my guy gets older.
May 13, 2024
I read this book to give me a heads up with what was coming with my second-born developmentally. I appreciated learning about the different developmental aspects in the second year of life. The book put into words a lot of things that I had thought about with my first born as he was developing. It was pretty thorough in that regard. There was a decent amount I didn’t agree with on the parenting side of things, but I was aware of that before I started reading.
We live in a different era than when this was written, so there was a lot of outdated lingo. I thought it was interesting to read about the milestones in the second year of life. If you’re interested in child development, then I’d recommend this book as an overview as long as you don’t get stuck in some of the weeds. As the kids these days say, this book was overall “mid.”
We live in a different era than when this was written, so there was a lot of outdated lingo. I thought it was interesting to read about the milestones in the second year of life. If you’re interested in child development, then I’d recommend this book as an overview as long as you don’t get stuck in some of the weeds. As the kids these days say, this book was overall “mid.”
June 9, 2016
Now that we have another kiddo, I'm rereading the series, as well as continuing on by year with my older child. I've seen with the first three books that's so much of the observations about child behavior and development is spot on, despite the fact that these books are pretty old!
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A bit outdated for my taste. I find it particularly difficult to relate to the letters from parents asking for advice. That said, there are parts I could keep in addition to the parts that aren't relevant for me. I'm interested in reading the other books in the series as my child ages.
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A friend from LLL recommended this series (albeit she is currently reading "Your Seven Year Old"). Decided to check into them -- starting at the beginning, as the series goes up to ages ten to 14.
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A bit outdated for my taste. I find it particularly difficult to relate to the letters from parents asking for advice. That said, there are parts I could keep in addition to the parts that aren't relevant for me. I'm interested in reading the other books in the series as my child ages.
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A friend from LLL recommended this series (albeit she is currently reading "Your Seven Year Old"). Decided to check into them -- starting at the beginning, as the series goes up to ages ten to 14.
January 8, 2018
No-nonsense parenting advice with some retro charm/ridiculousness. Parenting books today probably would not praise the child harness quite so heartily or recommend you sew your child's clothes onto their body, but who is to say that today's advice won't sound goofy 30 years from now?
I also liked how the answer to every question or dilemma was, "Yeah, kids this age are off the wall. Just wait a few months and whatever problem you are having will probably be somewhat better." Ain't that the truth.
I also liked how the answer to every question or dilemma was, "Yeah, kids this age are off the wall. Just wait a few months and whatever problem you are having will probably be somewhat better." Ain't that the truth.
July 23, 2014
This book is a bit dated (showing its age through anecdotes and references throughout the book) however the insight the author offers into a child's motivation, interests and development is fascinating! I did skip over the last 1/3 of the book, as it includes mainly letters from parents asking the author questions (back when it was originally published). Overall,I found the information very insightful and helpful in understanding my child at this age!
January 20, 2016
I'm glad I read this book. It does show its age in places (there's a warning about not leaving your cigarette where your one-year-old can reach it!), but most of it is basic information about child development and strategies for coping with where your one-year-old is developmentally. It's short and concise, with less repetition than is common in parenting books, so it was a quick read for me. One of the most useful points for me was the point that 1-year-olds need a lot of gross motor activity; this helped make sense of what I was seeing and experiencing with my child, and gave me some additional ways that I hadn't thought of to satisfy that need. Overall, worth the hour or two that I spent to glean the short list of Really Useful insights.
October 24, 2015
This was a great, back-to-basics book about the development of a one-year-old. It's not a parenting book, per se, but it just gives insight into what is happening in the brain and body of your child and how that might manifest. I have read TONS of parenting books, and not one of those books flat-out told me that 15-21 months would be hell (which is what we are going through)...so it was reassuring to read this book and know that we are on track and that there is a light at the end of the tunnel!
May 22, 2017
Good information; some outdated ideas
I really enjoyed the brief, reassuring information about the developmental phases during the second year of life that impact my child's behavior. Given the age of the book, the language often feels dated, and the excerpts from the author's parenting column are amusing, but very dated in some cases (e.g. when they advise a woman who is afraid her Daddy's boy will grow into a homosexual! Although they do well in telling her not to worry while skirting the topic.)
I really enjoyed the brief, reassuring information about the developmental phases during the second year of life that impact my child's behavior. Given the age of the book, the language often feels dated, and the excerpts from the author's parenting column are amusing, but very dated in some cases (e.g. when they advise a woman who is afraid her Daddy's boy will grow into a homosexual! Although they do well in telling her not to worry while skirting the topic.)
April 1, 2011
I loved this whole series and found the books' developmental model to be so true in regard to children's periods of equilibrium and disequilibrium (periods of calm and adjustment versus periods of agitation and conflict).
September 20, 2014
Lovely to read about the qualities and habits that my son displays everyday. A very good book to read when the stresses of motherhood start pulling you down!
May 12, 2020
This was a reassuring, matter-of-fact, and generally accurate description of common traits and difficulties presented by kids of this age range. I read it as my son was about to turn two and found myself thinking, "Ah, so that WAS normal..." through much of it.
Some of the perspectives that other reviewers have found dated, I personally found refreshing and somewhat liberating - it provided a much-needed, chill attitude toward raising children that balances out some of the nitpicky, perfectionist parenting advice that's so prevalent these days. The attitude is more about "this is what it's like to live with a one-year-old, and how to cope" rather than "these are all the essential ways to behave perfectly to raise the happiest/smartest/healthiest child". (I'm full to the brim with those kinds of books and blogs, and care a lot about 'doing the right thing', but sometimes it's nice to be reminded that just letting children be as they are, existing freely and experiencing their daily lives as we go about our own business, is an important form of kindness and love as well.)
If it weren't for one particular chapter, I probably would have given it five stars. I study personality psychology, and I found the chapter splitting the children into different physical and personality types to be very faddish and inaccurate - not entirely without some kernels of truth, but also with much that would be misleading or even potentially harmful to parents without knowledge in this arena. I advise readers to skip it, or at least to read it lightheartedly for inspiration like you might a horoscope. I also found the Q&A section at the end to drag on a bit, but I remedied that by skipping around and just reading the letters that were applicable to my son (they've conveniently provided headings to indicate the matter discussed).
Overall I would say this is an entertaining, reassuring, and informative book with just a few flaws that kept it from being perfect.
Some of the perspectives that other reviewers have found dated, I personally found refreshing and somewhat liberating - it provided a much-needed, chill attitude toward raising children that balances out some of the nitpicky, perfectionist parenting advice that's so prevalent these days. The attitude is more about "this is what it's like to live with a one-year-old, and how to cope" rather than "these are all the essential ways to behave perfectly to raise the happiest/smartest/healthiest child". (I'm full to the brim with those kinds of books and blogs, and care a lot about 'doing the right thing', but sometimes it's nice to be reminded that just letting children be as they are, existing freely and experiencing their daily lives as we go about our own business, is an important form of kindness and love as well.)
If it weren't for one particular chapter, I probably would have given it five stars. I study personality psychology, and I found the chapter splitting the children into different physical and personality types to be very faddish and inaccurate - not entirely without some kernels of truth, but also with much that would be misleading or even potentially harmful to parents without knowledge in this arena. I advise readers to skip it, or at least to read it lightheartedly for inspiration like you might a horoscope. I also found the Q&A section at the end to drag on a bit, but I remedied that by skipping around and just reading the letters that were applicable to my son (they've conveniently provided headings to indicate the matter discussed).
Overall I would say this is an entertaining, reassuring, and informative book with just a few flaws that kept it from being perfect.
January 30, 2025
Although this series as a whole is outdated, I generally take great comfort in reading Ames’s books and discovering that the challenges I’ve been facing with my older child (now seven) are generally normal and developmentally appropriate. The books are not faultless, but they are of their time. You can expect a strong dose of sexism, rigid gender roles and homophobia, as well as Gessel’s strange system of personality typing by body type. Yet they generally have, at their core, good developmental information and a positive outlook. Ames recognizes the cycles of equilibrium and disequilibrium that children go through as they grow. She recommends “techniques” for meeting behavioral challenges, but also recognizes the qualities that make each age special and unique.
This book, however, is so overwhelmingly negative that, had I read it before any of the others, I would never have continued with the series. Ames points out very few redeeming qualities of 12- to 21-month olds. She paints them as difficult, selfish, and unaffectionate. While I am exhausted and find that this toddler phase sure has its challenges, I also think that this is such a great age! I’ve enjoyed seeing both my children discovering the world a little more every day and taking wonder in small things. Both have shown affection at this age and are/were borderline flirtatious.
I also object to the way that Ames pretty harshly shames mothers in the “stories from life” chapter, where parents wrote to her seeking advice. She tends to be very harsh in telling them the mistakes they’ve made.
I would advise new parents to skip this book. Pick up the series with Your Two-Year-Old instead!
This book, however, is so overwhelmingly negative that, had I read it before any of the others, I would never have continued with the series. Ames points out very few redeeming qualities of 12- to 21-month olds. She paints them as difficult, selfish, and unaffectionate. While I am exhausted and find that this toddler phase sure has its challenges, I also think that this is such a great age! I’ve enjoyed seeing both my children discovering the world a little more every day and taking wonder in small things. Both have shown affection at this age and are/were borderline flirtatious.
I also object to the way that Ames pretty harshly shames mothers in the “stories from life” chapter, where parents wrote to her seeking advice. She tends to be very harsh in telling them the mistakes they’ve made.
I would advise new parents to skip this book. Pick up the series with Your Two-Year-Old instead!
May 5, 2023
I rarely review parenting books because I’m a newbie parent, and what do I know? But this took the cake!
The advice in this book was of six types:
- The obvious: “Your boy or girl is officially a One-year-old until the time of that second birthday, when he or she becomes officially a Two-year-old.” With an opening sentence like that, I’m not sure why I continued, but I guess I’m an optimist.
- The stupid: Try letting your baby play with water when she wakes up in the middle of the night because it will calm her down and make her sleepy. Yeah, *that’ll* work for sure! 🙄
- The outdated: Leave your infant alone. You shouldn’t interact with them all the time. Certainly not in line with attachment research.
- The dangerous: If your one-year-old is a picky eater, try giving them bacon and dried fruit. How about I just add some chewing gum and whole grapes while I’m at it?
- The cruel: If your toddler bites, use your hand to close her mouth real fast so she bites her own tongue.
- The pseudoscientific/vaguely racist: All children can be classified by one of three body types, and their behavior will be determined by their type. What is this, Nazi Germany?
Sheesh. At some point, I kept reading because it was disturbingly funny.
The advice in this book was of six types:
- The obvious: “Your boy or girl is officially a One-year-old until the time of that second birthday, when he or she becomes officially a Two-year-old.” With an opening sentence like that, I’m not sure why I continued, but I guess I’m an optimist.
- The stupid: Try letting your baby play with water when she wakes up in the middle of the night because it will calm her down and make her sleepy. Yeah, *that’ll* work for sure! 🙄
- The outdated: Leave your infant alone. You shouldn’t interact with them all the time. Certainly not in line with attachment research.
- The dangerous: If your one-year-old is a picky eater, try giving them bacon and dried fruit. How about I just add some chewing gum and whole grapes while I’m at it?
- The cruel: If your toddler bites, use your hand to close her mouth real fast so she bites her own tongue.
- The pseudoscientific/vaguely racist: All children can be classified by one of three body types, and their behavior will be determined by their type. What is this, Nazi Germany?
Sheesh. At some point, I kept reading because it was disturbingly funny.
April 23, 2018
This book has a lot of good information if you can separate the dated content. There was advice that was obviously relevant/appropriate in 1980 (which other reviews have talked about) so you have to read it with the filter “this is a 30 year old book that hasn’t had an updated edition”. For example, it was written when people still smoked in front of their kids so there’s a few references to ash trays. As a child of the 80s I find this stuff interesting in its own way (to see what advice my parents were being told)
The age of this book actually had benefits, too. It straight up said the second part of the first year is going to be tricky and I appreciate that kind of honesty (which isn’t always found in books and media today about parenting). It’s succinct - took a couple hours to read - something that can’t be said about books today (we either get the 2 min blog version or the 500 page too-much-info version that’s not what you read when you get a 10 min break).
As a first time parent with not a lot of toddler experience I found this to be a very straight-forward, easy to read guide about what to expect during this year.
The age of this book actually had benefits, too. It straight up said the second part of the first year is going to be tricky and I appreciate that kind of honesty (which isn’t always found in books and media today about parenting). It’s succinct - took a couple hours to read - something that can’t be said about books today (we either get the 2 min blog version or the 500 page too-much-info version that’s not what you read when you get a 10 min break).
As a first time parent with not a lot of toddler experience I found this to be a very straight-forward, easy to read guide about what to expect during this year.
November 21, 2021
I started out liking this book but it left a bad taste in my mouth. As someone whose first kid was born just as Covid started, I don't get a lot of interactions with other mothers and kids in real life, so the earlier chapters provided reassurance that my kid's behavior is normal in a lot of ways, and maybe even a little nicer than normal at times. I also appreciated the emphasis on not expecting more from your kid than they're mentally ready for, since there's a lot of pressure from other people in my life to do just that. However, I really disliked the last chunk of the book, especially the excerpts from the author's advice column. Their applications of the concepts they put forward in the earlier chapters often clashed badly with how I envisioned things, and they seemed to have very much a one-size-fits-all mentality, which was odd given their earlier emphasis on children's individuality. 3.5 out of 5 stars, rounded down for the latter part of the book.
October 6, 2021
Nope.
I skimmed most of this book ambivalently, with amusement at the fondness for baby-leashing (I don't do it, but I don't judge other parents for doing it now that I have a toddler who will happily and speedily run into the street). And then I got to the reader letter "...I'm afraid that the fact that he seeks comfort and attention from his father, rather than me, may later turn him into a homosexual. If you think this is all normal, it will greatly relieve my anxiety" addressed by the author "...don't worry too much about homosexuality. Our bet is that your son will grow up to be quite normal".
As a completist I almost always finish books, but not this one.
I skimmed most of this book ambivalently, with amusement at the fondness for baby-leashing (I don't do it, but I don't judge other parents for doing it now that I have a toddler who will happily and speedily run into the street). And then I got to the reader letter "...I'm afraid that the fact that he seeks comfort and attention from his father, rather than me, may later turn him into a homosexual. If you think this is all normal, it will greatly relieve my anxiety" addressed by the author "...don't worry too much about homosexuality. Our bet is that your son will grow up to be quite normal".
As a completist I almost always finish books, but not this one.
April 6, 2022
This book was a valuable read in putting my babe’s behavior into perspective, and the best way to manage her when she’s going off the deep end. It also had some parenting insights that I really appreciated - reminders that are helpful when you’re in the thick of dealing with an emotional toddler. I got tripped up frequently by the dated assumptions and wording - mother as primary caretaker, dad being the only parent working outside of the home, heteronormativity, and negative mention of homosexuality.
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July 30, 2021This book is quite dated, and the theories about personality and equilibrium don't seem well supported. (The personality stuff especially strikes me as pretty non-scientific. There's also some asides about nutrition I'd like sources for.) Some of the information about development is useful and interesting, but the way it's written can be off putting. It's also from 1982, so I should have expected it to not sound contemporary.
February 3, 2022
Developmental information is somewhat useful, but there wasn’t much that I didn’t already know. This book would probably be helpful for someone with zero child rearing experience.
The dated material really detracts from whole experience though. I skimmed through most of it hoping to find something insightful or new, but ultimately decided to skip most of it.
Judging by the reviews mentioning homophobia & hitting, I didn’t miss out on anything.
The dated material really detracts from whole experience though. I skimmed through most of it hoping to find something insightful or new, but ultimately decided to skip most of it.
Judging by the reviews mentioning homophobia & hitting, I didn’t miss out on anything.
July 29, 2025
Read this for the psychological developments in a one-year-old and not for spiritual insight into how young kids are/how to parent with that lens. Finished the book understanding capacity in a 1 YO, and that understanding has given me muchhh more patience towards mealtimes, messes, tantrums, etc. Will keep reading these for the psychological understanding behind ages and stages, but will look to other books on how to the spiritual/discipline side
May 12, 2018
Useful ONLY in its overview of attributes at different age markers within the second year of life. The rest of the book was far too dated to be of help. The last chapter in particular was disturbing as concerns homophobia, sexism, and corporal punishment. I found it hard to engage with the writing style, and lamented having to finish this book to get to the next.
March 24, 2021
I wanted to read this book since I found age 1 with my first child very challenging; 2nd child at age 1 was a delight; 3rd child somewhere in between. Some good tidbits but since I'm on my third child nothing was new to me. The last couple chapters were very disturbing, esp. the letters from parents who have some very unrealistic expectations of a 1-year old and harsh ways of punishing them.
September 8, 2022
This book was recommended in one of the respectful/authoritative parenting groups I follow (which approach I try to implement in my own parenting). I really appreciated its common sense and grounded approach: your child is who they are, their temperament does not reflect your parenting nor your value as a parent/person; start by respecting both yourself and your child for who you both are. A lot of advices/anecdotes are seriously outdated as this was written in the 1980s but if you know that era you know what to filter lol
However, I was not a fan of the part about individuality and physiological understanding of one's base personality/temperament. Not only has Sheldon's theory been discredited, it's a slippery slope and we all know the racist history of personality analysis based on facial traits - this part did not sit well with me and felt unnecessary.
Overall I would still recommend the book to understand the respectful parenting approach, but I'd say just skip the anecdotes and individuality parts.
However, I was not a fan of the part about individuality and physiological understanding of one's base personality/temperament. Not only has Sheldon's theory been discredited, it's a slippery slope and we all know the racist history of personality analysis based on facial traits - this part did not sit well with me and felt unnecessary.
Overall I would still recommend the book to understand the respectful parenting approach, but I'd say just skip the anecdotes and individuality parts.
October 28, 2022
Great source of comfort & insight
So grateful this series of books was recommended to me. I almost skipped to Your Two Year Old because my daughter is 18 months old, but starting with this book was the right choice. If you have an 18 month old you are at the perfect stage for this book.
So grateful this series of books was recommended to me. I almost skipped to Your Two Year Old because my daughter is 18 months old, but starting with this book was the right choice. If you have an 18 month old you are at the perfect stage for this book.
November 27, 2023
I felt the book was talking about a different species and how to recognise an animal from that species. I did not feel the authors had love for babies or todlers, just scientists talking about their findings. It was written 40 years ago so I should have known it would be no good. If you plan on reading it, please consider a more recent book.
December 30, 2025
I think there is some useful parenting advice here, at its core being the emphasis on patience and understanding the limits of your own child and their developmental stage, particularly when considering how to begin to discipline. However, this book was written in 1979 and in some places, it really shows: especially in the “Stories from Real Life” section. I waffle between 2.5-3 stars.
March 21, 2018
It was interesting and at times entertaining to read the kind of advice my parents likely received when I was a toddler, but I found the Happiest Baby/Toddler on the Block and How to Listen so Kids Will Talk to have more useful, actionable advice.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 116 reviews