Babyhood

This is the closest thing to an operator's manual for having a newborn. Not a how to book, but one that provides insight into what is going on in the minds and bodies of these extraordinary inquisitive little beings that come into the world equipped to grow into and devour every bit of it. Penelope Leach is a wonderful companion, guide and teacher to have at each stage of your child's development. I can't say enough good things about this book.

great research providing solid parenting advice.

The book was as promised with one exception. It smelled old and a bit musty...hard to give as a book. All other factors were positive.

I was given this book by a friend who already has a child and this book as been invaluable to me as a guide to feeding, crying, pooping, peeing and sleeping times for infants. Even though it was written in the 1970's, babies don't eat, cry, poop, pee or sleep anymore or less than they used to so the book is still very relevant. I also like that Penelope gets to the point and does not have too much touchy-feely nonsense. She gets to the point and tells you exactly what you need to know in words, graphs and pie charts. I would definitely recommend this book to any first-time parents.

The only thing this book left me wishing for - is that that there was anything remotely similar to it today. The book is not written in an easy "a-to-z" or "month-by-month" or any other format for people who don't like to read. It is a textbook... on babies, the only one I have found.With all the controversial advice out there, all I wanted was to understand WHERE it came from, WHY we believe this or that, WHAT the evidence suggests. This book answers these questions as adequately as the research conducted by the 1980's allows it.There are many books which are easier to read, will give you more step-by-step cookbook advice, and are a reference on the brands of food and strollers. So though this book lacks in all of those areas, it is the only one which can be used as a pure source of knowledge about the baby's development.

This book enriched my experience of my first child's early months by making me more aware of all the changes she was going through, and how incredible even tiny new developments are -- such as learning to move her arms and legs intentionally. The book was first published in the 1970s and this is a revised edition from the early 1980s, but in many ways it feels more modern and sensible than many of the books on babies which are most popular today. It addresses the issues of babies' individual personalities and how this can affect how they develop -- a subject which more practical, but less well-informed baby manuals don't even acknowledge.

I honestly enjoyed reading this book. Unlike the majority of books about babies, this one is written for those who enjoy understanding the research behind the advice. It also contained many ideas and pieces of information that I doubt I would have found elsewhere. But be forewarned that the book is by no means "unbiased". This author has as many opinions as any other- the difference is that she frequently cites the studies that influenced her opinion, which give the reader a better understanding of where she's coming from.On the negative side, this book is older, and not much effort has been made to update it. For example, I would definitely *not* follow any of the feeding advice, with the possible exception of that pertaining to infants over one year of age. In addition, the book is written with relatively dense language, that some may find hard to read and fairly dry.To sum up, I used this book mostly for its extensive information on the progress of child development from birth to age two. I definitely did not agree with all of the author's ideas about child raising, and would recommend it only as a supplemental resource.

I had no idea that this book was written so long ago. I suppose it was great for its time but when the author refered to statistics and studies from the 1970's I knew that I could find more up-to-date material. For example, this book talks about how there are not enough statistics about breastfeeding because only a small number of women choose to breastfeed. I am sure that this book was great in the 70's and 80's but a lot of what I have read is not relevant for parents in the 90's.

I bought this book in 1978 just before my daughter was born. It became my bible because the information/advice was so sensible even though much of it seemed revolutionary compared with what was advised by my HV and other books of the time. It allowed me to follow my heart and be the best possible mum to my new baby. Through understanding normal development and behaviour, 'naughtiness' was never an issue. Thanks to this book, we had the most delightful and happy time lasting until she went to school and beyond. As my own copy is full of precious margin notes on her development, I am now buying my pregnant daughter her own copy.

This book taught me things like to give my children a spoon as soon as they could sit in a high chair at 6 months or so - you have a spoon and they have a spoon and they are feeding themselves without help from the age of about 8 months - with no food throwing as it is fun for them to feed themselves at this age when it is still a bit of a challenge for them. The older books may not be as attractively presented as more recent ones, but the content can be far better - knowledge may have advanced in certain areas but most of it is still accurate. I bought this copy for a friend.

This was my “bible” when I was pregnant years ago. I found it invaluable, but stupidly lent it to someone and it was never returned. Recently bought it for my daughter in law . I haven’t heard yet but I hope she got as much from it as I did.

This book was given to me when I had my first child in 1976. I felt it was the one thing that helped me to retain my sanity. My own daughter is expecting her first baby this year and I toyed with giving her my copy then decided there were some things I just couldn't part with. I was delighted to find this second hand book on Amazon and extremely pleased with the condition of it when it arrived. I just hope my girl finds it as useful as I did!

Excellent book for people who want to know about the real research into baby behaviour. It isn't an advice book, thank goodness! This is for people like me who want to know the evidence and detail about how babies and their senses/awareness/abilities develop over the first two years. Fascinating!