"The Baby Book" is really the only Sears book you will need. All the rest of his single-issue titles ("Nighttime Parenting," "The Family Nutrition Book") are basically expanded chapters from The Baby Book. And he is billed as a "parent of eight" and a practicing physician, but I don't see how any one man (even with his wife's assistance) could turn out book after book after book --several new ones per year -- and still have time to work a job *AND* parent in the way he claims we should all parent our kids.

I don't like corporate parenting franchises and thats what "The Sears Parenting Library" is. I prefer a more personal, thoughtful approach to the topic of attachment parenting. I much prefered the book "Attachment Parenting" by Katie Granju. Although Sears may have come up with the phrase attachment parenting, Granju wrote a better book on the subject.


Okay, but duplicate material from Sears' The Baby Book   November 9, 2006
 46 out of 46 found this review helpful

A good concise book, but you can find most of the same material in the Attachment Parenting chapter in Sears' The Baby Book, a much more comprehensive book of the same price.


Important to interpret non-dogmatically   June 11, 2006
 44 out of 57 found this review helpful

I read many Attachment Parenting books, including this one, before my daughter was born and was planning on implementing all the suggestions to the letter. My newborn daughter had her own opinions! The only thing that worked for us was the breastfeeding, and I breastfed her for 19 mo. She hated the sling, much to my disappointment, as I had had visions of carrying her in the sling while going about my daily chores. She preferred to be held in my arms or ride in the stroller! As for the "family bed" --she was never able to sleep more than 1.5 hrs at a time while sleeping with me, but when I gradually transitioned her to a crib at 6 weeks, she started sleeping 3 hrs at a stretch. She recently turned 2, and over the last 2 years I've tried bringing her back to bed with us with no success. She just prefers to sleep on her own. I struggled with many feelings of confusion and frustration with Attachment Parenting until I realized that I am incredibly attached to my daughter! We are extremely bonded to each other. And this bond was not shaken in the least when I chose to let her cry to sleep at 12 months. She did not become clingy or fearful, and in fact, her mood and behavior improved noticeably because she was getting better sleep.

My point is this: If following the "letter of the law" of Attachment Parenting works for you, then great! But let's not make Attachment Parenting into a dogmatic religion. I've encountered a tremendous amout of judgemental and intolerant attitudes from AP types, which baffles me. I was even censored by Mothering.com for telling my cry-to-sleep story.

My daughter is a happy, secure, confident, empathetic, very social, and very intelligent toddler who proves wrong anyone who says the only way to raise a child is to follow the letter of the AP law. Take what works for you and let's please try not to be judgemental of our fellow parents! AP parents tend to be very intelligent and progressive people--why then so much dogmatism?