Oh boy, you guys are in for a long review of mine in this post! I tend to go on and on when I discovered something I love and this book is one of them! But please stay on, this book is totally worth it!
I'm so glad I got the chance to review this wonderful parenting book called: "SUPERBABY: 12 WAYS TO GIVE YOUR CHILD A HEAD START IN THE FIRST 3 YEARS". This book was published on September 7th and I've only managed to finish reading this book (yes, all pages!) now, as I could only read it when Ben is napping or after he goes to bed at 10pm+ (plus I've also gotta continue my blogging activities).
Cute cover picture eh?
Ben loves touching the embossed 'SuperBaby' title!
Author: Dr. Jenn Berman
Publisher: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.
ISBN: 9781402770333
Hardcover: 432 pages, all in 2-color
Dimension: 8.9 x 6.2 x 1.6 inches
Description from the Amazon product page:
"The first three years of life are the most important for nurturing a child's full potential: that's when they start forming attachments, developing a sense of self, and learning to trust. During this time, there are critical windows of opportunity that parents can take advantage of-if they know how. In a dozen succinct yet information-packed chapters, award-winning columnist and professional therapist Dr. Jenn Berman gives parents the knowledge they need. Her enlightening sidebars, bulleted lists, and concrete, easy-to-use strategies will help parents raise happy, healthy babies…who grow to be flourishing toddlers and successful adults."
Superbaby! Who in their right mind would want to turn down the opportunity to review a parenting book? Of course, at first I was a bit skeptical when I saw the title but thank God I surfed around to get more information about the book and decided yeap, this is the one! And thank God that Emily, the representative from Sterling Publishing gladly agrees to send me a copy for review! Awesome!
Now back to the book, it is broken down into 12 chapters, which I will note down my feedback in red for your easier reading:
# 1 - Talk the Talk: Respectful Communication
My feedback: I love the section about the advantages to using narration when communicating to our child and agree with the 10 reasons why we should not spank our child. You should also read about the 10 pillars of respectful communication and the 10 rules for effective praise. Great points there!
# 2 - You Got Me! Responding to Cues
My feedback: I love the 10 points that prevents parents from responding to their child's cues and couldn't agree more (guilty too!). Am making my best effort to do away with all the interruptions stated in the book.
# 3 - Tick-Tock: Creating Security and Predictability
My feedback: In this chapter, I get to understand the reasons to putting our child on schedule and totally agree with it. We used to have irregular going to bed time for Ben few months back, he would sometimes sleep at 9pm, or 11pm or even past midnight, but after a couple of weeks of following a schedule, now Ben goes to sleep around 10.30pm or so. We will be on the lookout for signs of tiredness or sleepiness around 30 minutes prior or after his usual bed time.
And I also agreed with the beauty of keeping a log book, something which I always do as I actually logged down info on Ben's feedings (what and how much), poopings and all when he started his solids at 6 months old. All this helps when we bring Ben for his routine check-ups or when Ben has problems pooping.
# 4 - Let Your Fingers do the Walking: The Importance of Touch
My feedback: This chapter touched the 8 physical benefits of touch and the effects of touch deprivation. For example, a couple friend of mine dare not touch or carry their baby (he was about 2-3 months old then) too much as they feared their baby will get used and wants to be carried around all the time. I find this sad as they are losing out precious memories and time as children grows up very fast, I mean, if you don't touch and hold your baby now, when do you want to do that?! In this chapter also, I learned a new term called kangaroo care or K-care.
# 5 - More Than Chitchat: Promoting Language Development
One of the chapters I enjoyed!
My feedback: I enjoyed reading the 15 simple things parents can do to promote language development and I love the extra note on what to do when you have no clue what your child is saying, some of which I personally have been practising with Ben, such as asking him to repeat what he has said and also telling him mummy don't understand what he is saying but that mummy really wants to know.
# 6 - Talk to the Hand: Sign Language
My feedback: For those of you who uses sign language with your child, do read up on this chapter on why using ASL is better than baby signs.
# 7 - Babies Without Borders: Foreign Language
My feedback: I've been trying to speak in other languages with Ben, but so far, still reverted to English most of the time. I'm a Cantonese Chinese while hubby is a Hokkien Chinese (for those of you who are confused, we're still Chinese, just that we are of different dialects in terms of speaking in Chinese) but it is interesting to read about this chapter on the benefits on getting your child to learn other languages.
# 8 - Baby Got Book: Reading
My feedback: I love it that the author includes list of recommended books for the appropriate age and the reasons why some books should just be kept away for our children. I'm glad to see that one of the book I reviewed recently which is "26 Big Things Small Hands Do" is listed in this chapter! And yes, I do want to cultivate the reading habits in Ben!
# 9 - A Different Kind of Toy Story: The Importance of Play
My feedback: I learned about the importance, developmental and emotional benefits of play in this chapter and why blocks rock! And I am very concerned when I read the sentence "The more a toy does for a child, the less the child needs to do." This statement is so true! Think of the toys available in the market nowadays... are our children engaging with the toys effectively? I also love the list of toys and games recommended from birth to age 3. Very useful!
# 10 - Thinking Outside the Box: Screen Time
My feedback: Let me tell you, as you read this chapter, your worries for your kids grow more and more. You read about the 14 risks for children when they watch TV (even an hour daily is bad enough!) Luckily, this chapter came with steps you can take to gain control of the remote control and get TV out of your life! Seriously, after reading this chapter, I became more wary when Ben is being exposed to TV. Prior to this, the MOST I allow him is one hour of TV time, which he spends while playing at the living room downstairs with my MIL. Nowadays, I tried not to be tempted by the TV.
# 11 - It’s Easy Being Green: Reducing Exposure to Toxins
My feedback: In this chapter, I read about lead poisoning, PVC and Phthalates, Parabens, flame retardants, cigarette smoke (I hate smokers!), plastic and BPA. You will get to read the 6 simple ways to reduce toxins at home.
# 12 - Food for Thought: Eating and Nutrition
My feedback: In this last chapter, I read on how to build a better intuitive eater, benefits of breastfeeding (hooray to breastfeeding! I'm entering 20th month soon!). You also get to read about feeding tips for the first 3 years, and what' really in our children's food (scary, scary!)
There are also a few appendixes on child care, preschool, sample schedules for your child and how to reduce risk of SIDS.
Apart from the above feedbacks for each of the chapters, I also like the fact that the book included “From the Experts” sidebars from leading experts and many others. Plus, I totally love the colors used in the book, red nice and easy on the eyes fonts. The one thing I don't like about this book is the jacketed flaps. Too flimsy and waste of paper. Other than that, this book is just perfect!
For those who are already a parent or going to be one or a friend or relative to one or considering to be one, PLEASE, PLEASE, I beg you, consider getting a copy of this book. You will not regret it!
You can purchase this book from Amazon
, Barnes & Noble and many more.
I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with a copy of the book by Sterling Publishing in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine.
And if you'd like to read my previous book reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My Book Reviews"
