Average Rating: 
Rating:  - A warm , comfortable, sensible approach to parenting.
I was prompted to review this book when I read the customer comment dated 3/5/99 from California. I am a working mother who bottle-fed and I use this book as my bible. Despite the fact that we do not co-sleep and I did not "wear" my baby as the Searses suggest, I found their philosophy and approach to parenting sensible and natural. Their information on nutrition and solid feeding is outstanding. I did not understand their book to be a suggestion that parents become slaves to their children, rather a reminder that moms and dads would be strongly advised to take parenting as seriously as any other chosen occupation. I have enjoyed the entire book. As with everything I read on parenting, I take what seems to make sense in my life and try to apply it. As the book contains chapters like "Bottlefeeding with Safety and Love" and "Working and Parenting/Keys to Working and Attaching" I have a hard time understanding the venom of the previous review. I plan to have the book sent to my cousin who has just had her first.
Rating:  - Generally useful, but skip the heavy-handed theory
This book will can be a good reference for practical matters (calming infants, dealing with illness,etc.) and delivers food for thought on parenting styles, but it's rather heavy-handed in presenting its version of attachment-parenting (AP) theory.The Sears arrived at their principles slowly; Martha worked during their eldest's infancy, and they did not co-sleep until their fourth child arrived. One does not see a corresponding progression, however, from sociopathic ax-murdering eldest to serene, securely-attached youngest. All the Sears kids seem to be fine. I agree with many previously-stated objections. The medical scholarship can be slipshod; I don't like Dr. Sears reliance on his own surveys, nor his unproven assertion that SIDS can be reduced by cosleeping. The Sears tend to wax poetic when it's least helpful, and paint a pastel, soft-focus picture of AP family life, liberally sprinkling the text with adjectives like 'beautiful' and 'natural.' Family life is many things besides that, so 'beautiful and natural' must make room for 'stressful', 'insane', and many more. The Sears divide mothers into two classes, stay-at-home attachment parents and everyone else, treating the latter with pity and condescension. They say that the guilt that working mothers feel is natural and biological, which is total nonsense--guilt is a social and cultural phenomenon. I would advise taking any comprehensive theory with a grain of salt. Remember two important truths: babies have been born and raised in a huge variety of circumstances, and have mostly turned out fine; and that no matter how thoughtful the theory is, real life will throw up numerous counterexamples. That said, the Sears are a strong voice for compassion and understanding, much needed in a world in which we shower our children with plastic junk, but not thoughtful consideration of their natures, desires, needs and hopes. Their tools of attachment parenting have been useful to many, and are a worthy addition to any parent's repertoire.
Rating: - An encyclopedia of valuable information
The title is accurate - this book does cover everything. It's set up in a very easy to read way. The indexing, blocked sections, pictures and clearly bolded titles make it easy to find what you're looking for. Dr. Sears is best known for his position on Attachment Parenting - so if that method of parenting is not your style then take from those sections only what you feel good about, since everything else is helpful to all parents. In the preceding review the reader states "Most Doctors are against the things he suggests" I don't think so. According to this book, Dr Sears' 5 attachment tools are 1- Connect with your baby. 2 - Respond to your baby's cues 3 - Breastfeed your baby (Science supports that this is best for baby) 4 - Wear your baby (in other words, carry him often) 5 - Share sleep with your baby. I'm willing to bet that the only point any Pediatrician would "be against" would be co-sleeping - and as Sears clearly says in his book on page 7 - "Wherever you and your baby sleep best is the right arrangement for you, and it's a very personal decision."
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