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The Girlfriends' Guide to Toddlers :: 039952438X
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With a combined total of over 300,000 Girlfriends' Guides in print, Vicki Iovine offers the kind of tongue-in-cheek humor and straight-from-the-hip advice that has made her one of today's most popular authorities on child rearing. Now she takes the next step in the Girlfriends series by helping mothers deal with that mysterious, baffling, often adorable and frequently alarming being their baby has become--a toddler. Editorial Descriptions are usually submitted by the manufacturers, publishers and authors. Contact us if you are one of them, and wish to change the above description. |
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Author: Guest
I have loved all of Vicki Iovine's books, but the guide to toddlers is extra special to me. I purchased it when my son, my first-born, was entering his terrible twos. Being inexperienced parents, my husband and I were ready to pull our hair out over such new concepts as behavioral issues, night terrors and potty training. Vicki's book explained these issues to us in a non-clinical, non-judgemental, and overall humerous way. We read other parenting books by "experts" that provide facts, but Vicki is like an experienced girlfriend or sister who holds your hand, puts things in perspective for you, and tells you to lighten up and laugh a little. I think readers who complain about Vicki's books need to gain a sense of humor and stop looking for too much in her chapters -- Vicki constantly reminds you that she is not a physician or child psychiatrist and that you should consult the real experts should you have concerns. My son is now almost 4 years old, fully potty trained, well-adjusted and well-behaved (not counting his little "moments," of course!). I believe Vicki helped us immensely in making us recognize that a lot of the issues we experienced with him were normal, so we were able to treat various challenges with love, understanding, a sense of calm, and most importantly, humor.
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Author: Guest
I don't think I could have gotten through my pregnancy without my two ultimate sources, WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU ARE EXPECTING and THE GIRLFRIEND'S GUIDE TO PREGNANCY. Only Iovine really made me understand what "breaking water" might be like and prepared me for some of the ins and outs of the birthing process. So with high hopes, I grabbed a copy of THE GIRLFRIEND'S GUIDE TO TODDLERS -- and I was so disappointed. It reads like a compendium of her articles for Child magazine put together by her editor. Missing are the delicious little girlfriend details one counts on. Wouldn't you expect really good scoop from the Girlfriends on potty training? Need some really nifty tricks to convince your toddler to sleep (or at least to convince yourself that his/her insomnia isn't your fault)? Don't look for it here; it's just the basic stuff. If you need a girlfriend fix, or are just curious about Iovine's take on toddlerhood, you are better off hitting the library and looking up her articles in Child. I have not referred to the book even once since reading it. I didn't even think it was funny enough or full of enough info to give away to a friend.
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Author: Guest
I recently finished this very witty, informative "guide", I wouldn't exactly consider it a true manual that one would want to live by, this is also due to different points of view on a couple of issues. I don't believe in terrorizing, mistreating, disrespecting, or smacking around sacred little creatures that we've put on this earth, but I sort of found her disciplinarian approach to be a little too wishy-washy. Even though she does suggest stooping down to where you are at eye-level with the child and looking and sounding like you mean business (even when at times you're about to bust out laughing), that works at times, but not always, childre are much smarter than we often give them for credit for being and therefore they often take advantage of this "putting them on an equal" level. This is the part of the book where I have to agree with what she says about her father who said that he would resort to occasional spanking, not to hurt his children but to get their attention. At times this alternative seems to be the only solution for many of us parents and it's not one bit fun for us either, as a matter of fact the less used the better for us too. Unfortunately, a lot of people out there choose to classify an occasional smack on the hand or bottom as a form of child abuse. Child abuse is treating a child roughly or cruelly, something most of us could never, ever do in the first place.
However I think Vicki Iovine hits the nail on the head on a numerous selection of subjects, and she does so with tact, straightfowardness, wit and wisdom. Okay we do gather that she is socioeconomically at a higher level than many of her readers, but so what! Who cares? I don't see many readers' problem with it. I think she's still very grounded, basically relates to all socioeconomic levels and makes her point many a time. Come on! This lady has a heck of a lot on her plate with four children, you can have a maid, butler, nanny, whatever, but the responsibility of your little ones is still YOURS. All the nourishment, hygiene, doctor/ dentist appointments, overall organization, education, direction, and preparations for big world are solely YOURS (and your spouse's of course). How does a woman raising four kids with all those concerns find time to write so many books? We can't say she doesn't have it together that's for sure!
I recently finished this very witty, informative "guide", I wouldn't exactly consider it a true manual that one would want to live by, this is also due to different points of view on a couple of issues. I don't believe in terrorizing, mistreating, disrespecting, or smacking around sacred little creatures that we've put on this earth, but I sort of found her disciplinarian approach to be a little too wishy-washy. Even though she does suggest stooping down to where you are at eye-level with the child and looking and sounding like you mean business (even when at times you're about to bust out laughing), that works at times, but not always, childre are much smarter than we often give them for credit for being and therefore they often take advantage of this "putting them on an equal" level. This is the part of the book where I have to agree with what she says about her father who said that he would resort to occasional spanking, not to hurt his children but to get their attention. At times this alternative seems to be the only solution for many of us parents and it's not one bit fun for us either, as a matter of fact the less used the better for us too. Unfortunately a lot of people out there choose to classify an occasional swat on the hand or bottom as a form of child abuse. Child abuse is treating a child roughly or cruelly, something most of us could never, ever do.
However I think Vicki Iovine hits the nail on the head on a numerous selection of subjects, and she does so with tact, straightfowardness, wit and wisdom. Okay we do gather that she is socioeconomically at a higher level than many of her readers, but so what! Who cares? I don't see the problem with it. I think she's still very grounded, basically relates to all socioeconomic levels and makes her point many a time. Come on this lady has a heck of a lot on her plate with four children, you can have a maid, butler, nanny, whatever, but the responsilibity of your little ones is still YOURS and all the healthcare and dentist issues, organization, education, direction, and preparations for big world are solely YOURS (and your spouse's of course).
How does a woman raising four kids find time to write so many books? We can't say she doesn't have it together that's for sure.
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Author: Guest
As a first-time mom of twin toddler boys (they will be two in three weeks) ~~ I have literally thought I was losing my mind till I found this book. When I picked it up and read the first paragraph on when to let your toddler sleep in a "big" bed, I was hooked. Thank goodness for an author like Iovine ~~ she definitely knows her toddlers. And not only is she humorous about the situations we all face as parents with toddlers, she is also reassuring that we are not nuts. That all of a sudden that our sweet little infants turned into these demons running our lives. =0) She has made lots of valid points about raising children, discipline and how to deal with it. She also reassures me, as a first-time mom, that it is all normal. She points out the humor of the situations ~~ in a gentle way as if to remind us that it's not all bad. I am just glad that I am not the only mom out there who feels like she's the meanest and baddest mom dealing with two toddlers running ramshod all over the house/world. This is not only a helpful guide ~~ it's a reassuring guide. It's light-hearted enough to get me out of the doldrums to laugh again ~~ and it's serious enough to give me pointers that I may not have considered before. I am definitely buying this for my niece who is expecting her first child this fall ~~ I sure wish someone had bought all of these Girlfriend's guides for me! 6-26-04
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Author: Guest
I'm on my 3rd or 4th reading of this book - I lost count somewhere along the way. It has saved my sanity on many occasions when I thought either my toddler must be possessed by aliens or I am surely the worst, most inept and meanest mom in the whole world. Vicki's book made me see that all toddlers and their behavior can drive you to these feelings, and best of all, that most of the problems work themselves out in their own good time. Vicki calls her approach "non-neurotic parenting" and that's something I've always strived for. Her book helps me put my experience with my daughter in perspective, and enjoy the journey with her as she grows to a self-sufficient child.
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