What to Expect the Second Year

April 4, 2011
Popular parenting guru Murkoff offers a sequel to her What to Expect in the First Year in this all-inclusive look at the toddler from 12 to 24 months. In 15 chapters the authors cover feeding, sleeping, learning, playing, health and safety, injuries and developmental disorders, discipline, and other issues with a meaty center section on behavior. The text opens with the stunning array of developmental milestones that characterize this action-packed period in a child's life, beginning at 12 to 13 months, when a toddler says two words and cruises from place to place while holding on to furniture, to 24 months when he or she can run, kick a ball, and use 50 words or more. While noting that there's a "wide range of normal," Murkoff also warns parents to "follow your gut" and check with your pediatrician if anything seems behind schedule. Murkoff covers practical matters like the importance of parents learning CPR, frequently citing professional guidelines (i.e., experts advise no TV for kids under two). She also addresses less critical topics, such as how to get a blob of oatmeal out of a toddler's hair or deal with a youngster's "wardrobe monotony." Just as expected, Murkoff offers sound advice and reassurance that will help parent and toddler stay grounded during this whirlwind period of growth and change.

December 1, 2010

No, not a revision of What To Expect: The Toddler Years but an all-new book to be followed by What To Expect: The Preschool Years. Once that has been released, Toddler will be retired. Essential.

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2011
Hoping to continue the success of her What to Expect series, Murkoff enlists Mazel to focus on the most infamous of the single-digit years, the terrible twos. Maintaining the reassuring format parents have grown to rely on, they provide a wealth of material on just why two-year olds act in certain ways as well as resources for tackling such notorious challenges as temper tantrums, picky eating, and difficult sleep patterns. They cover such hot-button second-year concerns as the correct way to use car seats and strollers and touch on subjects looming on the horizon, including childhood obesity (they suggest that leaving that stroller behind might not be such a bad idea), spanking, and computer usage. New issues associated with todays travel routines (e.g., the longer, more intimidating security line, the lack of food options on airplanes) appear alongside such perennially relevant topics as childhood immunizations. There are few surprises, but that is key to Murkoffs success. Her series gives parents exactly what they want and need. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: With 34 million copies in print of the earlier What to Expect titles, this one launches with a 250,000 first printing and a major marketing campaign.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)