Busy Mom's Guide to Parenting Young Children

In the intro to Busy Mom's Guide to Parenting Young Children, Paul Reisser, MD, writes: "Several years ago Focus on the Family's Physician Resource Council prepared the Complete Guide to Baby and Child Care, and in 2007, a revised and expanded edition of the book was released. I had the pleasure of serving as the primary author for both editions and can say without hesitation that the book was definitely complete, weighing in on virtually every topic related to parenting and the health of infants, children, and teens. At nine hundred pages, this was not a book to tuck into a handbag for a casual read over lunch."

I can't agree more! I own the nine hundred page book Dr. Reisser refers to. It is fantastic and definitely thorough. But let's be real. While we need thorough on many topics, sometimes all we need is quick and easy.

And that's what Busy Mom's Guide provides. As Reisser continues, "Young children never fail to give parents plenty to think about (or lose sleep over), and busy schedules aren't always compatible with the task of sifting through the good and bad parenting advice on the Internet, or wading through the contents of a large book. We thus thought it would be helpful to distill the Complete Guide's core concepts about parenting infants and young children into a smaller volume.

What a great idea! Having a Complete Guide on your shelf is still important, but this smaller (under two hundred pages) book framed in a form of questions and answers, is incredibly helpful to a busy mom. There is an index which makes finding what you need painless and prompt.

I've yet to read a book from Focus on the Family that wasn't spot-on. And this is no exception. I actually ordered a few of these to give as presents for new moms. I think it is an incredibly valuable gift.

To read the first chapter, click here.

Also, please note that the Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.