Keeping Babies and Children Healthy: A Parents' Practical Handbook to Common Ailments

Kathy G. Ross was a Childcare and Parenting Consultant in the Department of Early Childhood Education, Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, Toronto.

Dr. Valman is a consulting and practicing pediatrician in London, England, who also has experience preparing material on child health for the written and video media.

His book contains clear and concise symptoms and descriptions of childhood ailments and outlines their treatment. A short chapter on newborn baby care includes information and pictorial descriptions of congenital deformities. Some material on normal infant growth and development is presented, along with discussions of common problems like colic and teething discomfort (as well as the not-so-common failure of infant-mother bonding). The chapter on infectious diseases includes a pep talk on immunization, and throughout the book there are informative and interesting illustrations. There is a thoughtful presentation on asthma and its treatment as well as reassuring information for parents about febrile convulsions.

Compared to a comprehensive and thorough guide like the Child Health Encyclopedia (Children’s Hospital Medical Centre and Richard Lienbloom; Delacorte, 1975), this slim guide seems to lack a broad understanding of child health and illness and of the parental role. However, this is still a concise, useful guide that delivers important medical facts for parents.