Book Review - The Boston Childrens' Hospital Guide to Your Child's Growth and Development

We learned to parent "by the book." This drives Muslim Mom's mom (Muslim Nani?) crazy. Muslim Nani tolerates parenting books, but trusts her instincts. Eventually, you'll find the "right" balance of information from books vs. tried and true advice from experienced family members. From time to time I'll post reviews of books and other written material that we've found helpful.

The Boston Childrens' Hospital Guide to Your Child's Growth and Development was our Bible for the first few months of the Baboo's life. The super long name is the only impractical thing about this book; other than that, it is the owner's manual for your new baby. It assumes you know nothing about children (which was definitely the case for us). The chapters are concise and tell you just what you need to know. There's none of the alarmism of the "What to Expect" series - it's just a friendly reference, an owner's manual if you will.

At a time when everything is new, it helps to be on the same page (literally) as your spouse, so that you don't waste time figuring out day-to-day activities. Don't know what a onesie is? No problem, there's a picture. Don't know how to burp a baby - there's diagrams! Easy to read, with a great index and a CPR page that we've bookmarked... just in case. This book has it all.

Mom's Groups

Since most of us are not living in the proverbial village that is supposed to be helping us raise our children, the internet is a great resource for referrals, tips, tricks, and generally finding out about "best practices" for raising kids. In every major metropolitan city, moms have gotten together and formed their own online communities.

Here in Washington, dcurbanmoms.com hosts bulleting boards on everything from travel tips to pediatrician recommendations to discussions on nanny benefit plans. We found our OBGYN through dcurbanmoms.com, and also our first (and last -but that's another post) nanny.

Look up the "moms" site where you live. In addition to candid information about doctors, schools, and local parenting activities to seek out / stay away from, it's a great place to find out what kids in your area are doing and arrange playdates.

Alien in the Locker Room

So we watched Aliens in America at the cw's website (we don't really have a TV to speak of, but that's a different post altogether). It's a great show - funny, doesn't make you think too hard, promotes a message of tolerance, yadda, yadda, yadda. It's America's wry and snarky answer to the cheesefest that is Little Mosque on the Prarie. If you thought Yasser's wife pinching his butt in the mosque was risque, just wait till you see what the bullies at Medora High do when Raja expresses his sincere love for his new best friend, Justin.

Aside from the glaring errors now and then --Raja? a Pakistani muslim named Raja? Who walks around butt nekkid in the boys' locker room at school?-- it's as enjoyable as Everybody Hates Chris. It's no Gilmore Girls or South Park (are you getting a clue why we don't have a TV anymore) but its definitely on my Monday night viewing schedule for the next few weeks. Actually, it's not - we can watch online anytime!!