Your Child's 'Nutrition What Every Parent Needs to Know' Review

The book, that was originally published 10 years ago, has made its return in a 2nd edition.  Nutrition: What Every Parent Needs to Know is back and newly revised.  It leaves very little, if any, questions unanswered about children and nutrition.

Just a note:  If you lean toward a more natural/organic lifestyle, you will have to overlook the blatant medical slant the book takes on.  Being put out by the American Academy of Pediatrics, this makes sense that the authors would take this approach.  Having said that, the book is overall the most comprehensive guide to nutrition I have ever seen.  It begins with breastfeeding and continues through your child's teenage years (a time in a child's life that seems to be often overlooked in nutrition advice).

Inside this book, some of the tips I found most helpful were:

• An extensive chapter on breastfeeding and addresses numerous issues that some books do not cover.
• Wonderful weight/height and BMI Index charts that are sometimes otherwise hard to locate.
• An extensive explanation of the new government My Plate nutrition guide
• A comprehensive coverage to pre-teen and teenage eating habits
• A list of food substitution choices when eating at popular restaurants

The only downside to the book includes:

One thing that I would have liked to have seen in the book is more practical help for a parent with a truly picky eater - not because the child is manipulative, but because the child has textural issues due to Asperger's/Autism, or other disorders.  There is one reference to dealing with a picky eater that could leave a parent feeling as though it is completely their fault, when sometimes it isn't.

The book is put out by the American Academy of Pediatrics.  This explains why it seems to make tiresome references to "check with your pediatrician first" before making any healthcare decision.  A comment thrown in here and there would have been acceptable.  However, I grew tired after the first chapter of several references touting the importance of checking with your pediatrician before making any decision - including ones that seem very obvious.  There are also subtle comments throughout the book that might not sit well with parents who enjoy a natural lifestyle of home births, co-sleeping, raw foods, and selective or no vaccinations.  For instance, the book slips in that, "In an ideal world, you should deliver your baby at a hospital..."  Later, it makes a subtle reference to nursing your baby on your side and then to make sure you put the baby back into her crib where it is the "safest".  And, when talking about raw nutrition, the book may step on toes of those who believe in non-pasteurized milk and everything in its raw state.

I received the book in exchange for an honest review.  I received nothing additional, and the review is 100% my own opinion.