Cribsheet: A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, from Birth to Preschool

Great read for new parents! Especially for the analytic minds . Important to read before baby arrives and be prepared as you won’t have quality time to read and reflect for the next 12 months:)

I like how the data is presented and explained but then it's up to you to decide what works for you. I feel the previous book had more data and evidence, however this was an interesting read. Some parts of the book are more US orientated and don't really apply to European parenting.

Great book and concept. It was a very interesting read.While I agree with other reviews which state some available studies on topics are not mentioned (it wouldn’t be a great or helpful read if every one was), I do think the author has a fair approach to all evidence. She regularly concludes that there isn’t enough evidence to definitively state something. But that’s a benefit to the reader.This book does not scaremonger all the potential terrible consequences of parenting decisions when there isn’t available evidence. It’s not about ‘expert’ opinion that can’t be backed by science. It’s not a child psychology textbook.This book is about enabling you to make the best decisions for your family based on the best available knowledge....and it’s really interesting!

I haven't read Expecting Better, Emily Oster's previous book, but had high hopes for Cribsheet. Each chapter addresses a different area of parenting "dilemmas", relating to a topic that parents often worry about - like, how to feed baby (breast/bottle), is baby's sleep normal and what to do about it, are vaccines safe, etc etc. Oster's writing is snappy and digestible, but she takes a very cool-headed, neutral approach, trying to look at what the scientific evidence says about each topic rather than present a particular "way of doing things", as many parenting books do. She steers clear from giving recommendations, unless there is overwhelming evidence for benefit and very little risk, like in the vaccines chapter. There are occasional personal anecdotes which liven things up, although sometimes I think she goes overboard a bit on this. The breast/bottle feeding chapter will probably raise quite a few hackles, because Oster's summary of the scientific evidence is very different from what the "orthodoxy" says - she basically notes that there is solid evidence that breastfeeding helps prevent infections, and may have some other benefits too, but many of the longer-term proposed benefits of breastfeeding aren't proven (in her opinion). Therefore, in her view, if you choose to not breastfeed, or switch from breast to formula milk, you aren't choosing a course of action that is depriving your baby of important developmental benefits.I felt some of the chapters, like on development, language, and use of TV/ipad were a bit thin, and not as fleshed out as they could be, but maybe that is because the evidence in these areas really is inconclusive. But it would have been nice to have more to say, or to delve into the data a bit deeper to address additional questions (eg, the often claimed suggestion that kids who grow up with more than one language in the home, have other advantages in their development or learning process).The final chapters, on the relationships between parents, and how the adults adjust to becoming parents, was really interesting because so few books on parenting, ironically, actually address this. I felt this was really useful and prescient, and actually validating in a lot of ways. Being a parent can be very stressful at times, and it's nice to have someone (an academic "someone") recognise there is real objective data that marital relationships do, on average, suffer when two people have kids. But there are ways to help things, and it does get better (mainly).All in all, I feel this is *not* a how-to manual at all, nor some kind of treatise on parenting philosophy (as so many of these books are), but rather a book that really takes the heat out of parenting - it tells you that there are many different ways to be a great and loving parent. Headlines abound in the media telling us how new scientific studies have "proven" that those of us who didn't choose X, or Y, or Z, have ended up failing our kids, but this book tells us that this really isn't so (or isn't proven to be so): it's about understanding your options, and what is right for your family in your circumstances.

Review from a fellow data nerd mum.Emily Oster has made an admirable attempt at exploring published data on an incredible amount of topics to do with baby and young child rearing. She also draws from her own experience (or at least compares her experience and decisions to the data she describes, leading with a few anecdotes).Unfortunately, I find the review suffers from a few issues. First, the build-up of topics is not very logical. For a non-US audience, starting the book off with a discussion around circumcision is a bit of a shocker. I think starting off with the data on the vitamin K shot, prolonged cord clamping, or some other issue directly following child birth, would have been a warmer welcome into the book.Second, in her attempt to cover every possible topic, she touches on most topics a bit lightly, especially as the book progresses, almost as if she ran out of time. If course, on many topics, there isn't much data to begin with, making this quite a challenge (as is clear from the majority of conclusions - most things don't really have conclusive data). I find the downside is that a few rather important issues which do have reasonable scientific data are not discussed at all. For example, I found it surprising that she didn't discuss the risk of high arsenic levels through rice consumption. In fact she appears to advocate giving young babies rice cereal, which is at best unnecessary (it has virtually no nutritional value) and at worst potentially damaging at high levels.Third, somewhat related to the previous point, Emily seems to try to use the data to largely justify her own decisions as a parent. Although she is an economist, she is, being a mum, of course not remotely impartial in writing this book. This makes it difficult to do an unbiased review. Although of course an expert in data, perhaps Emily is not best placed to write this book, as she is not an expert in a child psychology or medicine as such. This may be why she has missed a few important topics to discuss.I do want to congratulate Emily on the enormous effort that has clearly gone into this book. And also on highlighting the need to put an end to mum-shaming which is so damaging and unhelpful to each and every mum. I wholeheartedly agree with her on that one.

Written in a very similar style to her first book, Expecting Better, and with the same approach. This is all about giving you the data so you can make informed decisions about how to parent your newborn to one year old baby. Lots of great info with detailed references. Essential for parents who want to make their own decisions based on the research.