The twenty-first century has brought all sorts of wonderful advances to aid in our efforts to keep ourselves healthy and to heal us when we are sick.  While such new developments are invaluable, there’s still no substitute for getting back to basics - and that’s exactly what Dr. Jennifer Trachtenberg does in her book Good Kids Bad Habits:  “The advice here is not gimmicky or instant-fix. It’s solid, straightforward, and sane.”

So far, five of our parent bloggers have read and reviewed Good Kids Bad Habits, and their consensus is that it’s “a good common sense guide for understanding how what kids learn today sticks with them for the long run.”  Good Kids Bad Habits “covers it all — from stressing the benefits of healthy eating, good hygiene and lots of exercise to the virtues of establishing effective homework habits and safety-proofing your home.”  It’s not the type of book you read once and put away; instead “it’s a reference book…something you could pull off the shelf to use as a reminder and a benchmark throughout your child’s life.”  But parents shouldn’t feel overwhelmed or guilty as they read and re-read, because “the focus is on tackling issues one small goal at a time…Even if your child is already a teenager, it’s never too late to help them make small changes to their eating, exercise, learning, hygiene, and self-esteem that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.”

Even though Good Kids Bad Habits contains guidance that “you already know—you just need a kick in the butt to remind you to work on it,” there were still a few revelations.  One reviewer commented that she was “surprised to learn that one of the areas where we need the most work is safety.”  Another reviewer was pleased to see that the book covers “how to help children socialize and how to choose healthy friendships.”  Dr. Trachtenberg’s common-sense approach to eating - “try to meet weekly nutrition goals, and not stress over the importance of having every meal be a balanced meal” - is especially palatable to parents of toddlers.  But while we know what we should be doing - for ourselves and our kids - that doesn’t mean we’re doing it as consistently as we should.  As another reviewer put it: “I just turned 36 over the weekend, and this is stuff I’m still learning.”

Check out the rest of our blogger reviews over the rest of this week, followed by our round-up review on March 9.

Tuesday 2/27 - PunditMom

Wednesday 2/28 - 24/7

Thursday 3/1 - Surrender Dorothy

Friday 3/2 - Mommy Needs Coffee

Monday 3/5 - Cape Buffalo

If you’d like to purchase your own copy, click here!