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1.24k reviews for:
Cribsheet: A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, from Birth to Preschool
Emily Oster
4.08 AVERAGE
1.24k reviews for:
Cribsheet: A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, from Birth to Preschool
Emily Oster
4.08 AVERAGE
I enjoy that she does not give advice but rather gives data. Lots of great information regarding children and all the decisions you make with them
There are a multitude of books out there all full of advice on how to raise a child. This is not another one of those books. As an economist, Emily Oster is an expert at going through the data, all of it, and discerning what data is good and what is rubbish. In Crib Sheet, she does just that. All of the advise given us by the well meaning people in our lives— is it actually true? Oster gets to the bottom of common myths surrounding parenthood and finds the truth. Is breastfeeding your child really better than using formula? Can children really learn from being plopped in front of a Baby Einstein video? Will letting your child cry themself to sleep scar them for life?
She also recognizes that parents have to do what is best for their specific family and that is going to differ between households. She condemns the Facebook “Mommy Wars” that lead to accusations of “bad parent” for anyone who doesn’t do things the “right” way.
I’m a data junkie, but I definitely recommend this book to anyone who is considering parenthood or currently in the throes of it. It really helped clear up some misconceptions I had.
She also recognizes that parents have to do what is best for their specific family and that is going to differ between households. She condemns the Facebook “Mommy Wars” that lead to accusations of “bad parent” for anyone who doesn’t do things the “right” way.
I’m a data junkie, but I definitely recommend this book to anyone who is considering parenthood or currently in the throes of it. It really helped clear up some misconceptions I had.
This is the third book of the baby prep genre that I have read during my pregnancy, & it is far & away the best. The author does a beautiful job of presenting objective data in an understandable way, acknowledging the many factors that go into making hard decisions of raising a baby, & encouraging the reader to make their own decision based on data & personal values. She removes the bias of there being “one right way” to do almost anything (except for obvious healthy decisions), & gives hard facts rather than emotionally charged opinions which can be so exhausting to sort through. I highly recommend to any expecting mom even if this is the only one you read.
Data driven facts about parenting. Although much of the highlights lacks measure, some do and you'll learn from them.
I enjoyed Expecting Better, and thought this book would be of interest to me, now that my kids are 4 and 1.5 years old. But I found that much of the book wasn't relevant to me, and while I appreciated the Oster went through concepts like causality vs correlation, some of this felt like a rehash from the last book. I can see how it would be a big hit with parents of younger kids.
I didn't like this as much as Expecting Better, though I don't think it was really Oster's fault. There just doesn't seem to be as much data available on the issues addressed in this book. A lot of the sections ended up with the answer being that no one really knows, so you should just do what works best for your family. The section that addresses issues right after birth was the most helpful. In particular, I appreciated the discussion of breastfeeding, and found it very helpful in terms of determining how much emphasis I wanted to put on breastfeeding. I still did think this was worth a look, but definitely less concrete than I was hoping for.
informative
fast-paced
I loved the first book in this series, but this book misses a few marks. As other have pointed out it stays mired in “lack of evidence/research/quality data, so do what works for your family.” It also is very targeted to a demographic with a great deal of disposable wealth and privilege. The idea that a full time nanny is attainable for most Americans is utterly false. The dismissal of programs like head start and focus on preschool philosophy centered on the three most expensive options reveals how deep the disconnect between the author’s own biases and the experience of the average parent in America. It was also very sad to see recommendations overriding safe sleep advice from national health organizations while completely ignoring the importance of other early safety information such as securing furniture and evaluating toys for compliance with Consumer safety standards. The dismissal of the deaths of children from unsafe sleep based on the idea of “well, if it makes you cranky then you’re a worse parent, so just do what you want” is not okay.
Out of the 20 chapters, you’ll have already made parenting decisions for around 16 of the chapter topics by the time your child is a month or two old. So unless you read it before you’re pregnant, or just never thought about being a parent for a second before you had your child, this book isn’t really filled with as much information as you would hope.
Expecting Better challenged pregnancy advice with actual data. Cribsheet just says “correlation is not causation” a lot and then encourages to make your own decisions.
Her choice of language is also very telling where her biases are, even though she only openly admits to bias on one topic. The adjectives chosen really take away from the “an economists unbiased perspective” aspect of the book.
Expecting Better challenged pregnancy advice with actual data. Cribsheet just says “correlation is not causation” a lot and then encourages to make your own decisions.
Her choice of language is also very telling where her biases are, even though she only openly admits to bias on one topic. The adjectives chosen really take away from the “an economists unbiased perspective” aspect of the book.
informative
slow-paced