Cribsheet

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

By: Emily Oster

Narrated by: Emily Oster

From the author of Expecting Better, The Family Firm, and The Unexpected an economist's guide to the early years of parenting.

“Both refreshing and useful. With so many parenting theories driving us all a bit batty, this is the type of book that we need to help calm things down.” —LA Times

“The book is jampacked with information, but it’s also a delightful read because Oster is such a good writer.” —NPR

With Expecting Better, award-winning economist Emily Oster spotted a need in the pregnancy market for advice that gave women the information they needed to make the best decision for their own pregnancies. By digging into the data, Oster found that much of the conventional pregnancy wisdom was wrong. In Cribsheet, she now tackles an even greater challenge: decision-making in the early years of parenting.

As any new parent knows, there is an abundance of often-conflicting advice hurled at you from doctors, family, friends, and strangers on the internet. From the earliest days, parents get the message that they must make certain choices around feeding, sleep, and schedule or all will be lost. There's a rule—or three—for everything. But the benefits of these choices can be overstated, and the trade-offs can be profound. How do you make your own best decision?

Armed with the data, Oster finds that the conventional wisdom doesn't always hold up. She debunks myths around breastfeeding (not a panacea), sleep training (not so bad!), potty training (wait until they're ready or possibly bribe with M&Ms), language acquisition (early talkers aren't necessarily geniuses), and many other topics. She also shows parents how to think through freighted questions like if and how to go back to work, how to think about toddler discipline, and how to have a relationship and parent at the same time.

Economics is the science of decision-making, and Cribsheet is a thinking parent's guide to the chaos and frequent misinformation of the early years. Emily Oster is a trained expert—and mom of two—who can empower us to make better, less fraught decisions—and stay sane in the years before preschool.

* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF of graphs and an appendix from the book.

Detailed and thoughtful

Emily does an incredible job at sharing the data and allowing you to make the choice for your family. Highly recommend her first book excepting better which is the same style but focuses on pregnancy.

N/a

Just felt like so many of the studies results were too diplomatic (I.e - there may be correlation, but not causation) I appreciate it if that is the case, but it didn’t make for as interesting or read as I thought it would

Disappointed

I read this book as I wanted a balanced approach to understanding more about breastfeeding. It felt like she had no idea the intricacies of many things. As someone who works in early childhood education she supported allowing bumpers in the crib which is against safe sleep protocol. Her note on bumpers was disappointing. She wrote that safe sleep prohibits it then lists that "well but babies could get their legs stuck in the bars" that has a very low percentage of happening if your baby is in a wearable blanket/sleep sack which safe sleep encourages because it doesn't cause SIDS. If we are comparing though limb injury is a better outcome than to SIDS.

I do not reccomend.

Good data; opinionated conclusions

Some of the chapters favor what data from the time supports. Although there are some conclusions made by the author that favor questionable solutions based on what is best for mom and not for baby. It comes off a bit like the author is trying to back up her own decisions for parenting. If you want a book that is strictly data and facts, this may not be the best choice.

Not much to learn

Book is eh. Expecting Better was far better and more informative. Most of the themes she tackles here end with the same findings: it depends.