Karp's Happiest Toddler on the Block

Among those of us who write and read this blog I am sure there are an array of opinions about Dr. Harvey Karp's theories on child development. In our house, we are fans of his work. My husband and I had not been home from the hospital with Baby Flava for more than two days before we ran out to purchase The Happiest Baby on the Block. The techniques he suggested in this book worked like a charm for BF, thank goodness because we were exhausted and feeling like we were in over our heads. Several months (and a whole world) later, BF started showing signs of impending toddlerhood so we rushed out to buy the next book in Karp's series, The Happiest Toddler on the Block.

Karp's thesis in The Happiest Toddler is that toddlers are much like our prehistoric ancestors; distractible, emotional, and inarticulate cavemen. In order to be able to sooth the savage toddler beast when he/she arises, Karp outlines a series of techniques including the use of your toddler's own primitive language, which he refers to as toddler-ese. Since BF is still in the early stages of her life as a toddler, the jury is out in regards to our opinion on The Happiest Toddler but to say the least, it was a fascinating read.

As it relates more specifically to this blog, Karp wrote a piece in his book on feeding toddlers. He explains why toddlerhood is a time when many children become picky eaters and emphasizes the importance of making sure your child gets enough of certain key nutrients including calcium and iron. I thought this was a topic worth exploring further so, keep an eye out for two future blog posts dedicated to increasing the amount of calcium and iron in your toddler's diet. In the meantime, I am eager to know what other mom's think about Karp's research.

- Mama Flava -