Cribsheet: A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, from Birth to Preschool
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-05-02 08:55:51
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Emily Oster
- ISBN：0525559272
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Summary
The instant New York Times bestseller！
An NPR Book of the Year
From the author of Expecting Better， an economist's guide to the early years of parenting。
"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。
An NPR Book of the Year
From the author of Expecting Better， an economist's guide to the early years of parenting。
"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。
Reviews
Elissa
，
Decided not to finish this book。 It presents a lot of scenarios， ones that you may not even encounter， without any clear plan or recommendation for how to assess the "data" that is being presented to you。 Ultimately， it only served to have my second guessing my decision - not deliver better， "relaxed" parenting。 Also did not appreciate the rambling stream of consciousness style of the writer。 Decided not to finish this book。 It presents a lot of scenarios， ones that you may not even encounter， without any clear plan or recommendation for how to assess the "data" that is being presented to you。 Ultimately， it only served to have my second guessing my decision - not deliver better， "relaxed" parenting。 Also did not appreciate the rambling stream of consciousness style of the writer。 。。。more
Maureen Forys
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I love Emily Oster。 I wish she had a book like this about everything。 Alternative title: Parenting for People with Generalized Anxiety: What to Actually Worry About
Maeve
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Lots of information and citations， but distilled into easy to understand language。 Like "Expecting Better"， Oster isn't going to tell you exactly what to do but will present you with the data to help you make the best informed decision for your family。I did feel that the last few chapters， Oster ran out of steam and there was some repetitive information being shared to pad out the end of the book。 But otherwise， a solid read I'm happy to pass on to other parents。 Lots of information and citations， but distilled into easy to understand language。 Like "Expecting Better"， Oster isn't going to tell you exactly what to do but will present you with the data to help you make the best informed decision for your family。I did feel that the last few chapters， Oster ran out of steam and there was some repetitive information being shared to pad out the end of the book。 But otherwise， a solid read I'm happy to pass on to other parents。 。。。more
Victoria
，
Extremely reassuring without telling parents what to do。
Nikos Koukis
，
Awesome book。Based on solid research and taking into account individual and family preferences
Rachelle
，
I picked this up because I’d seen a few people online recommend it as a good first parenting book。 It was a fast， easy read and some chapters were very informative。 I especially thought the chapter on sleep training （a new and intimidating concept to me） was helpful。 However it’s more of a jumping off point/overview of a lot of topics。 As a first time parent， that’s what I was looking for， but for more in depth information it’s probably best to check out books more specific to certain topics。
Katie Coleman
，
An informative companion to Expecting Better。 Both books will essentially breakdown the science and evidence behind pregnancy and early child rearing。 I appreciate Oster’s evidence-based approach， her allergy to old wives tales， her humor and her goal to empower people to make their own choices。 Highly recommend！
Giannis Kyr
，
Interested in evidence based approaches and not having enough time to read through literature？ Emily Oster has done it for us and this is a summary。 Thank you！ Excellent book。
Ozgur Deniz
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Data driven facts about parenting。 Although much of the highlights lacks measure， some do and you'll learn from them。 Data driven facts about parenting。 Although much of the highlights lacks measure， some do and you'll learn from them。 。。。more
Jessica McClure
，
While I was pregnant I read Expecting Better which I found quite helpful so I was excited to read Cribsheet。 I was somewhat disappointed with this book。 The author does a good job of presenting the research studies on the various topics， but due to the lack of studies and their inconclusive nature， there isn’t much I was able to take a way from this book。 I may have found this book more helpful if I read it before my baby arrived and I had made most of the big parenting decisions。 It’s worth a r While I was pregnant I read Expecting Better which I found quite helpful so I was excited to read Cribsheet。 I was somewhat disappointed with this book。 The author does a good job of presenting the research studies on the various topics， but due to the lack of studies and their inconclusive nature， there isn’t much I was able to take a way from this book。 I may have found this book more helpful if I read it before my baby arrived and I had made most of the big parenting decisions。 It’s worth a read to see what studies are out there on various topics related to babies， but if you are expecting a book to tell you what you should do to raise your baby this book isn’t it。 It also had very little covering the toddler years。 。。。more
Cheryl Anne
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Written in the same style as Expecting Better， this is the natural progression after you've actually given birth to your child。 Same overall message， which is still as necessary as ever: the data is murky at best， on many of your most pressing questions。 She lays out what the data can tell you， and encourages you to make your own， now more informed， decisions。 Would recommend to read this first before any other parenting book， so that you can take all that subsequent advice with the much needed Written in the same style as Expecting Better， this is the natural progression after you've actually given birth to your child。 Same overall message， which is still as necessary as ever: the data is murky at best， on many of your most pressing questions。 She lays out what the data can tell you， and encourages you to make your own， now more informed， decisions。 Would recommend to read this first before any other parenting book， so that you can take all that subsequent advice with the much needed grain of salt。 。。。more
Claire
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I definitely learned a lot， but was disappointed that most of the data is inconclusive。 I felt like it never said “so here’s the best solution！”
Angie Dahl
，
I enjoyed this evidence/research-based approach to common parenting topics that can cause people to have a lot of anxiety。 Unfortunately， there’s just not a enough scientific research out there with related to babies and motherhood， but Oster does the most with what she has access too。 I think this book helps with at least giving you some guidance on what science is actually out there so that you can make the best decisions for your family。
Sarah
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I love Oster’s framework。 Her writing is smart， funny， and emotionally comforting to this sleep-deprived new parent。
Gina Akselrod
，
A friend told me about this book from a podcast。 Appreciated the facts and stats。 Chapters end with quick summary of the content covered and the key takeaways。 If you don’t know many pregnant people/haven’t been pregnant before/haven’t been around pregnant people or children this gives you a lot of information。 Like when it disapproves some of the myths or repeated “facts” you hear all the time with the actual data on these topics。 Recommend you read before conceiving as some of the info may mak A friend told me about this book from a podcast。 Appreciated the facts and stats。 Chapters end with quick summary of the content covered and the key takeaways。 If you don’t know many pregnant people/haven’t been pregnant before/haven’t been around pregnant people or children this gives you a lot of information。 Like when it disapproves some of the myths or repeated “facts” you hear all the time with the actual data on these topics。 Recommend you read before conceiving as some of the info may make you want to wait or reeeallllyyy think about if you’re ready。 。。。more
Anna
，
Economist Emily Oster ends her book with the best piece of parenting advice she’s heard: “Just don’t think about it。” This is with regard to worrying about every possible scenario that can go wrong at any point in your child’s life。 I love her empirical approach to childrearing decisions。 Some chapters I read closely while others I skimmed。 Maybe it’s the result of being an older first-time parent， but some of the topics are things I just don’t think about， which is my reason for giving this boo Economist Emily Oster ends her book with the best piece of parenting advice she’s heard: “Just don’t think about it。” This is with regard to worrying about every possible scenario that can go wrong at any point in your child’s life。 I love her empirical approach to childrearing decisions。 Some chapters I read closely while others I skimmed。 Maybe it’s the result of being an older first-time parent， but some of the topics are things I just don’t think about， which is my reason for giving this book 4/5 and not 5/5 stars。 Not that each chapter doesn’t have a place in the parenting discussion， but I definitely feel comfortable shrugging at some things and letting them play out as they will。 She has a very dry， straightforward sense of humor and I laughed out loud at many points。 She has a way of making ridiculous but pertinent examples out of her data。 。。。more
Anna Ruth
，
Highly recommend to any first time parent who is interested in learning evidence based parenting practices while also recognizing the importance of individual choice。
Jeramey
，
Highly recommend for fathers to be， which is not the type of book recommendation I ever thought I would give。
Emily
，
Very informative and well-researched book on parenting an infant/toddler。 As the author admits， some of her biases do come through in her interpretation of the research， but that's impossible to avoid。 Some takeaways from the book that I plan to implement are introducing a pacifier to my baby early， sleep training， and possibly moving her to her own room slightly earlier than I originally planned （while still using safe sleep practices of course）。 I'm also more open to the idea of sending her to Very informative and well-researched book on parenting an infant/toddler。 As the author admits， some of her biases do come through in her interpretation of the research， but that's impossible to avoid。 Some takeaways from the book that I plan to implement are introducing a pacifier to my baby early， sleep training， and possibly moving her to her own room slightly earlier than I originally planned （while still using safe sleep practices of course）。 I'm also more open to the idea of sending her to the nursery once or twice while I'm in the hospital so I can take a nap， since the research does not support a correlation with lower breastfeeding success。 。。。more
Makensey Womack
，
Just okay。 I was hoping for more of a book on toddler discipline。 Some of the stuff in there was interesting， but I found myself skimming a lot。 Definitely not a must read for parents。 Basically she said there is no conclusive evidence for all sections in the book。
Laura
，
I enjoyed this book because I appreciate advice based on data and evidence over advice based on feelings or anecdotes。 Even if the advice implied was generally “in conclusion， do whatever works best for your family。” Also as I’m expecting my first kid I appreciated a book that walks through decisions I’ll soon be faced with。 A lot of the topics Oster brought up I just hadn’t thought of before。 It’s no Harry Potter of a page turner but 5 stars from me。
Sarah C
，
I love everything she writes， this book included。
Gabby D。
，
Not as helpful as I was hoping for。 Her first book had so many harvest statistics and this one almost always boiled down to: so what you think is right。 How am I supposed to know I haven’t done this before！？
Abby Nall
，
If you liked the approach of Expecting Better， you'll like the approach here。 You might be less enthused about the results， though。 A lot of it boils down to the following: the evidence is not clear one way or the other， so do what works for your family and trust that it will be okay。A few exceptions to this that I really appreciated:1） Sleep training。 Studies show pretty strongly that CIO works， leads to better sleep and corresponding health for mom， leads to better sleep and corresponding heal If you liked the approach of Expecting Better， you'll like the approach here。 You might be less enthused about the results， though。 A lot of it boils down to the following: the evidence is not clear one way or the other， so do what works for your family and trust that it will be okay。A few exceptions to this that I really appreciated:1） Sleep training。 Studies show pretty strongly that CIO works， leads to better sleep and corresponding health for mom， leads to better sleep and corresponding health for baby， and does not impair mother-baby bonding。 You are not being selfish for wanting your child to go to sleep on his own。2） Cosleeping。 Yes， the risks are elevated， even if you do it as safely as possible， but that doesn't mean you are a bad parent if that is what you decide to do。 7100 "ideal" cosleeping families would have to stop cosleeping to avoid one death。 Is that risk worth it to you？ It may be， and that's okay。 Your child is more likely to die in a car accident than to die from safely cosleeping。3） Room sharing。 Actually， the data shows that SIDS risk is highest in the first three to four months of life， and there is no data suggesting that room sharing is better at preventing it than having a good baby monitor。 If you want to transition your baby to his own room before 6 months or a year， you need feel no guilt about it。There are plenty of other examples， but the main takeaway is that you have choices you can make for your family and they will be different for different families。 Stop the Mommy Wars and be confident in the decisions you make for your family。 。。。more
Karen Gaske
，
Offers some practical advice， backed by data。 Most of the chapters take the same approach: here are your options， here is the data， but ultimately， make the choice that works for you。 It may sound like a simplistic premise， but it is such a valuable message。
Stephanie
，
Interesting， and she gives a very logical clear argument for vaccination that I especially appreciated in COVID-land
Jake
，
4/5Excellent data driven book about a range of parenting topics。 Recommendations are based on the best data available and come from an economist who understands statistics and how to make sense of studies。 Nothing too groundbreaking but good solid information to make your own decisions。
Cherok
，
Good book！ Covers a lot of bases in parenting and child development， from a fairly distanced and empirical point of view。 Structuring， pacing， and complexity are well done。 I learned a lot while reading this one， and it didn't drag or bore me。There were a few "aha！" moments。 And the little summaries at the end of each chapter， as well as the table of contents make it decent to reference。 I felt no remorse when cannibalizing my copy with a pen。My only complaints are: 1） tone and 2） graphs。- The t Good book！ Covers a lot of bases in parenting and child development， from a fairly distanced and empirical point of view。 Structuring， pacing， and complexity are well done。 I learned a lot while reading this one， and it didn't drag or bore me。There were a few "aha！" moments。 And the little summaries at the end of each chapter， as well as the table of contents make it decent to reference。 I felt no remorse when cannibalizing my copy with a pen。My only complaints are: 1） tone and 2） graphs。- The tone of the book is distended and jovial。 This is a positive， don't get my wrong！ Unfortunately I saw too many personal anecdotes and biased interjections breaking me from the main point。 Oster managed to walk the line elegantly （for the most part）， but there are a few glaring problems where a tighter editor might have helped。- On the few graph in the book， and I fully know this is a minor quibble， it is hard to discern between the different shades of grey。 A better graphic designer could've cleaned that up， by for example making some of the boxes empty （white）。All in all， heavily recommended， and pleasant to read and reference。 。。。more
Lydia
，
Her first book seemed to have more value， but still helpful！
Annette Rice
，