Practical Wisdom for Parents: Raising Self-Confident Children in the Preschool Years by Nancy Schulman and Ellen Birnbaum
	Vintage	352 pages	May 2008	Paperback

As you would expect from two former nursery school directors who have devoted their lives to their own children and to educating the children of others, this book is beautifully organized and fact-rich. It will help parents of preschool kids who are grappling with issues like when to start kids in school, where they should go, and how much emphasis should be placed on education in general at that age.

It also details what children should and could be doing when -- much like books for parents of infants, it covers the stages of emotional and physical development of the preschooler. A four-year-old can handle basic hygiene, follow a routine, make eye contact, and talk about feelings. Three is a good age to begin the socialization and structure of the nursery school environment. There they'll start becoming oriented to such activities as listening to a story, being able to tell their address and birthdate, creating representational artwork, and eating and playing communally.

The book outlines how to handle a myriad of common problems that families of preschoolers might face: dealing with grandma's unwelcome advice (as if that ever happens!), getting through "transition times" in the morning and evening, breaking up sibling fights, setting and enforcing limits. There is attention paid to less usual crises and dilemmas, too, such as divorce ("your child will get through this if he feels loved and secure"), moving, weight issues, and how to address these with young children.

Practical Wisdom for Parents is divided into two parts: "School" and "Home". The section covering school includes the major trauma of separation when the child starts school ("even parents who have done this before can find the experience confusing"), the ways in which different children socialize, developmental benchmarks and signs of impending problem behaviors, and making the transition to "real school" as we used to call it. In the home area, we have a segment on typical problem areas like name-calling and tantrums, plus tips on buying appropriate toys, recommended books, supporting your children's play, and how to deal with the thorny issue of how much TV (or computer) time is too much.

I am passing this book along to my two grown children with preschool-age children, in hopes that they will take it as "good advice from granny." Highly recommended.