When I was first asked to review If Your Kid Eats This Book, Everything Will Still Be Okay: How  to Know if Your Child’s Injury or Illness Is Really an Emergency by Lara Zibners, MD, I kind of chuckled to myself.

I mean, I’m the mom of three boys.  Life is loud and full of cuts and scraps and bangs and bumps.  What do I need this book for? I mean… I think I have developed some serious Mom instincts.

But after reading this book, I realized it is a book every mother should read.  I learned a lot about taking care of babies, toddlers, and kids.  This is a great reference for those of us who are worry warts. I wish I had this book when my boys suffered through miscellaneous rashes, stomach flu, fevers, and nursemaid’s elbow.

Author Lara Zibners is a pediatric emergency room doctor.  She’s seen just about everything during her career, and has a lot of excellent advice on when to go to the emergency room and when to wait to bring your child to the doctor.

She’s quick to remind her readers to use their instincts: “If you don’t know if it’s really an emergency, err on the side of caution. Please. Your child’s health and safety are at stake.”

She writes with a sense of humor and a common sense practicality that I thoroughly enjoyed. For example, Zibners has a great section about falls.  She writes:

“One place kids love to fall is on the staircase. Parents always want to know, “How many steps are dangerous when falling?”  The answer is, “It doesn’t matter.” The first step is the most important. After that one, the number becomes largely irrelevant. Either you hurt yourself or you don’t.”

This book covers all aspects of your child’s health – covering everything from fevers and injuries, to vomiting and rashes and much more.  I love the quick wit and wisdom in Zibners’ writing style. This is a great read for all mom’s – but especially new moms! 

Disclosure – I was given a copy of this book to review by Hachette Book Group.  In addition, they have also allowed me to give away five copies of this book to my readers.  I was not compensated in any other way for this post or the giveaway.  The opinions reflected in this review are entirely my own, honest thoughts on this book, and were not edited by the book’s author, publisher or distributors.