Saturday, June 27, 2009

if your kid eats this book.....Review and Giveaway


Have you ever had a child fall from a great height? Do you know the number to poison control? Have you had to decide if an insect bite was serious? Have you ever wished you had an emergency room physician on speed dial? Now you can. Sort of! Lara Zibner, MD is a former assistant professor of pediatric emergency medicine, and she shares her wisdom and experience in her new book: (gotta love the title!) if your kids eats this book, everything will still be okay: How to Know if Your Child's Injury or Illness Is Really an Emergency.

Ironically, the day after I received my review copy in the mail, my daughter came in from the back yard screaming that something poked her. At first I saw a red scratch, so I just gave her a hug and sent her away. But she still protested. So I looked closer. In just minutes, she started developing welts. As Daddy checked her out, I grabbed the book. (Where I learned that "whatever creature gets your kid, realize that most children will do just fine and have nothing other than a red, swollen, itchy bite for a while. Ninety-nine percent of the time it honestly doesn't matter what it was that bit your kid." There is a 911! alert box that describes things to watch for: swelling of the lips or tongue, difficulty breathing, becoming unconscious; or other signs of significant allergic reaction. Then it's time to call for help.

My only complaint about the book: Where was it for the first 11 years of my life as a mom?!!?

Dr. Zibner's basic rules are:
  • A crying child has an airway and is conscious.
  • When "everything hurts", probably nothing is really broken.
  • Babies and toddlers don't fake pain.
  • Never trust a toddler. (Who knows what they ate/stuck up their nose/fed the baby?)
  • Always trust your gut.
From the publisher:
As an Emergency Room pediatrician, Dr. Lara Zibners has seen it all. She's cared for a portion of the 25 million children in the U.S. who are taken to the ER each year-and she knows that more than 50% of these visits may be unnecessary. IF YOUR KID EATS THIS BOOK, EVERYTHING WILL STILL BE OKAY shows parents when they may need to take action, and when they might be able to just go back to bed and call their doctor in the morning. With sections such as "In the Diaper" and "His Noggin and the Nervous System," Dr. Zibners covers every part of the body and offers sound advice (for example, did you know that oil is the best remedy for dissolving superglue between body parts?), all while maintaining a lively and often hilarious tone. To the question, "What if she chokes on her vomit?" Zibners answers, "A healthy child will not choke on her own vomit, unless she is drunk or high on Grandma's sleeping pills."

Finally, no more frantic late-night searches through the "why to buy," "how to diaper," or "what to feed him" sections found in other childcare books to find out if little Franny needs to go to the ER. This book focuses on the truly important questions, like how to keep her from electrocuting herself in the first place. Not every child has a pediatrician with specialized emergency room experience living in her home. But this book just might be the next best thing.

Lara Zibners, MD, is a former Assistant Professor of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. Currently, she divides her professional time between New York and London.


Want to win a copy (5 winners!)?

To enter, post a comment telling about a time you had to decide if you needed to go run to the ER. (If you don't have a story to share, post something besides just "enter me".)

Bonus entries (leave a separate comment for each):


* Add my button to your blog

* Follow me on twitter

* Twitter about this giveaway

* Follow my blog

* Subscribe to my blog


Contest ends Monday July 15th.

Please make sure your profile is public or include your e-mail address in your comment. If I can't easily find my winner, I'll have to pick another one.


Limited to US and Canada (no PO Boxes please).

49 comments:

JenniferSaake.blogspot.com said...

Sounds like great advice and I love the title! :)

mrs.mommyy said...

havce had a few but the funniest was when one of my kids swallowed the change and we decided to let him poop it out and yes we called a doc and he said watch the poop and call him if he does not poop it out in a week...fun fun fun

Susie Buetow said...

One of my twins sucked a green marker dry. (13 years later she still loves green) ANyhow dh wasn't home and I didn't have the car. I called 911 because I didn't know the poison control number. They reassured me that she was fine because the marker was AP approved and that she might "poop green" which she didn't. Her mouth was stained for a few days. LOL I would love to give this book to a friend who is having a baby. They have NO CLUE what they are getting into! lol

Susie Buetow said...

I put your cute button on my blog http://cafescrapper-scrapsoflife.blogspot.com/

Susie Buetow said...

I'm following your blog!!!

Susie Buetow said...

I've subscribed to your blog!

Susie Buetow said...

I'm following you on twitter. I'm susieqtpie

Susie Buetow said...

I tweeted!
http://twitter.com/susieqtpie/status/2470309163

Sammie said...

-This book sounds like some great advice hiding inside.

I have only had a few bouts of ER visits, and one was the worst, my DS feel/tripped and bumped the top of his forehead and it bruised and EGGed up immediately. That was scary for me.

SamantharaeM at gmail dot com

Sammie said...

I am a follower.

SamantharaeM at gmail dot com

Sammie said...

I subscribe via google reader.

SamantharaeM at gmail dot com

sweetsue said...

My daughter had very high fevers as a toddler and I always had a hard time deciding whether to take her to the ER or not.
smchester at gmail dto com

Mommy 2 Monkeys said...

My daughter's young enough, and I've been lucky enough not to be in that situation yet, but I'm sure it's coming.

jmintuck said...

I have a sister that is having a baby. Boy, I think she will use this book. Would be useful to here. I would also like to peak in it to see it so ,if I ever babysit someday, I will have a good idea on what to do. To know whether I would need to call the ER or if the kid,s going to be fine.

devonm @ sasktel dot NET

jmintuck said...

I have followed you on Twitter @jmintuck

devonm @ sasktel dot NET

jmintuck said...

Have Twittered the giveaway

@jmintuck

devonm @ sasktel dot NET

jmintuck said...

I subscrived to your blog in Yahoo.

devonm @ sasktel DOT NET

oceanrena said...

i would liek this book because i'm going to be a first time mom in oct

Gabriel S-J. said...

This would be great for my son.

justicecw said...

My son got hives but we didn;t know what to do. We took him to the doctor who said it was hives and they will go away and he did not know what they were from. All for the low cost of $150 for this! yikes! justicecw@hotmail.com

justicecw said...

Following you on twitter - username is justicecw. thanks, justicecw@hotmail.com

justicecw said...

I tweeted at http://twitter.com/justicecw/status/2626806036
thanks, justicecw@hotmail.com

justicecw said...

I am a blog follower. justicecw@hotmail.com

justicecw said...

I am a google reader subscriber. justicecw@hotmail.com

susansmoaks said...

so far we've only gone to the ER for hubby, he needed stitches, never for the kids, thank God!

Pat said...

My daughter stepped on a toothpick and we tried and tried to get it out. We finally had to take her to the ER. She was screaming the whole time.
pkildow at gmail dot com

Egare1 said...

We're expecting our first in November, so no ER visits with baby yet! Hopefully we won't need any if we follow the advice in this book!

susan1215 said...

My daughter got a splinter in her foot but fortuneatly out Dr's office has an after hours clinic so we went there instead of the ER.

Amanda D. said...

My daughter stuck a little pink Polly Pocket high heel up her right nostril. Waaaaay up there. I just knew I'd have to take her to the ER. Fortunately, with a pair of tweezers and some prayers, I was able to retrieve the pink high heel. macd82 at gmail dot com

Sheilacakes said...

My son decided to shred his diaper at nap time one day and he was shoving pieces of diaper up his nose. I freaked out. I called Poison Control they told me to take him to the er. I called the hospital and they said to bring him immediately. I then hung up with them and then had to call 911 to get an abumblence.
My son had a long strip of diaper shoved in the very back of his nose. not fun.
ilovebabynoah707@yahoo.com

Sheilacakes said...

I follow.
ilovebabynoah707@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

This looks like good advice for parents

Anonymous said...

follow your blog

Anonymous said...

subscribe via google reader

Anonymous said...

follow on twitter

ardy22

Anonymous said...

tweeted

http://twitter.com/Ardy22/status/2652895851

Kathy P said...

me myself have to be half dead before i go to the er it costs ya $500 bucks to just walk through the door..i suffered with gall bladder attacks for 2 years before going to the hospital.i have a high pain tolerance i guess but ended up having my GB removed in march..i feel so much better should have gone 2 years ago..lol

Kathy P said...

following on twitter klp1965

Kathy P said...

following your blog klp1965
kathy pease

Kathy P said...

http://twitter.com/klp1965/status/2659475613

saturdaynightfever said...

I cut the palm of my hand on a glass orange juice bottle!

edgenemmers@gmail.com

Maja said...

my friend would enjoy this

artmarcia said...

My five month old son had a cold when I left him with a sitter for a couple hours because I was hostess for a friend's baby shower. When I returned home he had a fever. After not being able to get the fever down, I called the doctor. We ended up at the hospital, and it turned out he had spinal meningitis. Getting him on medication immeditately kept him from having no lasting effects form the disease. I was so glad I trusted my instincts.

artmarcia said...

Following you on Twitter.

artmarcia said...

Following your blog on Google Friend Connect.

cman said...

When my daughter was three she woke up in the middle of the night, threw up and passed out and in a split second the answer was LET'S GO! It turned out she had an underlying heart condition we never knew about that required surgery to correct.

chazvgo said...

Haven't had an ER scare yet!!

Lentil said...

I've been fortunate not to have any scares with my baby yet -- though I was pretty freaked out when she threw up at around 2 months!

lilyk said...

Thankfully I've never had to decide if I needed to go run to the ER.