Margaret Thomas has been providing child care in her Cambridge, Massachusetts, home for over 45 years. Retired from the M.I.T. Libraries, Richard Thomas writes from home. His travel articles and essays have appeared in the Boston Globe, Porthole Cruise Magazine, and Cambridge Chronicle. Lisa Dobberteen, M.D., is a practicing pediatrician and an associate professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.

• AcknowledgmentsPreface: About Us, and About This Book1. A New Baby! Becoming a Parent Today2. Love Limits: Raising Happy, Secure Children3. The Nuts and Bolts of Child Care: Hours, Logistics, and Communicating with Your Caregiver4. Is There Something Different about My Baby? When You're Worried There's a Problem5. What Makes a Family? Finding Your Own Way6. If You've Chosen Your Child: Growing Your Family through Adoption7. What's to Eat? Raising a Healthy Eater8. Don't Eat the Peanut Butter: Dealing with Children's Allergies9. Time for Bed: Just a Sprinkling of Fairy Dust10. The Crying Baby: What Does She Need, and When to Worry?11. I Have to Use the Potty: The Ins and Outs of Toilet Training12. He's Just Shy: Your Child's Temperament13. No Hitting! The Aggressive Child14. Quit Picking on Your Sister! Raising Siblings in Imperfect Harmony15. Say Please! Good Manners in Young Children16. I Want a Puppy! Pets and Children17. Come Fly with Me! Traveling with Children18. Disasters: When Scary Things Happen in the World19. Fun and Games: Encouraging Imaginative Play20. Read Me a Story: Fostering a Love of Reading21. To Grandmother's House We Go: Grandparents and Children22. Let's Go to the Park! Keeping Children Active23. Our Busy Lives: Scheduling and Overscheduling Children24. Transitions: Helping Young Children Cope with ChangeAfterword: Just One More ThingWeb-based and Other Resources for ParentsIndex

"The best advice we can give any new mother is 'Listen to Peggy.' In eleven years (and counting) of leaving our children in her care, she has never steered us wrong. When our sons are with Peggy, they take their naps, eat vegetables, pick up their toys, and are smiling at the end of the day." - Lisa and Ron Walsworth, Newton, Massachusetts "While Peggy was caring for my children, she was also caring for me, teaching me about my own children, and providing support like an aunt or mother. It's wonderful that other parents can now have the benefit of Peggy's advice and support by reading this charming book!" - Julie Strong, Lexington, Massachusetts"