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  • Cribsheet

  • A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, from Birth to Preschool
  • Written by: Emily Oster
  • Narrated by: Karissa Vacker
  • Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (139 ratings)

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Cribsheet cover art

Cribsheet

Written by: Emily Oster
Narrated by: Karissa Vacker
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Publisher's Summary

From the author of Expecting Better, an economist's guide to the early years of parenting.

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 great 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 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.

*Includes a Bonus PDF of graphs. 

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2019 Emily Oster (P)2019 Penguin Audio

What the critics say

“Both refreshing and useful. With so many parenting theories driving us all a bit batty, this is the type of book that we need to help calm things down.” (LA Times)

“Parents who find comfort in statistics, and especially those who enjoy Malcolm Gladwell’s works, will appreciate [Cribsheet].” (Booklist

"Cribsheet, a new book by Emily Oster of Brown University, shows that in the hectic haze of parenthood an economist’s perspective can prove surprisingly clarifying.... Parenting can be fraught. Cribsheet aims to help parents do better.” (The Economist)

What listeners say about Cribsheet

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Helpful

This is a well thought out and incredibly helpful book for any new parent. I love the non judgmental and data driven approach. Emily also includes anecdotes to keep it relatable and interesting.

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If you are a chronic worrier like me, read this.

The author used humor mixed with data to provide peace of mind to a new parent.

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More how to think than what

I love data so this was really for me. I wish I found it earlier. I got here when I already had a 5 month old so the first half of the book…. Well, I already made those decisions. But I still found the data interesting. Really good to help you analyze how to make your own decisions and provides information from the studies to help you find what is more important to you.

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Clear, concise & let’s the data speak for itself!

As a soon-to-be new parent in a world with information overload, being presented with the data from unbiais studies is refreshing and calming. Will definitely refer back to this book from time-to-time and keep the chapter summary readily accessible.

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Concise, analytical

This is exactly what I was looking for. I just wanted the facts curated for me by someone who spent time on it.

If you are a man there are some things in here that may not apply to you, but you should know about them anyway...

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A beacon of data/analysis among a sea of anecdotes

Like Expecting Better, this is the book you should read first on its subject. It is full of answers (or educated non-answers) to questions that parents are/should be asking. It also helps contextualize all of the other books and advice you'll read and receive later.

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Must Listen For New Parents

Very informative. I wish it was narrated by Emily Oster so it would have been consistent with her first book expecting better.

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No Nonsense No Judgment

Just straight up facts and a few anecdotal stories and jokes from personal experience thrown in. If you are “Type A” and tired of googling everything 25 times a day, do yourself a favour and read/listen to this book. I devoured it in 3 days. It has changed my perspective on a few things and I really appreciated just getting the facts and not the opinions of the author. I found this book extremely helpful.

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  • C*
  • 2019-09-19

Awesome book

Loved how the content was based on quality research. I’ll definitely recommend this to my friends!

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