The complete guide to uninvited advice on raising children - Alice Beaven

Ideally, children should have no toys at all. A wooden spoon, a saucepan and some imagination is all they need to grow into well-balanced adults.'

This brilliantly simple little book is the complete and illustrated guide to all the uninvited, unhelpful and frankly mad advice that parents have ever been given. We are all familiar with the kind of advice on offer from family, friends, passers-by and social services. Now for the first time, the best nuggets of advice have been gathered together. Thus you can sidestep the worrying chore of consulting the experts and create your very own pick-and-mix approach to child-rearing, happy in the knowledge that someone, somewhere thinks you're doing it right.

Illustrated with Victorian drawings, this wickedly refreshing little book will be a must-have for parents and their friends this Christmas.

'Small babies love fresh air, especially if it's cold. If left outside on their own for an afternoon, they always come in rosy-cheeked and pleased to see you.