Brain Rules for Baby: How to Raise a Smart and Happy Child from Zero to Five Author: Visit Amazon's John Medina Page | Language: English | ISBN:
0983263302 | Format: EPUB
Brain Rules for Baby: How to Raise a Smart and Happy Child from Zero to Five Description
Review
"Dr. Medina hits the nail on the head with 'Brain Rules for Baby.' We are always looking for ways to make our kids smarter, better, happier. Medina gives such practical, usable advice and tips."
- Nina L. Shapiro, MD, UCLA School of Medicine
"An engaging and fun-to-read translation of the best research on child development and effective parenting. I gave Dr. Medina's book to my own son."
- Ginger Maloney, Ph.D, The Marsico Institute for Early Learning and Literacy
"John Medina uses a very readable and refreshing style to present parenting strategies in the context of factual scientific information."
- Jadene Wong, M.D., Stanford University School of Medicine
"If you've no room for another brain-development title, weed an old one to make room for this. Covering such topics as pregnancy, relationships, and "moral" babies, the book will educate even the most learned parents. Medina's humorous, conversational style make this an absolute please to read."
- Library Journal
"We recommend this book to all of our new-parent groups. With a gift for storytelling, Dr. Medina marries the science with practical advice that helps make sense of it all. Sleep-deprived parents still find time to read Brain Rules for Baby and love it."
- Laura Kussick, Executive Director, Program for Early Parent Support
About the Author
John Medina is a developmental molecular biologist and research consultant. He is the author of the long-running New York Times bestseller, Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School. He is an affiliate Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He is also the director of the Brain Center for Applied Learning Research at Seattle Pacific University. Medina lives in Seattle, WA, with his wife and two boys.
- Paperback: 294 pages
- Publisher: Pear Press (December 6, 2011)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0983263302
- ISBN-13: 978-0983263302
- Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.9 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Parents and caregivers strive daily to understand and support the development of their infant or young child. They feel that by having the infant listen to classical music while in the womb or providing a baby with toys and DVD's dedicated to making them academic all stars, they are setting their children up for future success. They feel helpless when a child seems to be crying uncontrollably or anxious when their youngster does not seem to develop at the same pace as that of a friend's child. Almost all struggle with the cognitive thought processes and emotional development of a child and feel helpless when they are not sure how to respond to certain scenarios. Enter John J. Medina's book "Brain Rules for Baby, How to Raise a Smart and Happy Child from Zero to Five" as a guidebook for success.
Doctor John Medina, a famed developmental molecular biologist, tackles many of the issues that parents face dealing with the raising of small children. He lists five separate areas for discussion: pregnancy, relationship with the spouse, smart baby, happy baby, and moral baby and has identified twenty-two brain rules that parents should understand and follow if they desire to raise a healthy and well-adjusted child. Though it may seem daunting to read a book written by a scientist, Medina keeps the technical vernacular to a minimum and utilizes many stories from Internet blogs and his own experiences as a father of two boys.
The book begins with a look at the development of the child in the womb, with a preponderance of the information covering the physical and emotional development of the child. Medina dispels many of the myths associated with the purchase of brain enhancement devices and provides a general description of how a baby steps through the processes of development.
I bought this book to understand what I can do to help the mental development of my four month old daughter. I was looking for information such as the type of play or toys that would be most stimulating for her. The book didn't provide me with many new and implementable ideas (e.g., the small section on play is irrelevant until she is fully communicating). The best thing I took away was 'absolutely no TV before the age of two'.
What I liked:
1. The book is well researched and enjoyable to read. The author provides references and strikes a good balance between mentioning details of the studies and maintaining readability for the average parent.
2. I liked the very high-level organization of the book: What makes a baby smart? What makes him happy? What makes him 'moral'? A lot of emphasis is usually put on smarts, and recently a little more on 'Emotional Intelligence', but highlighting and addressing all three aspects was valuable.
3. The book debunks some myths that can save you time and money and your baby from some boredom (e.g., no 'Baby Einstein' / 'Baby Mozart')
What I didn't like:
1. The proof reading quality of the Kindle edition is embarrassing. There are numerous punctuation mistakes (e.g., 80% of the open quote marks are never closed) and some spelling errors. Not only is the book less readable as a result, it also feels very low quality. Is the book not worth a proper proofing?
2. The author seems to have had a hard time organizing the content. The top level breakdown (smart/happy/moral) works, as does the next level (genetics vs. upbringing), but further sub-sections are inconsistent and have overlaps.
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