Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com
Summary:
Should I really read to my baby? Is all TV bad, or only some TV? What kind of toys do babies need? Can teaching a baby sign language really boost IQ? How should my caregiver be stimulating my baby? Should I pipe classical music into the nursery?
New parents are often overwhelmed with information and advice, and in an effort to give their babies the best chances in life they buy DVDs, CDs, toys, and gear all meant to make them smarter. As co-founder of New Directions Institute for Infant Brain Development, Dr. Jill Stamm knows what most parents and child caregivers suspect: the way we care for a very young child’s developing brain has the power to shape and influence many aspects of his or her life. Contrary, however, to the belief that the "right things" can make your child a genius, the research shows that what your child needs is simpler than you think and within every parent’s ability to provide. In Bright from the Start, Jill translates the latest neuroscience findings into clear explanations and practical suggestions, showing you the importance of the simple ways you interact with your child every day. A leading authority in infant brain development, Dr. Stamm makes new, remarkable findings accessible to everyone in Bright from the Start. What babies need isn’t a lot of "edu-tainment." What they need is as easy as A, B, C:
ATTENTION: showing you how to increase a child’s attention span, and how to balance stimulation with down time. BONDING: illustrating the importance of developing a strong emotional attachment between a child and a consistent caregiver—and why this is key to cognitive development. COMMUNICATION: with breakthrough advice for tapping the connection between verbal engagement with parents and higher IQ rates among children.
Stamm also discusses what kind of childcare environment to select, why learning toys don’t teach as much as you think, why reading to baby is critical and why you should limit TV time. Practical games and tips for each developmental age group will show you not only what the latest findings are but more importantly, tell you what to do with them.
Customer Reviews:
Average Customer Rating:
The Science of Brain Development made Easy
Customer Rating:
Great book. The author backs up her recommendations with references to scientific studies. She also makes some recommendations that aren't (yet) backed by science but more her observations in many years of working in the field. She provides specific recommendations both for parents who will be raising their children at home as well as those that need to put their children in daycare at an early age.
Some good information but somewhat promotional and biased
Customer Rating:
First of all I must note that I read this book on iKindle (Kindle on the iPhone). I have two comments in regard to this: the first is that all the dashes--which the author used to excess--came across as question marks. This is not the author's fault of course. Her punctuation however is excessive. There is a lot of abuse of the exclamation point! All told?and this may be a quirk in the iPhone kindle?the result is often very unreadable!
Enough about grammar, the important thing is the book content. The author had a premature baby and a normal healthy baby and she shares a lot of her personal experience in this book. These stories are often touching and serve well to contrast the extremes of child development.
I found the exercises and scientific information very beneficial and I agree with most reviewers that this is a valuable book. I also found a lot of product endorsements. In many cases these endorsements seem to be self-serving.
There is also a good amount of information which is controversial or conflicting with advice you'll get from other reputable books and studies.
I think this is an excellent book to read with one or two grains of salt. There is very good advice and very good suggestions for exercises and playtime activities. As a new parent you'll trust your instincts and you'll be right to do so. This is a good source for suggestions but I wouldn't suggest it as a step by step guide to getting your child off to an intellectual head start. Love your child and trust your gut and you won't go wrong. I will use this book as a suggestion box, not a bible.
I am surprised that out of 30 reviews I am the first person not to give it five glowing stars. I do think it's a good book, but I don't think it really deserves five stars.
A must read!
Customer Rating:
A wonderful book/reference. Highly recommend to any parent. Especially liked how the activities to do with your child were broken down into different months and consolidated at the end of chapters.
An amazing book that should be on EVERY parents bookshelf
Customer Rating:
This book is the best book I have read on how to develop my LO's mind. It is easy to read. I found the best part of the book to be the charts for each age group which tells you, the parent, how you can help your child reach their milestones. She goes into detail on the following three steps: A - attention B - bonding with your child C - Communicating with your child including TV
I particularly liked the chapter on TV watching - to TV or not to TV and what she recommends AND more importantly what is realistic in today's world. This chapter alone is enough to purchase the book.
My child has Down syndrome and there were things in here that I could do to work with my child to make her "smarter".
This is an amazing book for any parent and I HIGHLY recommend it!!! You'll want to underline, highlight and refer to it often!
FABULOUS! A MUST READ FOR ALL NEW PARENTS
Customer Rating:
My little one was a few weeks old when I found this book. I was looking for concrete methods of stimulating my little one's brain which were based on scientific evidence. I found this book easy to read with great examples. It takes you through each concept clearly, easily and without any gimicky jargon. It explains some complex ideas very thoroughly and in a way anyone can understand. This book also is full of great ideas of what you can be doing with your child so that you are being an interactive parent, not a reactive one. ALL NEW PARENTS SHOULD READ THIS BOOK!
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