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Welcome to Your Child's Brain: From in Utero to Uni. Sandra Aamodt and Sam Wang
How children think is one of the most enduring mysteries-and difficulties-encountered by parents. In an effort to raise our children smarter, happier, stronger, and better, parents will try almost anything, from vitamins to toys to DVDs. But how can we tell marketing from real science? And what really goes through your kid's growing mind-as an infant, in school, and durin
Paperback
Published
September 1st 2011
by ONEWorld Publications
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As a new parent I thought that I had a pretty good idea of how to raise my child, but soon I began questioning my knowledge, recognizing that it is little more than a collection of personal observations mixed in with the popular tales. As a child grows and develops many questions for how to deal with different developmental stages arise, but where are the reliable answers? Cognitive neuroscience and developmental psychology seem to abound with theories and research, but they are of limited merit...more
Just a quick review: this was a book chock-o-block full of interesting facts about a growing brain. From the prenatal environment to early twenties, it tracks brain development in multiple areas.
If you're pressed for time (and what parent isn't?), read the insets (there are many) and skip the body text.
Only complaint is that the book references other chapters almost continuously (once or twice a page) which became distracting, and the brain segments were discussed with a little too much familia...more
If you're pressed for time (and what parent isn't?), read the insets (there are many) and skip the body text.
Only complaint is that the book references other chapters almost continuously (once or twice a page) which became distracting, and the brain segments were discussed with a little too much familia...more
Welcome to Your Child's Brain, by Aamodt and Wang, describes brain growth and development from pregancy through adolescence, and how that influences a child's physical, social, and emotional development. The stages of development of vision, hearing, sleeping, language, and social behavior make more sense when they are described in the context of brain structures and chemistry. Clearly written and accessible, it explains scientific concepts like epigenetic modification and statistical concepts li...more
Did you know children are less likely to be nearsighted the more they play outside? That violent video games have some benefit? That breast-feeding really has no impact on intelligence? This book comes to these and other conclusions by reviewing the science of the neural development of children. The authors have done a good job in reviewing the scientific literature and only presenting what has been supported by well-done research: no sensational but poorly-done studies are promoted here. This b...more
Basically, kids are dandelions and will grow up fine with a variety of parenting environments. The exception is where there is a lower socio-economic status. I found the insets interesting, though the format slightly reminded me of the "... For Dummies" style. The references to other pages of the book while within each segment were distracting, and I didn't find hose useful though a couple of times I re-read a section, but then thought, the while book is choppy, I just need to keep reading forwa...more
The authors are clearly brain specialists and not child psychologists. They do give some decent information on the science of brain development but then just seem to tack on childrearing advice as an after-thought and with seemingly no real understanding of its actual impact. I also found the book to be condescending at times with the authors implying they’re smarter than their readers because they’re scientists and advising people to go back a re-read certain sections because the reader probabl...more
May 29, 2012
Brian
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
future parents (current parents don't have the time)
Shelves:
on-nook
(4.0) Good stuff, fairly well researched, more actionable and less nerdy than What's Going on in There
If interested, strongly recommend What's Going on in There? : How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life, which I thought was even better...though more nerdy and more focused on the science than on recommendations for parents. This book is certainly more focused on giving parents actionable advice. In fact, they call out tips for parents in specific sections so they're easy t...more
If interested, strongly recommend What's Going on in There? : How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life, which I thought was even better...though more nerdy and more focused on the science than on recommendations for parents. This book is certainly more focused on giving parents actionable advice. In fact, they call out tips for parents in specific sections so they're easy t...more
1 like · like · see review
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Apr 12, 2013
Amber Berry
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
would-read-again
I would gift this guide to how the young brain develops and works to new parents. The authors are a science writer and a professor of neuroscience. They explore various studies and confirm some old beliefs with scientific evidence, while putting other beliefs into question or debunking them.
The way the book is organized makes it easy to read the sections of interest to you, so you can dip into it when a new questions occurs. That's why I would buy it to keep around as a reference.
The way the book is organized makes it easy to read the sections of interest to you, so you can dip into it when a new questions occurs. That's why I would buy it to keep around as a reference.
Welcome to Your Child's Brain is an exploration of the developing brains of children, from pre-birth to college. The authors tackle many topics of development, enlightening the reader about common misconceptions as well as the development process, how the brain grows through stages, how children make sense of their world, how play and individuality are important, how children learn and various problems that can arise in the development process.
I am not sure how I found this book, but with my new...more
I am not sure how I found this book, but with my new...more
This book pretty much tell you - as the parent - to RELAX, your child's brain will develop normally. There is so much information that I felt like sometimes I was reading the same thing over and over. However, some facts that I found interesting....breast feeding has little or no influence on a baby's later intelligence. And did you know...children who spend more time outdoors are less likely to become nearsighted. Interesting!!
I skimmed this book because I didn't find it very engrossing. The authors review the current science on brain development and have good credentials for doing so. In essence, I think their view is that parents need to calm down and do no harm - brain development mostly happens on its own as long as you don't abuse your kids. I stopped reading because it felt like that was the message over and over.
... This book is overflowing with summaries of and quotes from various studies. Meanwhile it also gives practical advice. It is well-written, flows smoothly, and presents concise arguments. The readers should expect to learn some new anatomy terminology and some useful parenting skills.
Read the full review at http://boldbookworm.com/b031712.html
~The Bold Bookworm
http://boldbookworm.com
Read the full review at http://boldbookworm.com/b031712.html
~The Bold Bookworm
http://boldbookworm.com
Did have some interesting and useful information in it, but I have to say that going through each brain area affected by certain disorders just feels so dry at times. Could have been organized better, methinks. Still I definitely learned some things I didn't know before, and with a long-ago background in neuropsych, it's interesting to learn what the latest research is.
Boy this was tough to get through. It was written like a textbook but with childish cartoons thrown randomly in. Very bizarre. Also, I hate when the inserted comments are thrown in mid sentence so that you have to flip back to them when you finish a paragraph. Back to the book, I guess I was expecting a more readable experience but this is not one of those informational parenting books that include a scientific basis, more like a brain science book with occasional applications to parenting throw...more
Great book for anyone with kids and would like to try to understand what is going on in their heads. I was amazed how often the book described circumstances that I have found strange in my experience as a dad. For instance, Maggie lately classifies everything as boy this or girl that. "Daddy only girls eat their vegetables." Coincidently the book explains why children her age feel strongly defined by their gender.
It did get a little too technical occasionally. I don't care what part of the brai...more
It did get a little too technical occasionally. I don't care what part of the brai...more
This book is a summary of neuroscience research on how children's brains develop. While it does provide some practical advice, the main purpose of the book is not to advocate a particular style of parenting. In fact, the authors repeatedly state that parents should just relax - most important aspects of brain development happen automatically, without much outside assistance required. There are brief sidebars throughout the book with snippets of practical advice, some of which are contradictory(p...more
I have 2 kids. I did have to laugh at the description of "orchid" children and "dandelion" children. I'm pretty sure I have one orchid and one dandelion child, though they are both adored. Reassuring and interesting book. It's a little bit "pop science" as my husband pointed out, but it also answers a lot of questions parents wonder about with research, instead of conjecture. It reminds me a bit of Nurture Shock.
Very good read--particularly found interesting the sections on maternal stress and b...more
Very good read--particularly found interesting the sections on maternal stress and b...more
Well written (but not overly technical) book that chronicles how the brain develops from conception to early adulthood. Fascinating to read, but a little depressing to realize that it's basically all down hill (brain-wise) once you hit about college age.....
An overview of where the current science is on brain development. Interesting, I've seen many parts of it before. This book is more of a 'meta' book - it summarizes findings (or potential findings) from other sources. If you've read books in this area before, most of it won't be new for you.
this book succinctly examines a variety of topics - from beastfeeding to temperment to reading difficulties. it's organization - brief chapters, with a to-the-point writing style make it a book that's easy to read through.
Great read with coverage of standard development as well as a variety of special cases. It provides a biological overview to the process of development that informs in a non-partisan manner. Really fascinating stuff.
Eeh. I didn't even finish this book. They presented research, but did not draw many conclusions for the reader or make any kind of real life application. Since this is what I'm looking for, this book was a dud.
A useful overview of the science behind how to help your child.
Quite useful as a quick reference before following the references to do a deep dive.
Quite useful as a quick reference before following the references to do a deep dive.
This was a quick read, basically telling parents to calm down and relax. Unless you are seriously abusing your children, their brain will develop normally.
I loved this book. I am sure my family is sick of me quoting all the studies referenced in this book. The book is definitely not just for parents... it's for anyone interested in the brain and how it affects child development. Handy for anyone who works with kids. The parenting advice in this book is not preachy or really even advice, but rather an analysis of what works based on a variety of of scientific studies. The studies referenced are all peer reviewed scientific studies with large contro...more
Fabulous. I found myself quoting this book constantly. Refreshingly empirical and without an agenda for a book with a parent audience.
A wonderful book. Up-to-date neurology, informative, entertaining. The best parenting book I've ever read!
No need for this at present... but since I trust this author to accurately predict everything about election outcomes, seems reasonable I'd trust him to tell me smart things about his *actual* specialty too!
Neuroscience fascinates me. Child development fascinates me. Knowledge of brain development has been growing in recent years. Here is a book that seems well-presented visually and organizationally. The type is easy on the eyes. The table of contents is informative. There is a glossary and an index. The chapters I've read so far are marked by exceeding clarity -- translated means that the book appears accessible to non-experts.
some interesting info, but slow in parts
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