In a world of modern, involved, caring parents, why are so many kids aggressive and cruel? Where is intelligence hidden in the brain, and why does ...
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Mar 27, 2011
Kristine
rated it: 
So far is one of my top 3 parenting books I've ever read. Scientifically backed studies on child development that go against everything you thought you knew was best, well not all of it was new -- but it was all still good.
FYI - this book was not written by child psychology experts, but by two journalists in the child psychology field whose "niche" is to report on studies that have gone unheeded.
There are ten chapters, each reading like its own essay:
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FYI - this book was not written by child psychology experts, but by two journalists in the child psychology field whose "niche" is to report on studies that have gone unheeded.
There are ten chapters, each reading like its own essay:
More...
7 comments
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(19 people liked it)
Jul 06, 2010
Christine
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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14 comments
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(20 people liked it)
Feb 22, 2010
This book is a well-researched freakonomics of parenting, upending the prevailing myths of childrearing. I'm only two chapters in and am hooked. It's good for starting conversations and makes me rethink my childhood and little things I could now to improve my life.
Feb 23, 2010
Breck
rated it: 
Interesting book. There were a lot of interesting ideas, however, I feel more confused about children than I did before. I guess the point is to open your eyes. One theme throughout is that kids are different than adults and need to be understood differently. A few interesting points:
1. Praise specific achievements and praise effort
2. Regular lack of sleep is damaging to children's health
3. We are wired from birth to segregate by race, so racial bias is something that More...
1. Praise specific achievements and praise effort
2. Regular lack of sleep is damaging to children's health
3. We are wired from birth to segregate by race, so racial bias is something that More...
2 comments
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(10 people liked it)
May 19, 2011
Amanda
rated it:
Things I have changed about my parenting after reading this book:
I have my daughter "read" books back to me after I read them to her.
We make a plan for the day complete with drawings and handwriting practice.
I tell my kids that I can tell they worked really hard on something, instead of just telling them that they are great.
I try to respond more often when my 10 month-old son makes a voiced noise.
I have stopped letting my kids watch Art More...
I have my daughter "read" books back to me after I read them to her.
We make a plan for the day complete with drawings and handwriting practice.
I tell my kids that I can tell they worked really hard on something, instead of just telling them that they are great.
I try to respond more often when my 10 month-old son makes a voiced noise.
I have stopped letting my kids watch Art More...
4 comments
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(2 people liked it)
Aug 23, 2010
Mike
rated it: 
Not exactly shocking but some interesting studies are discussed. The chapters are conclusion free so you can read about the studies and decide their relevance which I liked. The book was slanted for yuppie extreme parents (e.g. parents with kids on pre-school waiting lists from birth) and it described the world in two races with little mention of ethnic and national origin differences. It did however acknowledge that fathers exist and are interested in raising children which is unusual for par
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Feb 08, 2012
Brian
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This is a great book, and is applicable to parenting kids at around 6 months of age and older. I wish I had read it earlier (the day they published it actually)... The study information compiled in this book is fascinating. I like the scientific approach taken by the authors and the researchers. A lot of information in popular culture for the past 30 years is revisited with many different conclusions drawn (with much of the research completed in the last few years). I already do things diff
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Dec 30, 2011
Elizabeth
rated it:
I mostly liked this, because I am a big fan of building evidence-based skill sets. Each chapter focuses on relatively recent research in child development, and I think the authors did a fine job with presenting the both the process and the findings. I was sometimes a little put off by an underlying tone that the results are SHOCKING (well, maybe it's not THAT underlying if it's in the title) and they seemed to delight in the possibility that some people would be affronted by such a challenge t
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Dec 28, 2011
Heather
rated it:
(Rebecca this is for you!)
This is a MUST READ for all parents. It's a parenting book based on studies that set out to prove one thing, but ended up proving something different. I'm not a fan of parenting books per se, only because they feel so dependent on the current parenting fad, but this isn't necessarily advocating any kind of parenting styles, it's more of a "Hey, we didn't know kids think like THAT!" kind of book. It covers topics from lying to gifted education to violen More...
This is a MUST READ for all parents. It's a parenting book based on studies that set out to prove one thing, but ended up proving something different. I'm not a fan of parenting books per se, only because they feel so dependent on the current parenting fad, but this isn't necessarily advocating any kind of parenting styles, it's more of a "Hey, we didn't know kids think like THAT!" kind of book. It covers topics from lying to gifted education to violen More...
Nov 10, 2011
Justine
rated it:
I found it to be as eye-opening as Malcolm Gladwell's books and Freakonomics. I do wish, however, that the authors spent more time discussing what works at the end of each chapter. In other words, don't just tell us why everything we've heard before is wrong, but tell us what we are supposed to do as well.
In particular, I enjoyed "the sibling effect" chapter because I want to do what I can to ensure my girls have a close relationship based on love and mutual respect. I may b More...
In particular, I enjoyed "the sibling effect" chapter because I want to do what I can to ensure my girls have a close relationship based on love and mutual respect. I may b More...
Sep 21, 2011
Brooke
rated it:
4.5...I loved this book and want to buy it so I can highlight and take notes on how to raise better children. This is my kind of parenting book...conversationally written but with tons and tons of experiments and studies and numbers. Much of what I learned was not the intuitive kind of stuff and I loved that it spanned every age and stage. A few things that I learned: over-praise creates kids who think life should be easy or who stop when things get hard; it's a must change. We should talk abou
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Aug 30, 2011
Stephanie
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I am giving this three stars because it was a well-written and provocative book with some (perhaps) useful takeaways to use with my kids. But! Sometimes I wanted to throw it across the room. Because it's like a Freakonomics or maybe Malcolm Gladwell for kid-issues, it's constantly turning common assumptions upside down, often based on the results of A Study. I am never sure how much weight to give A Study, so ultimately I feel more confused than ever about things I should be doing/saying to
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(2 people liked it)
Aug 29, 2011
Alexandra
rated it:
As a nanny for children from the ages of new born to fifteen year olds, the book was a bit of a shocker. I still don't know how I feel about not praising children for their hard work, I understand over praising them will make them have a big head but to not be able to say you did wonderful is going to be hard. I am currently working on that right now but being that Im watching a five month old, I really don't believe that positive remarks are going to hurt her. I believe that up until kinder
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Aug 11, 2011
Mark
rated it:
If I could give this 2.5 stars I would. The reason is that I found half of the book to be fascinating and the other half to be annoying. Bronson sets out corral the science of child-rearing which should be the first red flag. While there is certainly something to be learned from the neuroscience of child development, there is also a lot that can't be explained by the neuroscience of child development.
But on the upside: In my opinion Bronson nails the "parenting by praise" More...
But on the upside: In my opinion Bronson nails the "parenting by praise" More...
2 comments
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(1 person liked it)
Jul 24, 2011
Jessie
rated it:
I checked out this book on CD for our road trip, and we listened to the entire thing during the drive.
It had some really good points, and I liked it although we thought it was a bit long-winded and dull.
I think I mostly benefited from the information on race and how to handle talking to your kids about it. I loved the comparison about how we talk about gender, and suggesting to treat race similar to that (ie. men and women can be doctors - so can people of any race) a More...
It had some really good points, and I liked it although we thought it was a bit long-winded and dull.
I think I mostly benefited from the information on race and how to handle talking to your kids about it. I loved the comparison about how we talk about gender, and suggesting to treat race similar to that (ie. men and women can be doctors - so can people of any race) a More...
Jul 09, 2011
MJ
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
May 25, 2011
Tevian
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This book was truly eye opening for me. This book outlines specific behaviors and situations that I had experienced in my childhood. If only my parents read this book when I was younger. I'll paraphrase a little. One section that rings true for me was about the "inverse power of praise" in younger children. Creating a situation where children develop behaviors that keep them from trying anything new or "outside their comfort zone". These behaviors manifest as an abnormally st
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May 16, 2011
Megan
rated it:
Get ready to have your parenting methods turned on their head. Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman are journalists for the New York Magazine. They write on the science of parenting.
Here are some of the topics in this book:
1) Think that you're building your children by praising them? New research says if you tell your kids they're special, you'll ruin them.
2) White parents don't talk about race, thinking that they'll grow up color blind. Is this the right approach?
3) Most stra More...
Here are some of the topics in this book:
1) Think that you're building your children by praising them? New research says if you tell your kids they're special, you'll ruin them.
2) White parents don't talk about race, thinking that they'll grow up color blind. Is this the right approach?
3) Most stra More...
May 09, 2011
Laurel
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Apr 04, 2011
Brett
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Fantastic at times and awful the rest of the time. Bronson and Merryman do a great job getting back to the "basics" in many areas. Noticing the inverse power of praise, the need to discuss race and the idea that self-control can be taught can't be mentioned enough in our culture. Yet, the authors completely avoid the heart of the matter. Child rearing, in their view, can be perfected if we are willing to do enough scientific studies and research to determine what is most effective.
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2 comments
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(5 people liked it)
Mar 24, 2011
Sacha
rated it:
This book is full of interesting perspectives on raising kids. Mostly the information rings true; it sounds commonsensical. Of course that may mean the ideas make sense or it may mean the book is written well. Here are some comments by chapter.
The Inverse Power of Praise - After reading this I have started to try not to praise intelligence, but effort. It is really hard!
The Lost Hour - Kids need sleep. This I knew. There is some information about high school starting ti More...
The Inverse Power of Praise - After reading this I have started to try not to praise intelligence, but effort. It is really hard!
The Lost Hour - Kids need sleep. This I knew. There is some information about high school starting ti More...
Feb 26, 2011
switterbug (Betsey)
rated it:
Parenting books are ubiquitous. How to sift through and determine which are worthy? I have a teenage daughter and have read quite a few. Even when I thought I was impressed, there was always something nagging at me about them. I determined that many of the books had an outside or hidden agenda, which was to socialize parents according to a specific sheep-herding mentality. Often, a social consciousness or a reaction to a negative social consciousness about raising children informed these "m
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(3 people liked it)
Feb 06, 2011
Rachael
rated it:
I enjoyed reading about the studies and what they demonstrated. Bronson explores issues ranging from teenaged rebellion to why some babies speak faster than others to the nature of bullying in light of recent studies. While I think there is valuable information to learn here the take away point seems to be that there is no real black and white answer. Try to be an overly nurturing parent and your teen will lie to you more, try to be too traditional and it'll backfire in another way. Sure, yo
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Jan 18, 2011
Sarah
rated it:
I really enjoyed this book. I am pulled in by parenting books that provide solid research as their basis without being too dull and this is definitely one of those books. A large section of the book is just solid references. Not your typical parenting book author, Po Bronson worked in Finance and was a journalist. He became interested in child development topics upon research he was doing for an article... I believe it says at the beginning of the book.
"The central premise of More...
"The central premise of More...
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(1 person liked it)
Jan 10, 2011
Winddancer
rated it:
This book made me reconsider reasons why my son or students do certain things, such as lying, cheating, and reckless behavior. But to be quite honest, it didn't wow me like I had hoped it would. I found the reporting of the research lackluster at best, and from the limited information about the studies cited, I came up with more questions than answers. For example, one study cited the importance of sleep in boosting SAT scores by about 100 points. Data was collected on the same group of students
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(3 people liked it)
Dec 29, 2010
Aban (Aby)
rated it:
Since my arrival in Toronto and the prospect of my first grandchild in February, I seem to have focused my reading more on books on parenting and child rearing. At first, I wasn't going to review these books on Goodreads, but then I thought about all my friends who are grandparents of very young children, or who may be grandparents in the future, and I changed my mind.
I only gave three stars to this book because some of the chapters in it were disappointing. On the other hand, I foun More...
I only gave three stars to this book because some of the chapters in it were disappointing. On the other hand, I foun More...
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(1 person liked it)
Nov 27, 2010
Michelle
rated it:
I am definitely not the kind of person who reads parenting books. Maybe because I had a terrific childhood and my parents produced three successful, “nice” people I guess I’ve assumed I learned (subconsciously) by example. Isn’t that what they say? Parents are models for behavior? Anyway, I’ve heard a lot of buzz about this book from multiple people so decided to pick it up. There are definitely some new revelations here. I’d heard before that too much praise can actually hurt self-esteem but th
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(3 people liked it)
Nov 13, 2010
Lars
rated it:
‘Nuture Shock’ is a wonderful collection of essays on child development that carries more weight than you might think. On an initial glance, it appears to be another example of what Adam Hanft, in a review of Steven Johnson’s ‘Where Good Ideas Come From’ (http://bnreview.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Re...), called ‘pattern porn’.
Hanft defines the genre as ‘non-fiction characterized by a seductive thesis that is supported by an ingenious arrangement of scientific support—manipulatively cher More...
Hanft defines the genre as ‘non-fiction characterized by a seductive thesis that is supported by an ingenious arrangement of scientific support—manipulatively cher More...
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(2 people liked it)
Nov 05, 2010
Lisa
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This book is absolutely amazing. If you are a parent or if you work with children in any capacity, you need to read this book. It takes some of our conventional wisdom about kids and turns it on its ear. There are many things we take for granted as "the best way" to parent or talk to children, but when you look at the actual science behind what we are doing ---there is none. It turns out, what we are doing with all of the best intentions just might be dead wrong and leading to the o
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(1 person liked it)
Oct 29, 2010
Analisa
rated it:
I was going to give this book 4 stars, until the last chapter (Conclusion).
I thought there were some interesting studies presented and helpful information shared. For instance: The more educational media the children (2-5 year-olds) watched, the more relationally aggressive they were--increasingly bossy, controlling, and manipulative. This was stronger than the connection between violent media and physical aggression.
So the researchers started watching some of the “ More...
I thought there were some interesting studies presented and helpful information shared. For instance: The more educational media the children (2-5 year-olds) watched, the more relationally aggressive they were--increasingly bossy, controlling, and manipulative. This was stronger than the connection between violent media and physical aggression.
So the researchers started watching some of the “ More...
