Touchpoints

by T. Berry Brazelton

Touchstones are the major milestones as your child grows. They are those predictable spurts of development which are often associated with difficult periods of regression and which can cause parents a mixture of excitement and worry. This book uses these "touchstones" as windows to help parents understand their child's behaviour and to prevent problems in the first six years of their child's life. This book addresses parents' questions about their child's behaviour, feelings and development, and treats them in both chronological and reference form. In part one, the book takes readers from pregnancy through to the first three years of a child's life, explaining the characteristic achievements and calming inevitable worries at each stage. Part two covers the first six years of life with the final part explaining the vital role of the most important people in a child's life.

479 pages, Hardcover

First published June 14, 1993

About the author

Thomas Berry Brazelton was an American pediatrician, author, and the developer of the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS).

Reviews

[Sally Edsall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being a "nervous" first-time parent of a premature baby (who isn't!) I was recommended this by the community early childhood nurse.

In the plethora of child-rearing books on the shelves, I would recommend this as the pick of the bunch. Brazelton discusses all sorts of issues to do with children in their early years, always from the child's point of view, but never talking down to parents.

I found his words enormously helpful in getting thtough some tough times with colic - it didn't make it any less stressful, but I was able to hang on and get through it, knowing a bit more about it and what was happening to that little person.

Brazelton sounds like a wonderfully caring and compassionate pediatrician - I wish he could be cloned! At least you can get his book. I have bought it as a gift for a couple of new-parent friends, and they too have found it enormously useful.