Active Baby, Healthy Brain: 135 Fun Exercises and Activities to Maximize Your Child’s Brain Development from Birth Through Age 5½

by Margaret Sassé, Frances Page Glascoe (Foreword), Georges McKail (Illustrator)

Movement, play, and active exploration in the first five years of a child’s life are essential to the development of his or her body and brain. Now Active Baby, Healthy Brain presents 135 massages, exercises, and activities that engage your child’s love of play while also stimulating his or her brain development in multiple areas, Each activity is presented on its own page with step-by-step instructions, appealing illustrations, and illuminating sidebars. The detailed instructions tell you exactly how to do each activity, as well as how to incorporate toys, music, dance, and games. No single activity takes more than two minutes, and all that’s required is ten minutes a day. More than thirty years in the making, Active Baby, Healthy Brain is an indispensable guide for everyone who is raising a child or who interacts with preschoolers.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Education, Childrens

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 12, 2010

Reviews

[Gail · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't find this book particularly useful. Perhaps it is because I have experience working in a preschool and I am currently a nanny for a developmentally delayed boy - I have heard many of these things before. For average children I feel like you could get similar results if you just keep your kids active. Read books, sing, dance, massage, do nursery rhymes from birth. Get them out on the playground challenging themselves physically and experiencing the world. Common sense and traditional children's activities seem to be on par with her confusing and rigorous prescription of activities.

[Vivian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have appreciated a book like this when I was raising babies. I intend to give this book to my daughters when they become mothers. The ideas in this book would be perfect to share during a "laptime" at the library. Not only does the book deliver on its promise of "135 fun exercieses and activities to maximize your child's brain development from birth through age 5 and a half", but you find out WHAT these activities do for your child, WHY they are important, clever drawings show HOW to do them and all can be done with little or no investment in toys and gadgets!

[Hind · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every parent needs to have a copy of this book!

[Meghan Carpenter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is definitely not a book you need to read cover to cover- you could just spend 5 minutes looking through exercises for your child’s age group to help keep them busy and to double check that you are working on all major skills. It’s still super useful and I’ll definitely revisit it as my children move through age groups. (: I HIGHLY recommend at least skimming through it, but I was hoping it would share more research than it did.

[Shelby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stage A (Birth-6 mos):
1. On back - side to side
2. On front - side to side
3. Left to sitting position
4. Lie on front when awake
5. Sing, move and dance to the beat
6. Massage
7. Encourage to lift head
8. Put baby on beach ball
9. Lift buttocks to flex upward, lower to straighten
10. Rock sideways so he can move his head
11. Arms - up/down together and alternately
12. Foot pushaways while on back, front
13. Sitting and rock side-to-side, back-to-forward
14. Mirror in front of baby on roll (baby Boppy)
15. Dancing. Music
16. Point and flex feet - pressure on heel or sole
17. Neck/back: pull up on arms from back
18. Legs: bend/straighten legs, together and one-by-one
19. Swinging through space
20. Nursery rhymes
21. Dim lights and show flickering lights (Christmas)
22. Mobile 8-12 inches away, bring closer 2-3 mos of age
23. Rattles
24. Pullups from back
25. Parachute reflex (arms out to catch in a fall) supported with sling
26. Pushups holding legs (wheel barrow)

Stage B 6-12 moths
1. Don't place them in sitting position, wait until they can do that themselves
2. Wheelbarrow over a small ball

Stage d 18-24 mos
1 developing jumping skills
2 slow down nursery rhymes
3 exercise to music with coordinating arms up down out in
4 hang from rings or broom
5 wheelbarrows
6 animal locomotion
7 hula hoop jump into
8 rhythm instruments
9 beanbags and balloons
10 crawl along ribbon
11 flashlight tracking

Stage f 2.5-3.5
1. Red light green light
2. Finger painting
3. Trampoline and sticker on right hand with directions
4. Jump on one leg
5. Close eyes and use one hand to touch opposite shoulder crossing middle line
6. Pick up marbles with toes
7. Hokie pokie and ring around the Rosey

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book ~ well wrritten - full of information. Great for providing activities for babies and toddlers that will help them grow stronger and healthier. Also good to know that Dad's play throwing in the air - rolling around etc is healthy for them in so may ways - developing balance- physical strength etc..

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was in all honesty only a partial read. I stopped at 18 months. I think a lot of this book is intuitive. We were doing a lot of these 'exercises' without even knowing it, but the book gave us a few new ideas. This is a book I think would be worth owning as a reference as baby grows.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only read certain sections that applied to my kiddos, but it did help give me some ideas of skills they are ready to learn. Most I think you do automatically, but for instance I never thought about teaching my daughter to tumble but it sounds like a good idea.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly common sense, but I really liked the idea that moving, touching/massaging, and playing help a child's growing brain. Three cheers for tummy time!

[Christine Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book. Covers both child development and activities. I would highly recommend this book.

[Zulakmar Hazwan · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 words to fully describe this book:
1. useful
2. practical
3. easy
4. fantastic result

[Shafidah Shafian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you. This book help me to choose an activity for my baby 😍