Brain Rules for Baby: How to Raise a Smart and Happy Child from Zero to Five

by John Medina

50 percent of your child’s potential is genetic.

Surprisingly, your baby girl’s brain will not completely finish its wiring until she is in her early 20s. Boys’ brains may take even longer. In humans, the brain is the last organ to finish developing.

“You want to get your kid into Harvard? You really want to know what the data say? I’ll tell you what the data say! Go home and love your wife!”

The four most common sources of marital turbulence are: sleep loss, social isolation, unequal distribution of household workload, and depression.

children who are able to filter out distractions, the data show, do far better in school.

Fit kids score higher on executive function tests than sedentary controls,

• The single best predictor of happiness? Having friends. • Children who learn to regulate their emotions have deeper friendships than those who don’t.

Responsive plus demanding. The best of the lot. These parents are demanding, but they care a great deal about their kids. They explain their rules and encourage their children to state their reactions to them. They encourage high levels of independence, yet see that children comply with family values. These parents tend to have terrific communication skills with their children.

Parents who resisted giving in to their inner helicopter helped create the most secure attachments.