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

by John Medina

The constant theme of this book is that babies are people, but they are not adults. You have to teach them everything.

The instant you decide to bring a child into the world, you give up absolute control over the rest of your life. Welcome to the world of parenting.

Key points

is a consistent willingness to turn down the volume of one’s own priorities and experiences in favor of hearing another’s.

What is obvious to you is obvious to you.

What you should pay attention to are your child’s emotions.

Mom did not try to hide them, neutralize them, or throw stones at them.

At the most basic level, these themes can be boiled down to a single sentence: Be willing to enter into your child’s world on a regular basis and to empathize with what your child is feeling.

The most common source of conflicts is the gap between a person’s unknowable intentions and observable behavior. That gap can be bridged by empathy.

Read together

Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child: