Welcome to Your Child's Brain: How the Mind Grows from Conception to College - Softcover

Sandra Aamodt; Sam Wang

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1608199339 ISBN 13: 9781608199334

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA, 2012

Synopsis

How children think is one of the most enduring mysteries-and difficulties-encountered by parents. In an effort to raise our children smarter, happier, stronger, and better, parents will try almost anything, from vitamins to toys to DVDs. But how can we tell marketing from real science? And what really goes through your kid's growing mind-as an infant, in school, and during adolescence? Neuroscientists Sandra Aamodt and Sam Wang (who is also a parent) explain the facets and functions of the developing brain, discussing salient subjects such as sleep problems, language learning, gender differences, and autism. They dispel common myths about important subjects such as the value of educational videos for babies, the meaning of ADHD in the classroom, and the best predictor of academic success (hint: It's not IQ ). Most of all, this book helps you know when to worry, how to respond, and, most important, when to relax. Welcome to Your Child's Brain upends myths and misinformation with practical advice, surprising revelations, and real, reliable science. It's essential reading for parents of children of any age, frominfancy well into their teens.

About this title

From the Author:

Sam Wang says: When Sandra Aamodt and I decided to write Welcome To Your Child's Brain, we knew that there were many books on child development. But I only grasped the enormity of the situation when I was getting ready to become a father myself. What I found in the bookstore (and here at Amazon) was overwhelming. However, I also noticed that many books were not based on scientific evidence. As neuroscientists we realized we had something to add.

Welcome To Your Brain is not just a parenting book - though it does have information that parents will find quite useful. Think of it as a book about how we become the adults that we are today. The core of that is childhood. If you wonder whether birth order affected your own personality, why you have musical talent (or lack it), or whether intelligence can ever be increased, then our book is for you.

Some of you came to this site through our New York Times article on "redshirting" kindergarteners. Our reading of the scientific evidence is that there is no long-term advantage to delaying entry to kindergarten - and some significant disadvantages. To read more (with links to technical literature), go to the top of this website, click on my name, find our blog, and look up our post on redshirting dated September 25, 2011.

About the Author:

Sandra Aamodt, Ph.D., is the former editor in chief of Nature Neuroscience, the leading scientific journal in the field of brain research. During her career, she has read over five thousand neuroscience papers, given lectures at many universities, and attended over forty scientific meetings in ten countries. Her science writing has been published in the New York Times, the Washington Post, El Mundo, and the London Times. She lives in Northern California with her husband. Sam Wang, Ph.D., is an associate professor of neuroscience at Princeton University. He has published over fifty articles on the brain in leading scientific journals and has received numerous awards. His research and analysis has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, and he has made numerous television and radio appearances, including on National Public Radio. He lives in Princeton, New Jersey, with his wife and daughter.

About this edition

• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1608199339
• ISBN 13: 9781608199334
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336