The Youngest Minds: Parenting and Genetic Inheritance in the Development of Intellect and Emotion - Softcover

Barnet, Richard J.; Barnet, Ann B.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0684854406 ISBN 13: 9780684854403

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 1999

Synopsis

Revealing what every parent needs to know about what goes on in a child's brain during the critical first months and years of life, Ann B. Barnet, M.D., and Richard J. Barnet explore children's genetic tendencies toward anger, fear, and other emotions. Showing how interactions with other people can actually organize and reorganize a child's brain, they offer invaluable guidance to parents and caregivers by describing the essential characteristics of healthy parent-child relationships and good child care, as well as how the effects of bad early experiences can be overcome later in life.
An unprecedented, up-to-the-minute look at the way human relationships and genetics shape the personalities and destinies of children, The Youngest Minds reveals more clearly than ever before how parents, for better or worse, become partners in the development of their child's mind.

About this title

Review

The Youngest Minds is a surprisingly readable mixture of science review, advice manual, and consciousness-raising book, which should be at the top of every expectant parent's reading list. Child neurologist Ann B. Barnet and her husband, Richard, explore the world of the very young with the aim of providing an overview of early development in such areas as language, emotional attachment, and socialization. Dr. Barnet puts her expertise to good use in lucid explanations of the biology of brain growth, and both she and her husband draw on their experience as parents and grandparents to put this scientific material in a practical perspective. They also express concern for children worldwide who are suffering from less-than-optimal social and economic conditions and consequently are missing out on their full potential. Chapters include "How the Brain Takes Shape"; "Pathways of Language"; "Empathy, Conscience, and Moral Development"; and Caring for Children.

So should you read to your newborn? What's going on in an infant's brain? How does language develop? What can we do to foster emotional attachment? The Barnets provide guidance rather than answers, just as any good scientist (or grandparent) would. Whether read as a science text, a parenting guide, or a plea for children's well-being, The Youngest Minds will satisfy the curious, caring parent. --Rob Lightner

From the Author

Ann B. Barnet, M.D., an expert in early brain development, is Professor Emeritus of Neurology at George Washington University School of Medicine and a member of the Department of Neurology at Children's Hospital in Washington, D.C.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0684854406
• ISBN 13: 9780684854403
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352