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Welcome to Your Child's Brain: How the Mind Grows from Conception to College
336NOOK Book(eBook)
Overview
In their new book, neuroscientists Sandra Aamodt and Sam Wang separate fact from fiction about the inner workings of young minds. Martialing results from new studies and classic research, Aamodt and Wang provide the most complete answers out there on this subject. It liberates readers from superstitions and speculation, such as Freud's idea that all relationships are modeled on one's mother, or that it's not safe to eat sushi while pregnant. And it will reveal new truths about everything from how to make your baby sleep, to why we love to snuggle, to how children learn, forget, play, talk, walk, and feel.
Welcome to Your Child's Brain is eye-opening and necessary, soon to become a staple for parents and children alike.
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Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9781608197408 |
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Publisher: | Bloomsbury Publishing |
Publication date: | 09/20/2011 |
Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
Format: | NOOK Book |
Pages: | 336 |
File size: | 7 MB |
About the Author
Sam Wang, Ph.D, is an associate professor of neuroscience at Princeton University. He has published fifty articles on the brain in leading scientific journals and received numerous awards. His research and analysis has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and on National Public Radio, and he has made numerous television and radio appearances. He lives in Princeton, NJ with his wife and their two-year-old daughter.
Sandra Aamodt is the editor in chief of Nature Neuroscience, the leading scientific journal in the field of brain research. She lives in California with her husband.
Sam Wang is an associate professor of neuroscience and molecular biology at Princeton University. He has published over forty articles on the brain in leading scientific journals, including Nature, Nature Neuroscience, and others. He lives in Prineton, NJ with his wife and daughter.
Table of Contents
Foreword Ellen Galinsky xi
QUIZ How Well Do You Know Your Child's Brain? xiii
Introduction The Brain That Builds Itself xviii
Part 1 Meet Your Child's Brain
Chapter 1 The Five Hidden Talents of Your Baby's Brain 2
Ages: Birth to One Year
Myth: If anything goes wrong, Mom is to blame
Chapter 2 In the Beginning: Prenatal Development 10
Ages: Conception to Birth
Practical tip: Less stress, fewer problems
Practical tip: Eat fish during pregnancy
Chapter 3 Baby, You Were Born to Learn 24
Ages: Birth to Two Years
Myth: Breast-feeding increases intelligence
Practical tip: Guided practice can accelerate motor development
Chapter 4 Beyond Nature Versus Nurture 32
Ages: Conception to College
Footprints on the genome
Culture can drive evolution
Part 2 Growing Through a Stage
Chapter 5 Once in a Lifetime: Sensitive Periods 40
Ages: Birth to Fifteen Years
Brain food
The limits of brain plasticity
Chapter 6 Born Linguists 48
Ages: Birth to Eight Years
Practical tip: Teach foreign languages early in life
Chapter 7 Beautiful Dreamer 55
Ages: Birth to Nine Years
Practical tip: How to get your baby to sleep
What children dream about
Chapter 8 It's a Girl! Gender Differences 63
Ages: Birth to Eighteen Years
Practical tip: Broadening your child's abilities
Chapter 9 Adolescence: It's Not Just About Sex 73
Ages: Twelve Years to Twenty Years
Myth: Adolescents have a longer day-night cycle
Part 3 Start Making Sense
Chapter 10 Learning to See 82
Ages: Birth to Five Years
Practical tip: Outdoor play improves vision
Speculation: Modern life is changing our brains
Chapter 11 Connect with Your Baby Through Hearing and Touch 91
Ages: Third Trimester to Two Years
Practical tip: Protect your child from noise, starting before birth
The neuroscience of snuggle
Chapter 12 Eat Dessert First: Flavor Preferences 100
Ages: Second Trimester to Two Years
Practical tip: Getting your child to eat spinach
Practical tip: Worried about your child's weight?
Part 4 The Serious Business of Play
Chapter 13 The Best Gift You Can Give: Self-Control 112
Ages: Two Years to Seven Years
Practical tip: Imaginary friends, real skills
Practical tip: Learning two languages improves cognitive control
Chapter 14 Playing for Keeps 121
Ages: Two Years to Eighteen Years
Play in adult life
Chapter 15 Moving the Body and Brain Along 131
Ages: Four Years to Eighteen Years
Practical tip: Protect your child from head injuries
Chapter 16 Electronic Entertainment and the Multitasking Myth 137
Ages: Birth to Eighteen Years
Speculation: Does Internet use reduce empathy?
Practical tip: Baby videos do more harm than good
Part 5 Your Child as an Individual
Chapter 17 Nice to Meet You: Temperament 146
Ages: Birth to Twenties
Why you're turning into your mother
Myth: Birth order influences personality
Chapter 18 Emotions in the Driver's Seat 155
Ages: Birth to Early Twenties
Myth: The right hemisphere is the emotional side
Self-control promotes empathy
Chapter 19 Empathy and Theory of Mind 163
Ages: One Year to Five Years
Older siblings speed a child's theory-of-mind development
Imitation in the brain
Chapter 20 Playing Nicely with Others 170
Ages: Birth to Early Twenties
Stereotyping and socialization
Practical tip: Promoting conscience
Part 6 Your Child's Brain at School
Chapter 21 Starting to Write the Life Story 180
Ages: Two Years to Eighteen Years
Practical tip: The best study habits
Babies forget faster
Chapter 22 Learning to Solve Problems 188
Ages: Two Years to Eighteen Years
Practical tip: Social rejection reduces IQ
Chapter 23 Take It from the Top: Music 196
Ages: Birth to Nine Years
Myth: The Mozart effect
Practical tip: The benefits of music and drama
Chapter 24 Go Figure: Learning About Math 204
Ages: Birth to Early Twenties
Practical tip: Stereotypes and test performance
Chapter 25 The Many Roads to Reading 211
Ages: Four Years to Twelve Years
Practical tip: Reading at home
The causes of dyslexia
Part 7 Bumps in the Road
Chapter 26 Hang in There, Baby: Stress and Resilience 220
Ages: Third Trimester to Eighteen Years
Practical tip: Dandelion and orchid children
Chapter 27 Mind-Blindness: Autism 230
Ages: One Year to Four Years
Speculation: Are feral children autistic?
Practical tip: Behavioral therapy is helpful if started early
Chapter 28 Old Genes Meet the Modern World: ADHD 240
Ages: Eight Years to Eighteen Years
Practical tip: Spotting untrustworthy treatments
Myth: The all-powerful brain scan
Chapter 29 Catch Your Child Being Good: Behavior Modification 248
Ages: One Year to Twelve Years
Practical tip: Getting to good
Myth: Praise builds self-esteem
Chapter 30 A Tough Road to Travel: Growing Up in Poverty 256
Ages: Conception to Eighteen Years
Epidemiology is hard to interpret
Acknowledgments 265
Glossary 267
Notes 274
References 286
Index 309