More on Parenting

My (wonderful) son is now 2 ½, and over the past few years I’ve invested some time very wisely in reading several child development books.

One that I love is What’s Going On In There? by Lise Eliot. She’s a neuroscience professor and a parent of three children. Her book — informed by both academic knowledge and practical experience — is full of scientifically valid research findings and useful ideas. Here are a few:

  • Breast milk is VERY good for your baby. Breast-feed your baby for at least a year.
  • Interact with and talk with your baby as much as possible. Try to respond to your baby’s cues as much as possible. The more back-and-forth interaction (verbal or non-verbal), the better. Children whose parents talk the most with them develop rich vocabularies and sophisticated language earlier than other children.
  • Eliminate as much distracting noise as possible. Babies need to focus their attention. Having the television or video game machine on constantly in the background makes it much harder for babies to concentrate and learn.
  • Encourage your baby’s attempts to explore his/her world, except when doing so is dangerous. Babies also like to have fun, and playing games (like peek-a-boo) with them help them learn while having fun.
  • Don’t try to solve all your baby’s problems. Let them struggle a bit with things that are just a bit too hard for them. That’s how they grow more capable.
  • Use positive, encouraging words as often as possible with your children. Of course, you must set limits and express disappointment when your rules are violated. But the higher the ratio of positive to negative words you use with your children, the happier and healthier they will grow up to be.
  • For older kids, summer is a critical time. Most kids' academics regress during summer. Successful kids engage in summer activities (like reading) that keep their minds busy. Instead of regressing, they make progress over the summer.
  • It’s never too early to expose a baby to another language. We focused on Chinese in our family because we figured he would pick up English quickly when he started going to daycare at age 2 (which he has). Language has a “critical period” that lasts for about six years. If you don’t hear a language before age six, it’s virtually impossible to ever talk like a native speaker.

Another book I like that offers similarly useful information and is perhaps more practical and less focused on the science of brain development is Stanley Greenspan’s Building Healthy Minds. The same author has a new book, Great Kids: Helping Your Baby and Child Develop the Ten Essential Qualities for a Healthy, Happy Life.

Posted by James on Wednesday, February 04, 2009