What's Going on in There? : How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life

Rating:
Summary: A fascinating book and very informative to read
Review: In this book, Lise Eliot goes in depth discussing current scientific knowledge about infant and early childhood brain development. I found this book very interesting to read. I would recommend this book who is interested or is researching/studying child development or how a child's brain and mind develops in the 1st five years. The book is very well written and quite easy to read. There were some medical terminology I didn't understand so I look it up in a medical book. Some of the many things discussed in this book are:
How the brain is developed
Prenatal risk factors
The special benefits of breast milk for brain development
What newborns can hear
Infant walkers don't help infants walk
How to encourage a baby's motor development
Stress, attachment, and brain development
How the brain store memories?
Language in the 1st eighteen months
The role of genes
The role of environment

The chapters in the book are:
Chapter 1 Nature or Nuture? It's All in the Brain

Chapter 2 The Basic Biology of Brain Development
Chapter 3 Prenatal Influences on the Developing Brain
Chapter 4 How Birth Affects the Brain
Chapter 5 The Importance of Touch
Chapter 6 Why Babies Love to be Bounced: The Precocious Sense of Balance and Motion
Chapter 7 The Early World of Smell
Chapter 8 Taste, Milk, and the Orgins of Food Preference
Chapter 9 Wiring Up the Visual Brain
Chapter 10 How Hearing Evolves
Chapter 11 Motor Milestones
Chapter 12 Social Emotional Growth

Chapter 13 The Emergence of Memory
Chapter 14 Language and the Developing Brain
Chapter 15 How Intelligence Grows in the Brain
Chapter 16 Nature, Nurture, and Sex Differences in Intellectual Development
Chapter 17 How to Raise a Smarter Child

Rating:
Summary: Amazing book from which every parent could benefit
Review: This book contains so much detailed information on how our brains develop - at the cellular level - it is amazing that it is so readable (although I am slightly geeky about these things). There is a chapter devoted to each of the five senses and how they develop in the brain, as well as to the basic biology of brain development, prenatal influences on the developing brain, motor milestones, memory, social-emotional growth, intellegence, why babies love to be bounced, how to raise a smarter child, and more.

Each chapter describes how each sense or aspect of the brain works, how it developed in the womb, and how it will continue to develop as the child grows. What makes it so great is that it is full of descriptions of the studies that the information is based on (in an interesting, anecdotal way) and lots of little stories and examples from the author's experiences with her own children.

Even with my son being only four months old, I already feel like this book has given me some direction in aiding his development. It also makes me feel better about what I have been doing so far. It explains why parents do some seemingly odd things, like talking in high-pitched voices with exaggerated faces, and exactly why breast milk is better for babies than formula.

I first found this book at the library, but I'm here to purchase my own copy for future reference. I only wish I had found it sooner: this is a fabulous book for new parents - preferably those who are still pregnant - since the information on how to foster the best possible brain development begins in the womb.

Rating:
Summary: the only parenting book I've used
Review: I've browsed through other parenting books written by "parenting experts", but a quick glance always let me know that their claims were dubious and didn't pertain to all the different kinds of children out there. This book does not try to tell you how to act as a parent, instead it tells you what is physiologically going on inside their bodies and brains so that you can figure it out for yourself.

For example, when my son was around 1 1/2 I recognized that he was going through a verbal growth phenomenon (that every child experiences) refered to as "fast mapping" in the book. Children at this age have the most extraordinary ability to understand new words through context at a mind boggling rate. The author described it as something that no supercomputer array in the world is able to do as fast as a toddler. Since his brain might never again be that willing to absorb new data I decided to try to teach him as much as I could easily. He became potty trained at 18 mo. By 21 mo. he was able to recognize the uppercase and lowercase alphabet. By 27 mo he knew all the states, capitals, planets, and many dinosaurs and presidents. His learning frenzy slowed down by the time he was 2 1/2, but now at almost 3 1/2 he does have the ability to read at a 1st grade level.

But it's not just in academic areas that this book is beneficial. It also imparts the research done in behavioral areas. I learned how beneficial constant interaction and affection has on children's behavior, and so adopted that approach. It also gave examples about the benefit of positive reinforcement, consistant discipline, and logical consequences. We have found these preemptive actions on our part has led to a relatively easy introduction into parenting. Basically, because we know "what's going on in there", we know what to do to get the results we want to get.

Although I bought this book when my son was a few months old, I now give it to my pregnant friends because of it's clear-cut pregnancy advice, supported by research rather than word of mouth. It outlines all the environmental and even psychological factors that can have a tangible effect on your child. For example, most concerned pregnant moms give up caffeine to prevent birth defects. But when this claim is subject to the scientific method, even copious amounts of caffeine have no effect on the babies. But research does indicate that the mother's stress level does have at least a short term impact on the baby's brain. So in that way the book directs you to put your focus more on your psychological well being than on avoiding Diet Coke.

Overall, a tremendous resource.

Rating:
Summary: an excellent resource for parents, grandparents and teachers
Review: Subtitled 'How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life' and written by a neuroscientist mother of three, this book benefits as much from its organization as the material it presents. Research, supplemented with anecdotes, is divided into chapters based on sense or function and then detailed chronologically within each section. Chapters include: The Basic Biology of Brain Development; How Birth Affects the Brain; The Importance of Touch; The Early World of Smell; Taste, Milk, and the Origins of Food Preference; Wiring Up the Visual Brain; How Hearing Evolves; Motor Milestones; Social-Emotional Growth; The Experience of Memory; Language and the Developing Brain; How Intelligence Grows in the Brain; Nature, Nurture, and Sex Differences in Intellectual Development; How to Raise a Smarter Child.

This is one of those books you should write in -- underline, highlight, take notes -- because if you are indeed interested in using this information to understand your child's progressive developmental changes, you will be referring to it often. The author presents a lot of research material in accessible language and style, but the book is dense and is not a day-to-day how-to guide. You will not read about colic or how to tell a cold from the flu, but you will learn why your four-month old prefers a little salt in her mashed potatoes or why most of us can't recall anything that happened before we were three-and-a-half years old. Because there is a lot of information, this is not one of the easiest books you will ever read, but it is eminently worthwhile. The author not only synopsizes a lot of research for us, but also defines the limits of research and/or those issues which are still under debate or not yet fully understood, and discusses the evolutionary implications of various developmental changes.

A Notes section details sources so you can follow up in areas in which you're particularly interested. (With 458 Notes, I'm not sure why one reviewer criticized the book for lack of documentation.) A thorough index. This book seems to benefit as much from good editing as exemplary authorship.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Excellent, A MUST Read
Review: If you are pregnant or thinking about starting a family I definitely recommend that you buy What's Going on in There? by Lise Eliot. This book is very informative and should be eccential to your prenatal (and even post-natal) reading. Eliot ia a neurobiologist and a mother of three, so not only does she provide more than enough scientific information but she supplies plenty of personal anecdotes involing her children.

Unlike most books of this sort that divide the book into ages (0-3 months), Eliot divides her book into developmental stages from start(in uetero) to finish (postnatal) and head to toe. Therefore she will discuss a certain developmental task a chapter but in that chapter covers that development from emergence to completion, which in some cases spans several years. At first you might think that a book that is well over 500-pages on child development a bit hefty but in alll actuality it is quite an easy read. That being said I studied molecular/cell bio in college so because of my background education this book was a lot easier to read. Does one have to be and expert in biology in order to understand this book, I don't think so. Eliot presents her views and scientific evidence in a strait forward manner that anyone that has had high school biology should be able to understand.

The Chapters are as Follows:
(1) Nature vs Nurture? It's all in the Brain
(2) The Basic Biology of Brain Development
(3) Prenatal Influences on the Developing Brain
(4) How Birth Affects the Brain
(5) The Importance of Touch
(6) Why Babies Love to Be Bounced: The Precocious Sense of Balance and Motion
(7) The Early World of Smell
(8) Taste, Milk, and the Origins of Food Preference
(9) Wiring Up the Visual Brain
(10) How Hearing Evolves
(11) Motor Milestones
(12) Social-Emotional Growth
(13) The Emergence of Memory
(14) Language and the Developing Brain
(15) How Intelligence Grows in the Brain
(16) Nature, Nurture, and Sex Differences in Intellectual Development
(17) How to Raise a Smarter Child

Some of you might be tempted to skip the first 16 chapters and go for the last one, I don't recommend doing this. Although the last chapter suggests that she put all the secrets to making your child smarter, actually I think that the message from Eliot is not for smarter kids but smarter parents. It is our resposibility as parents to foster our children's development, through interacting/ bonding, communicating and play, ths child does a lot of learning by observing us, and it is from us that they learn how to handle the pressures of the world. Which comes to Eliot talking about the Nature vs Nurture debate. This book does not advocate one way or the other, but BOTH. We are in the age now where scientists are tracking down the human genome trying to figure out what is it about our DNA that makes us, well us. Basically, DNA is the foundation that makes us who we are, giving us the foundation to grow, but without environmental pressures (both good and bad) to either foster or hinder our development. For example; let's take height a "normal" child (one born without autosomal defects which can lead to Dwarfism) growing up in an environment where there is poor nutrition either due to famine or poverty has less of a chance of becoming tall than a similar child that has had the benefit of eating foods that are fortified and that are bountiful. However, with certain genetic disorders like Dwarfism not matter how much positive pressure(i.e. nutrition) there will be little effect.

Eliot does an excellent job of transitioning from one chapter to the next. Thus I recommend reading it cover to cover. I also recommend reading it more then once, it is very useful to use as a reference, albeit not the best reference book on babies nor is it the worst.

Rating:
Summary: BUILDING BETTER BRAINS
Review: Wow - this is awesome. It's a pretty easy read with incredible insight into each little step of how the brain develops and how your baby will obtain the best emotional well being from careful interaction in building a better brain for your child. It goes up to age five but will last a lifetime. Other favorites for children up to age five is Your Baby and Child, by Dr. Penelope Leach,tells what to expect when and what to do to move into next level, and Mommy-CEO, by family columnist of Parent to Parent, Jodie Lynn. These books only make this one more important and go into practical and easy to understand information and motivational steps - especially as your child grows. Mommy-CEO has many tips from the real experts...us parents. These books are a total must have for the best life you and your children can have together and as independent individuals. This is what we want for our children - a safe, happy, loving independent soul!

Rating:
Summary: The Best Parenting Book
Review: This book is for the parent who wants to know all the "Whys." I have identical twins, so it is very interesting to me to see why their personalities might be different. Identical twins are used in many experiments, so I found this book especially interesting. My mother-in-law is also a pschologist and did many "experiements" with my husband (wish they had video cameras back then -- would have been neat to see). :) My husband and I have always been fascinated with child development since our children were born. This answered all our questions!

It is a very technical, detailed book, but it is not too far over an average parent's head to get something out of it. I did find myself skipping over some of the parts that got bogged down in details (I just want to get to the point sometimes), but I would get the main idea. My husband and I found this book while searching for a more scientific book on brain development. We were watching a series on TLC that showed different experiements done with children and when children acquire specific skills and why. We tried finding it again without success, so we searched for a book instead. You can find tons of books that tell you when your child should do what, but they don't tell why and what is really going on in their heads. This book will explain all that!! You will even learn things like why toddlers should drink whole milk until the age of 2! It is broken up into the different senses as well as being chronological, which I found really easy to follow.

This will definitely make you a better parent. As an educator myself, I find it fascinating just to have the knowledge, and I feel it is important for all parents to have this knowledge. You will learn how to stimulate your child at different ages so that his/her brain develops to its fullest. You and your child will be happier and more relaxed just having the information contained in this book.

The only regret I have is not having read it sooner! I had all the other parenting books, but I never felt fulfilled reading them. I didn't want a list of milestones, I wanted to know why they do milestones when they do. This is the only parenting book you need! I recommend reading it before your children are born, but it is never too late to read it! Mine were 2 when I got this book!

Rating:
Summary: Great book for a parent interested in baby's mind & brain
Review: I really enjoyed this book. It's well written, informative, and downright interesting. Much of the information is presented in the form of results of studies; not just rules of thumb. For example, the first chapter has useful details about prenatal influences on the brain. There's a summary of research results on how caffeine affects development, and similar sections for alchohol, aspartame, MSG, and other (harmless and not-so-harmless) things that parents-to-be often worry about.

Then there's a fascinating series of chapters on how sensory development occurs. With a chapter title like "The Importance of Touch" you just know it's chock full of good recommendations. Similarly, "Wiring Up the Visual Brain" explains how visual perception develops. The most interesting nugget is that the visual cortex needs visual stimulation during critical periods to develop some abilities such as depth perception (stereo or binocular vision). Hence an infant with untreated vision problems may miss the critical period (usually from age 3 months to 6 months) and not develop stereo vision.

Stepping back from the details, an interesting fact about development is that different abilities don't all start at once; they come online at different ages so your baby can adapt to them one at a time. So when you notice changes in your baby's behavior or wants, it may be because a new ability has suddenly kicked in, and the baby needs to have it stimulated. It's fascinating stuff, and useful as well!

Rating:
Summary: Scientific and Easy to Read
Review: Even with a 9 month old this book was a breeze to read, but not because it lacks in substance. Lise Eliot does a fantastic job of explaining the cognitive development of children without sounding like an article in a scientific journal. Her conversational tone makes her detailed descriptions of brain development fascinating to read.

So far this has been my favorite book on child development.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Book
Review: This book is wonderful. It is full of great information. I suggest reading it while pregnant since the development of the baby is covered from conception. Some if the information is technical, and in fact when discussing it with my husband who is a medical student, I ended up teaching him a few things! I have covered the pages with notes and highlights and have gone back to it many times when I want to find out how far my daughter can see at her age or what she can hear etc. An amazing book for an amazing time in a parent's life.