The Nature of the Child

Rating:
Summary: good for provoking discussion about child development
Review: This is a book about psychological development. Here are the chapter titles, to give you a more specific idea: Guiding Themes in Human Development; The Infant; Connectedness; Establishing a Morality; The Emotions; The Generation of Thought; The Role of the Family.

Kagan is known for his work on temperamental shyness in infants. In this highly theoretical work (supported by evidence in many cases, but of course we don't know what counterevidence is going unmentioned) he critiques several generally accepted premises about psychological development. He argues that there is NOT a strong connectedness between the qualities a person has at early stages of development and the qualities he or she has at much later stages. He argues for the primacy of emotion over logic in our development. He notes in the preface that "It is not what parents do to children or siblings do to each other that matters, but rather the intention the child imputes to those who act on and with him or her."

Thought-provoking stuff even for us ordinary parents, not just professionals and academics, although the writing style is at times a little over the top. If you can tease out the point Kagan makes within each long paragraph, you'll find it worth discussing.