[.ca] A Good Start in Life: Understanding Your Child's Brain ... (ISBN 0972383050)

From Amazon.com:
New parents can end up with too many choices, and it seems like a separate book exists for every stage of life--which can be overwhelming when one's reading time is limited. A Good Start in Life aims to reduce the stress, compiling basic information about child development from conception to age 6 in one concise book. Written by a neuroscientist and an educator, you'll find easy-to-digest information about the physical stages of early childhood, as well as straightforward suggestions that make parenting a little easier as your child grows. In each chapter, you follow a small girl through her life changes. Her second birthday party is a typical madhouse, while by her sixth you can see all types of developed personalities and interpersonal skills at play. Each party is used to demonstrate specific developments, and it's both entertaining and educational to see the kids evolve from playing separately to choosing up sides for a baseball game. Pictures and charts of developmental milestones are included for quick reference, and topics like building security, setting limits, and preparing for school are addressed clearly and briefly. While no special situation is discussed in depth, parents will receive an excellent general overview of what they can expect from life with a little one. --Jill Lightner

Informative and enlightening:
Norbert Herschkowitz's book may not be as inspiring a read as The Prenatal Prescription by Peter Nathanielsz, but it's filled with valuable information on giving your baby the healthiest start in life, both prebirth and after birth. The information on how a baby's brain works (e.g. language acquisition) is particularly interesting.

A Reassuring Guide for Parents and Grandparents:
I wish I had already had this book when my own children were growing up, but now I can consult it to follow and understand the development of my grandchildren. The authors' vast expertise has not kept them from writing a parent-friendly, easily-accessible-for-the-layperson book that answers the questions we all have as we watch our children progress: Are they developing as they should, according to the proper timeline? Am I being too demanding? Not enough? What makes it all work? We know our children are miracles of nature, but the text gives us a wider understanding of why and how. It quells doubts and cheers us, as we watch the "sample" children, so like our own, change from day to day.