The Science of Parenting: How Today’s Brain Research Can Help You Raise Happy, Emotionally Balanced Childr Paperback – 5 July 2016

Excellent book, to me the only book worth having as it covers the brain development and gives really good practical advice based on good research. Its really important to learn about parenting, so we do it better than our parents did!For example, you cannot spoil a baby it must be 'tuned in' to and have its needs met quickly, so attachment and bonding take place. As the baby becomes toddler, it does needs structure, consistency and clear boundaries to help strengthen the attachment process. ( for example; a quieting down bed time routine bath, story bed at same time every night lets the toddler learn that night times are not play times!The author explains why the consistency of doing the same thing, having a routine is important with toddlers, as they are learning about life it that predictability helps keep them calm and feel safe, and allows them to know where they stand and the attachment relationship to be secure.As a Senior Lecturer in Nursing, I use her books very often with my students, as the psychology is very well researched and applied. This author also wrote a series to help children deal with feelings (how to help children with loss; cope with bullying; low self esteem; etc this series are not only excellent for parents but for teachers and social workers too. This series also include a child's story book to help explain the subject in an easy way

I was so looking forward to the second edition of this book being published and I have not been disappointed. I purchased it as soon as it was published and I've used every spare minute to read it since. I'm a parent and a family support worker so I have both a personal and a professional interest in what the author has to say. I find the lay out of the book very attractive and user friendly. I think the topics covered are very comprehensive and they confirm and expand on my existing knowledge in very helpful ways.I am parenting grieving children so I especially appreciated the chapter entitled "Dealing with broken hearts" and found much that resonated with me but also informed me. The last part of the book is about 'self-care' for parents/carers, which is so important, as you can't pour from an empty cup.This is an excellent book that explains what happens in a baby's or child's brain when various parenting strategies are used. I highly recommend it both for parents and for child care professionals.

This book helped me A LOT as a first time parent, from the early days. I find it useful to know the basics of the brain development, and how they actually feel pain when they are upset, and need comforting. The book is also recognising as parent you may struggle if you did not receive it when yourself was a child. I highly recommend to any parents, two of my friends bought this after I recommended.

I like it. I am a convert now from moreA bit repetitive 'American' style but homes the message in.I would love some more practical examples on how to do it instead of bear and grin to the baby and wen to start imposing rules at which age - in the end it is a parenting book not a comforting book

I have not read through the whole book yet but omg it is super fascinating, and an eye opener. I'm not a fan of books that tell you how to parent or advise from your family that so call know best as it didn't do us any harm, but actually reading this book I can relate and understand how things can affect a child's brain development and affect them in future years and what things we can do to not only help our children but help ourselves in the long run too. The fact it's based on numerous centuries of research of the human brain and has scientific facts is a reason to give this book at try. This book was recommended to me by a friend and was money well spent, everyone should walk away with one after giving birth.

Fantastic book. I recommend to everyone, has a lot of information on how the brain develops and how children grow and learn. I definitely think all parents and carers should read this book. It's not your typical parenting book. The book delivers the facts with evidence, as opposed to other parenting book's with advice.

Very interesting read, could be packaged a little bit better as corner of cover was bent, however shipped quickly and happy with purchase

This is not, as the book advertise itself in the title and introduction, a science-based book that presents the research and lets the parents make their own decision. It is a very patronising, repetitive, scaremongering and superficial defence of attachment parenting. It is very biased and it never presents empirical research, discussing the nuanced results of various studies. Instead it makes generic bold claims such as ‘science shows that your child brain...’ without ever substantiating the claims with references to actual studies. There is just some sparse footnotes to a very tiny and one-sided selection of research. This is utterly infuriating for the academic I am. It also makes factual mistakes, such as claiming that sleep training traumatises your child and that sugar makes your child hyperactive. Both claims have been widely disconfirmed by a large number of research. I am not against attachment parenting, but even as a book on attachment parenting it doesn’t do a great job. One would expect practical tips on how to deal with challenging specific situations. Instead, the advice only come down to: hug your child often, console them when they cry, listen to them and play with them. There is no clear distinction on how to address different issues at different delevopmemtal stages. If you want a real evidence-based book on parenting, buy The Science of Mon by Alice Callahan instead.