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Are you baffled by the sheer volume of childcare and development advice out there? This friendly guide: A Good Start in Life: Understanding Your Child’s Brain and Behaviour may be just what you need.

All parents want to do the best for their children; nature has equipped us with an instinct to protect and nurture. Unfortunately, humankind has not been provided with a universal set of parenting rules and there’s just so much information out there – and half of it appears to be filled with contradictory advice, while the other half is mired in scientific jargon that most of us have trouble deciphering.

Dr. Norbert Herschkowitz, a Swiss paediatrician and neuroscientist, and his wife, Elinore, a teacher, have teamed up to write A Good Start in Life. This warm, friendly book guides parents through the formative years of their child’s life, with a specific focus on the brain, following the path of early childhood development from gestation to six years old.

A parenting book with a difference, this examination of brain development shows how the child's development affects its reactions to the world, and how an understanding of this means parents can see the right way to respond.

Life in the Womb

The book begins – unsurprisingly – at the start, with a chapter called “Life in the Womb – What Are You Doing in There?” and as parents add candles to the birthday cake, new chapters prepare them for what lies ahead. Various sections address practical topics such as: good night rituals, testing limits, coping with conflict, reading books together, evaluating day care options, and encouraging “why” questions. The book goes onto describe guideposts for parents, comfort and communication.

Answers

Although there are scores of books that deal with early childhood development, none so artfully combine solid, reliable science with logical, clear-cut information and advice. This book attempts to answer the questions that all parents ask.

Norbert and Elinore Herschkowitz are a husband and wife team based in Bern, Switzerland. Norbert is a paediatric neurologist while his wife is an experienced teacher. They bring a mixture of scientific biology and practical parenting know-how in a unique combination.

Joseph Henry Press is an imprint of National Academy Press, publisher for the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council in the USA.

A Good Start in Life: Understanding your child’s brain and behaviour by Norbert Herschkowitz, M.D. and Elinore Chapman Herschkowitz is published by Joseph Henry Press and is distributed in the UK by Plymbridge Distributors.

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