So, you had your 2.2 kids and read all the right books, listened to all the right experts, and now you’re an expert too, right? Think again. After raising four children (only one left to put through college) and sitting down to read an adult book or two, I thought there would be nothing new for me to learn about the joys and tortures of parenthood. And then I read NurtureShock by Po Bronson (author of What Should I Do With My Life?) and Ashley Merryman.
This book will challenge everything you thought you knew about raising children. This is not a book that proposes the “right way” to raise a child, but rather presents the facts about how the current school of thought on child-rearing actually works (or doesn’t). And just as Steven Levitt accomplishes in his book Freakonomics, which challenges commonly held beliefs on economic issues, Bronson and Merryman support their assertions with reams of research and the results of studies conducted world-wide.
Who would have thought that the more you praise a child, the lower their confidence level? Or that an extra hour of sleep may be better for your kid’s IQ than an extra hour of studying? And if your argumentative teen makes you want to pull your hair out, don’t—the alternative is even worse. All this, and more, is waiting for you inside the covers of this intriguing book.
The issues covered in NurtureShock concern children at all stages of development, from infancy to the teen years, so all parents are sure to find these insights interesting. But even non-parents will be fascinated by the science behind the information—think of all the fun you’ll have advising your parenting friends and family on what they are doing wrong! Parents love advice from their childless friends . . . Don’t they?
Find and reserve this book in our online catalog.
Tags: Education, Helen Y.'s Picks, Nonfiction, Parenting, Psychology, Science
January 24, 2012 at 8:18 am |
I love this book. Such an eye-opener in so many ways. I loved the part where children felt their parents didn’t like black people because they never discussed race – a reversal of the parent’s intention of trying to make race a non-issue in an open household.
If you care, I did my own review which oddly touches on the same points as this review: http://blog.yourpointismoot.com/2010/06/nurtureshock-new-thinking-about.html?m=1