Welcome to Your Child's Brain

I just finished reading a terrific book, Welcome to Your Child’s Brain. With an infant in the house, it’s hard to find time to read. In fact, I had to renew the book three times, but it was worth it.
Written by two neuroscientists, Sam Wang and Sandra Aamodt, the book was published last year.
The book is about the brain development of children, from birth to about the age of 18. The book explains, in laymen’s terms, different aspects of brain development, ranging from sight to learning mathematics. I found the section on language development particularly interesting. For example, newborns can distinguish sounds from every language at birth, but by six months, they lose that ability and start focusing on their mother tongue.
It also includes practical tips for parents. For example, I learned that being outside my reduce the chances of your child being myopic or near sighted. I also learned about the importance of teaching kids self-control, and one of the best traits I can have as a mom is being loving and warm to my kids.
Most importantly, I learned how little impact we have on how our kids turn out, which is reassuring. We can influence our kids, but most of them are genetically hardwired to turn out ok despite our parenting styles, which makes sense. If only kids with great parents survived, then the human species probably would have become extinct. The authors use the simile, “Children are like dandelions.”
After having three kids, I’m kind of sick of parenting books; this book isn’t a parenting book. But the information is presenting in such an interesting way, and it’s packed with such useful information, I think I learned a great deal and hopefully will become a better parent.