Developing Young Minds From Conception to Kindergarten

by Rebecca Shore

Ever wonder what is going on in a baby's brain? Or how you can best nurture a child's natural development? Or why exactly Bach is better than Mozart for babies? This book will explain why. No technical knowledge is necessary, as Shore makes recent neurological findings accessible to all those who come into contact with young children. Everything a baby experiences in his or her first five years is building the foundation of life's learning potential. Through increasing the complexity of the early childhood environment in developmentally appropriate ways, we can nurture young children's brains. Developing Young Minds is a must-have for new parents or caregivers of young children.

Genres: Nonfiction

274 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2015

Reviews

[Ngaire · Rating 4 out of 5]

So according to recent research, babies can recognize their mothers and fathers about 24 hours after being born (mostly by smell, since their eyesight is pretty limited for the first few weeks, and possibly by the sounds of our voices, since they hear us so much inside the womb). In Developing Young Minds, Shore looks at neuroscience research that suggests that whatever isn't used in the brain, the brain will prune away and discard, so if your baby isn't introduced to a variety of healthy stimulation in his or her first three years, they've already lost thousands of brain structures that would support learning.

Developing Young Minds looks at what the infant mind is like, how babies learn, and how parents and other adults influence a child's development. This opened my eyes to a lot of information I was pretty hazy on before but that make sense to me - babies are programmed to learn quickly and fairly efficiently (after all, most children can speak pretty well by the time they are three or so, whereas many adults take years to learn a new language and they can already speak one!), and they respond to increasing complexity in visual images, speech, and music.

Shore backs up all her assertions with detailed source research, and it's pretty fascinating. I wasn't sure I was going to like the sections on music for babies (playing classical music for your baby seemed like something neurotic wealthy parents who want their kids to go to Ivy League colleges would do), but she actually has me convinced - Bach (and Baroque music in general) is the way to go for first baby music, and then you can move on to the Classical and Romantic composers. Along the way, I learned a who lot about JS Bach and Wolfgang Mozart as well, so that was a bonus.

Shore's own research is particularly interesting because it suggests that children need dedicated intellectual stimulation and learning opportunities well before they start school at 5 or 6. By that time, some children are so far ahead of others in terms of learning abilities that it's really not fair to put them in the same class. Shore makes such a compelling case for early childhood education beginning as soon as a mother leaves the hospital with her baby, that I started to get all activist-y and thought about writing to some politicians (amazing how fast that impulse dissipates when you start thinking about most of the politicians in this country).

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

A guide best suited for expecting or new parents who are interested in enhancing their baby's developmental experience. As a musician, I very much enjoyed the informative sections on the history of classical and baroque music, but I could see where others might choose to skip. The research is all there, along with scientific explanations balanced by practical tips on promoting healthy cognitive growth. The author referred a little too much to her own experiences which were justified but at times felt a little self-righteous. Also, as a librarian, I wish she would have mentioned more about the early literacy work that public libraries do for parents in addition to the many other early childcare and preschool learning institutions.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read if you want to learn about baby/toddler development, basic neuroscience, and Bach all in one book. I had the privilege of hearing Dr. Shore speak about this topic, and her enthusiasm for the subject of early childhood education, which is contagious, does not fully come through in this book. The case for better, universal access to education from birth through pre-k seems like a no-brainer but a hard one to crack. As it stands now, kids are starting kindergarten more or less with a five-year disadvantage to their more privileged peers, a fundamental and many times insurmountable distributive injustice. It's a problem we must address.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book, even though it was required reading for a course. Good ideas and great points were made. Lots of work needs to be done to make our education system even more successful.