Since becoming a parent almost three years ago, I have also become subject to lots and lots of junk mail containing thousands of baby related coupons and dozens of parenting networking classes within the community. I usually toss them all out automatically, but for whatever reason I cracked one open and saw this book featured. I guess it caught my eye because real baby research was being done here in Arizona. (I thought it was Tucson at the time, but since reading the book, it turns out all the studies were done at ASU.) Anyhow, after twelve weeks, the maximum number of renewals from the public library, and a substantial late fee, I am officially done with the book. Not that it was hard reading, I was just more often interested in other things.Most of the advice offered was commonsense. Things I have read over and over in every parenting publication out there. "Breastfeeding is best," "No TV before age 2," "Read to your child 15 minutes a day." What was fascinating, to me at least, were the reasons behind these rules; the ways these behaviors affect brain growth and thus your baby's ability to learn new information. For example, breastfeeding has commonly been recommended as the best choice for nutrition because of the content of the milk. But modern science has so improved commercial formulas that there is virtually no difference between the ingredients of store bought formula and breastmilk. Yet breastfed babies continue to outperform formula fed babies. Dr. Stamm asserts that the method in which nursing mothers feed their babies is actually what makes the difference. Breastfed babies are switched from side to side at each feeding. This enables the brain to develop on both hemispheres. Bottle fed babies, on the other hand, are usually fed on whichever side is most comfortable for their caregiver and stay in that position the whole feeding. Nursing mothers also have one hand free, which permits them to interact with their babies more than those mothers with one hand on the baby and the other on the bottle. So the lesson learned is, if you choose to bottle feed, switch sides during the feeding and interact with your child as much as possible.
Dr. Stamm's whole premise for the book is that babies 0-3 years of age need three basic things for optimal brain development. The ABC's of healthy brain growth are Attention, Bonding, and Communication. I think she does a great job of laying out the science behind her claims in a way that the average parent can understand. You don't have to be a genius to raise one! She then follows up the information with simple "exercises" you can do at home, in each developmental stage of your baby's first years, to increase their learning abilities. Whenever I found myself becoming overwhelmed with the dozens of things I should be doing each day, wanting to photocopy pages of the book and hang them on my mirror for constant reference to make sure I was getting everything right, there was an encouraging word from Dr. Stamm. Being a parent, of a severly brain damaged child no less (there are lots of "Jenny Stories" throughout), I felt like she totally understood the sometimes daunting task that is parenting and was playing the part of cheerleader just as much as medical professional.
Overall, I think most conscientious parents are probably doing a majority of the things recommended in this book already, but if you are concerned about your child's intellectual future and want to make sure they succeed (or exceed), aka you are an overachiever yourself, (or, I guess if you are simply fascinated with brain growth), go ahead and pick up Bright from the Start.
Thanks for the review--it is hard to muddle through all the "expert" parenting books and know which are worth your time. I actually would be interested in the science behind those ideas. I'm getting started with Love and Logic so we'll see how that goes.
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