Infant Development

In Brain Rules for Baby, Dr. John Medina shares what the latest science says about how to raise smart and happy children from zero to five. This book is destined to revolutionize parenting. Just one of the surprises: The best way to get your children into the college of their choice? Teach them impulse control. Brain Rules for Baby bridges the gap between what scientists know and what parents practice.

Mayo Clinic Guide to Your Baby's First Years is a trusted and essential resource for new and experienced parents alike. You'll find practical guidance on caring for the new little one in your family, from birth to age 3. Inside you'll find evidence-based advice on giving your baby the best nutrition and introducing your toddler to solids, tips for forming healthy sleep habits, strategies for dealing with fussiness and tantrums, advice on establishing a secure bond with your child, monthly updates on your child's growth and development, and much more.

Baby's First Year Milestones is a month-by-month guide filled with activities designed to support your baby's development during their first year of life. In 12 months, your newborn will transform into a child. To celebrate each new development, Baby's First Year Milestones offers a practical month-by-month guide to understanding the major milestones in your child's life. In Baby's First Year Milestones, child development expert Aubrey Hargis offers knowledgeable insight into the changes you can expect during the first year.

In this book, her follow-up to the best seller Discipline Without Damage, Dr. Lapointe advises new parents how to put their child on a path to optimal development during the crucial early years. The baby and toddler years are the most important period for any child's emotional and psychological development. Parents naturally want to do what's best for their kids, but they often struggle to know what that is, especially when dealing with the big "battlegrounds" of sleep, feeding, and managing aggression.

Reassuring to parents and educators, Einstein Never Used Flash Cards shows why - and how - to step away from the cult of achievement and toward a more nurturing home life full of imaginative play and love of learning. Here's the message that stressed-out parents are craving to hear: It's okay to play! In fact, it's more than just okay - it's better than drilling academics. After decades of research, scientists and child development experts have come to a clear conclusion: Play is the best way for children to learn.

Caring for young children is one of the most challenging tasks an adult will ever face. No matter how much you love your child, there will be moments filled with frustration, anger, and even desperation. There will also be questions: Why does my four-year-old deliberately lie to me? Why is everything a struggle with my three-year-old? Should I ever spank my preschooler when she is disobedient? Over the years, millions of parents have come to trust the Positive Discipline series and its common-sense approach to child-rearing.

Baby-led weaning is the healthy, natural way to start your baby on solid foods - no stress, no fuss, no mush! Ten years ago, Baby-Led Weaning ended the myth that babies need to be spoon-fed purees. In fact, at about six months, most babies are ready to discover solid food for themselves. Today, baby-led weaning (BLW) is a global phenomenon - and this 10th anniversary edition of the definitive guide explains all its benefits.

Research has shown that the first three years in a child's life are a critical moment in their development, and that behavior patterns instilled during that time can have profound implications for the rest of a child's life. Hundreds of thousands of parents have already used the advice in Positive Discipline: The First Three Years to help set effective boundaries, forge strong foundations for healthy communication, and lay the groundwork for happy and respectful relationships with their young children.

Might you and your baby both sleep better if you shared a bed? How old is too old for breastfeeding? What is a father's role in nurturing a newborn? How does early attachment foster a child's eventual independence? Dr. Bill and Martha Sears - the doctor-and-nurse, husband-and-wife team who coined the term "attachment parenting" - answer these and many more questions in this practical, inspiring guide. Attachment parenting is a style of parenting that encourages a strong early attachment and advocates parental responsiveness to babies' dependency needs.

It’s time to change the way we see babies. Drawing on principles developed by the educator Dr Maria Montessori, The Montessori Baby shows how to raise your baby from birth to age one with love, respect, insight, and a surprising sense of calm. Cowritten by Simone Davies, author of the bestselling The Montessori Toddler, and Junnifa Uzodike, it’s a book filled with hundreds of practical ideas for understanding what is actually happening with your baby, and how you can mindfully assist in their learning and development.

The first 40 days after the birth of a child offer an essential and fleeting period of rest and recovery for the new mother. Based on author Heng Ou's own postpartum experience with zuo yuezi, a set period of “confinement”, in which a woman remains at home focusing on healing and bonding with her baby, The First Forty Days revives the lost art of caring for the mother after birth.

Raising a bright and happy child starts during pregnancy and early infancy, when small changes can have a big impact on brain development. By taking advantage of this golden window of opportunity - when millions of new brain cells are formed every single day - you can help support your child’s IQ, language development, memory, attention span, and emotional regulation. 

We live in a culture that hails motherhood as a woman's crowning achievement yet defines men first and foremost by their professional accomplishments, treating fatherhood as almost incidental - a bonus. But from her years spent as a pediatrician listening to children's needs and fears, Dr. Meeker understands just how crucial a father's role is.

In What to Do When You're Having Two, national twins guru and founder of Twiniversity, and mother of twins herself, Natalie Diaz provides a no-holds-barred resource about life with twins, from pregnancy and birth all the way through your duo's first year of life. Funny, reassuring, full of stories and advice, and packed with tried-and-true tips from the trenches, this is the must-have survival guide for parents of twins.

Psychotherapists and sleep specialists Jennifer and Jill, the dynamic "girlfriends" all of Hollywood calls on to solve Junior's sleep problems, have perfected their sleep technique that will get any child snoozing in no time - most often in fewer than three nights. The key to their method? It addresses the emotional needs of both the parent and the child (yes, how to handle the crying!) - a critical component of why most other sleep methods fail.

Getting babies to sleep through the night is one thing; getting willful toddlers and energetic preschoolers to sleep is another problem altogether. Written to help sleep-deprived parents of children ages one to five, The No-Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers and Preschoolers offers loving solutions to help this active age-group get the rest they - and their parents - so desperately need. Parents will discover a wellspring of positive approaches to help their children get to bed, stay in bed, and sleep all night.

The saying "babies don't come with a manual" may be true - but newborn books are a good place to start. Parenting is a process of phases and milestones, and newborn books are invaluable. Each new stage, as important as the last, serves as a building process for years of parental education and care. The Newborn Handbook will gently and sequentially lead you through each week of caring for a newborn in the first three months - the weeks and months that can be both exhilarating as well as nerve-racking.

What do you do with a little kid who...won't brush her teeth...screams in his car seat...pinches the baby...refuses to eat vegetables...runs rampant in the supermarket? Organized according to common challenges and conflicts, this book is an essential emergency first-aid manual of communication strategies, including a chapter that addresses the special needs of children with sensory processing and autism spectrum disorders.

Each time she knelt to "catch" another wriggling baby - nearly 3,000 times during her remarkable career - California midwife Peggy Vincent paid homage to the moment when pain bows to joy and the world makes way for one more. With every birth, she encounters another woman-turned-goddess: Catherine rides out her labor in a car careening down a mountain road. Sofia spends hers trying to keep her hyper doctor-father from burning down the house. Susannah gives birth so quietly that neither husband nor midwife notice until there's a baby in the room.

If you are the parent of a toddler or preschooler, chances are you know a thing or two about tantrums. While those epic meltdowns can certainly be part of "normal" toddler behavior, they are still maddening, stressful, and exhausting - for everyone involved. What can you do to keep your cool and help your child calm down? Rebecca Schrag Hershberg, child psychologist and mother of two, has a unique understanding of both the science behind tantrums and what works in the heat of the moment to nip blowups in the bud.