Awakening the Child Heart: Handbook for Global Parenting [Paperback]

Carla Hannaford (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2002

"Awakening The Child Heart" is about returning to the child mind, our optimal way to learn and live in joy by living in the present and renewing deep human connection through play, music and starting with the heart rather than the head. The new scientific research around the heart influence on brain function validates the primary importance of human contact through touch and being consciously present. Lack of that primary contact elicits stress, effecting brain, physiological and psychological functioning, beginning with the foetus and embryo during pregnancy.ADD, ADHD, dyslexia, depression, autism and other emotional and learning difficulties are examined. Simple, highly effective ways to manage and cure these anomalies are presented. The most current scientific information on the profound importance of play and sound (music) for life long learning is presented and ways to relearn to truly play for the sake of our quality of life as well as learning for both children and adults. This book presents an exciting, heart opening meld of the scientific, practical and personal, written by a biologist, educator and mother.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Jamilla Nur Publishing (March 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971664706
• ISBN-13: 978-0971664708
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #923,788 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Coherent Universal Heart Connection, July 3, 2002

By 

George Zee (www.frzee.org, Hong Kong) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Awakening the Child Heart: Handbook for Global Parenting (Paperback)

This is a unique book, blending profound scientific inquiry into what allows children to prosper, with the candid story of personal experiences and the upbringing of Breeze, Carla's daughter. For those who haven't personally met these two wonderful persons, it will help to take a good look at their photos first and feel their loving and intimate company as you read the book, written with the "child heart".

The "Child Heart" is a symbol of coherent universal connection. After a decade of the brain, Carla advocates "The Decade of the Child Heart", envisioning "the possibilities of a world of people who truly loved and empowered children, themselves and other adults. Our emphasis might be on community coherence and cooperation rather than commerce, competition and warfare." (p.159)

Coherence is "a conscious state of being in alignment with our purpose, joy, happiness and connection to others." (p.2) This is a key concept throughout the book. The Heartmath Institute found that the heart rate variability becomes coherent with feelings of appreciation, love, joy, and incoherent with frustration and stress. Such patterns affect the brain functions.

So many useful and fascinating insights, gleaned from extensive scientific studies are clearly summarized and explained in this book of under 200 pages, illustrated by over 30 figures. One gains enlightened understanding of: stress, depression, stress in utero, the heart as emotion generator, a new world-view of vibrational patterns, the key roles of sound, music, movement and play... Carla is an excellent guide. It is better than reading dozens of such books and not grasping the essentials and interconnections.

Just to quote one example on "The Sound of Dyslexia". "Many researchers now believe that dyslexia begins in utero with maternal stress that affects the semicircular canals. The resulting underdeveloped vestibular system affects the ability to hear..." The inadequate development of hearing "can end up with behavioral patterns that we label as Dyslexia, ADHD, Learning Disabled and even Emotionally Handicapped" (pp.110-111)

There are also many nourishing and thought-provoking quotes throughout the book.
E.g. "Everything happens as if human behavior were largely conditioned by the manner in which one hears." -Guy Berard, M.D. (p.110) "Laughter is the quintessential human social signal. It solidifies relationships and pulls people into the fold." -Albert Provine...

Every parent and prospective parent, all educators can learn much from studying this informative and compassionate book. "Awakening the Child Heart" is the revolution in education and "Global Parenting" that we sorely need throughout the driven, isolated and pill-dependent world. [In a new edition, it might help to have additional diagrams of the anatomy of the brain and also a bibliography of all the books quoted in the footnotes.]