Customer Reviews

Baby Minds: Brain-Building Games Your Baby Will Love

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

As a teacher, child psychology graduate and mother I have to say that this book was very useful. Even having studied most of the material in this book in university, it was a excellent reminder of the many ways to stimulate a child's mind. Yes there are not many gmaes - and the ones included are simple and sometimes obvious. However the connection the book makes between the games, that most parents play with their babies anyway, and how those games stimulate the mind is fascinating and is what this book is really trying to do. Once you understand the function of a particular game you can adapt and modify and make new games that stimulate the same parts of the brain.

If you are looking for a strictly games book with less psychology and more actual games and songs, definitely buy Baby Play by Gymboree. It has games organized by age and then color coded on each page to highlight the game, song, skill, related research etc and you can easily find just what you want without reading all the extra stuff. Plus, there are fantastic pictures!

But I digress. Baby Minds is a book with a lot of information. It is designed, I believe, for the parent or teacher who wants to understand what their child is learning when they play. Can you successfully raise your child without reading this book? Absolutely! Will this book make you more aware of the types of activities you do with your child and what your child is gaining? Absolutely!

When a book is titled "Baby Minds: Brain Building Games Your Baby Will Love", you would expect that games would be the focus of the book -- at least I did! Instead, the "games" are limited to a few tips. In fact, the authors summarize the "games" in a mere 4 pages at the end of the 190 page book. And as other reviewers have noted, many of the games are regurgitated ideas. (like "Have a Tea Party" or "limit television time" or "Read Nursery Rhymes") The informationon brain development is interesting, but I expected that to be the lesser portion of the book, give the focus of the title.

I received this book as a gift and read it practically cover to cover right away. It was really fun getting a peek into how research with babies works. It's amazing what they've found out babies can do. I also like the fact that the authors never forget the importance of the emotional side of everything. They emphasize that the games they describe are good ways to connect with a baby and that a warm relationship is the most effective way to help a baby learn. This book is a great choice for anyone with a child under the age of 3. I recommend it highly.

This book recommends what types of stimulus help to promote optimal mental and emotional development. It's laid out fairly well and it a quick read. Use this book as a supplement to other baby mind books you'll get. What I like best about this book is at the end, it summarizes (in chart form) all the things you should be doing with the baby and at what age (such as what type of stimulus you should be giving the baby and what areas of cognitive or emotional development it stimulates). Again, get this in conjunction with other books, such as my favorite, "What's Going On In There?".

Baby Minds is a great book for anyone who has ever wondered what's going on inside their baby's or their grandchild's head and I'm sure that is just about everyone. The book is full of surprising things that researchers have discovered. I'd bet most adults have no idea, for example, that even 6 month-olds know something about adding and subtracting, or that they can remember things for incredibly long periods of time. After highlighting specific examples, the authors tie these remarkable skills to games parents and grandparents can play with their babies, not only to stimulate them intellectually, but also just to have fun. Grandpas will love it too.

I found about 3 useful tips in the entire book. Not that the information was inaccurate, just very piece meal and basic. If one is not very well versed with how the entire environment affects a child then this book may be of some use.

For me, the data pulled from isolated studies and extrapolated into theories on how to enhance brain function was weak. I HIGHLY reccomend going with the Glen Doman series ('How to teach you baby to read', 'How to teach you baby math' etc.). They are based decades of proven work with real parents teaching real children and getting real (superior) results. Do be fooled by the 'baby minds' lack of approach. Get the kits, they are fun and they work!

Great collection of child development activities for little ones! I loved the quick-reference at the back of the book too. As a speech pathologist doing transdisciplinary therapy, I'll recommend this to many parents.

I've already had fun playing games from this book with my baby, and I just started reading it last week. It's full of a) research explaining why babies enjoy particular activities, b) fun ideas for free toys around the house, and c) encouragement for new parents.

I wanted to address one theme I've seen in other reviews. Some reviewers have been disappointed that there weren't more specific games/activities in the book. However, I've found that the information is so compelling and well-written that it changed the way I think about learning in babies and therefore changed how I interact with my baby. Rather than giving me specific activities, they changed the way I think so that I can come up with the specific activities that maximize learning in my child.

It's day to day life that impacts a child most and this book helps you understand how to use day to day life to its fullest.

While I think this is a great book, I expected it to be a better resource of games. It is more general than expected and you have to wade through the chapters to find the game suggestions. This makes it more difficult to use as a resource later when you are likely to want to look up games for a specific age-group. While they do have a "Tips Revisited" chapter where they list the games by age, I wasn't pleased with the generalness of the descriptions given. I just wasn't excited about the organization of the book. I much preferred "Your Baby's Mind" by S. H. Jacobs (except his dismissal of early exposure to books). I did however love the book "Baby Signs' by these same authors.