Customer Reviews

Bright From the Start: The Simple, Science-Backed Way to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind fromBirth to Age 3

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I work as a children's librarian and sometimes lecture on early childhood literacy. This is my new textbook and parent bible. Having read dozens of similar titles, I can easily say that this one is the best. It is thorough, informative, practical, conversational and true. I learned a number of things about brain development and early learning that I had not come across previously. Dr. Stamm has some especially pointed things to say about TV and computer time for young children. When you read what a typical TV show does to a young brain you will think twice about turning that machine on in the presence of a child. As Dr. Stamm says, what you really need to be a good parent is in the palm of your hand- give them "attention, bonding and communication" as well as time to play, create, dream and explore and you will have a far smarter child than any who are plugged into "educational" products. Dr. Stamm gives scientific reasons that back up what all of us who work with children know..that children learn best by listening to words coming from loving adults, either through talking or reading, by playing and by touching. The children in our country are literally dying to communicate with people who are not on cell phones, using computers or staring at a screen-and their brains are not growing to their potential nor their attention spans when they are presented with one passive entertainment after another. Read this book and be inspired.

First of all I must note that I read this book on iKindle (Kindle on the iPhone). I have two comments in regard to this: the first is that all the dashes--which the author used to excess--came across as question marks. This is not the author's fault of course. Her punctuation however is excessive. There is a lot of abuse of the exclamation point! All told?and this may be a quirk in the iPhone kindle?the result is often very unreadable!

Enough about grammar, the important thing is the book content. The author had a premature baby and a normal healthy baby and she shares a lot of her personal experience in this book. These stories are often touching and serve well to contrast the extremes of child development.

I found the exercises and scientific information very beneficial and I agree with most reviewers that this is a valuable book. I also found a lot of product endorsements. In many cases these endorsements seem to be self-serving.

There is also a good amount of information which is controversial or conflicting with advice you'll get from other reputable books and studies.

I think this is an excellent book to read with one or two grains of salt. There is very good advice and very good suggestions for exercises and playtime activities. As a new parent you'll trust your instincts and you'll be right to do so. This is a good source for suggestions but I wouldn't suggest it as a step by step guide to getting your child off to an intellectual head start. Love your child and trust your gut and you won't go wrong. I will use this book as a suggestion box, not a bible.

I am surprised that out of 30 reviews I am the first person not to give it five glowing stars. I do think it's a good book, but I don't think it really deserves five stars.

I have a son who is 7, and upon his birth (maybe before) we bought videos and music CDs and even mobiles that hung over his crib when he was but a wee cus...mostly, they scared him. My wife and I bought them ALL because we were rudderless and scared we would not provide him with what he needed to develop wihtout detriments arising from our inexperience and ignorance.

We were fortunate enough to have met Jill Stamm and heard one of her presentations (she is not new to this game) when our son was still quite young, and were comforted to have Jill's caring, expert advice. This book contains that same wonderful and comforting, easy to implement counsel, as well as the inspiring story of Jill's own experience as a mother of two wonderful daughters, each with different challenges and strengths. In all cases, her approach of nurturing neurological development instead of frantically pushing to craft an infant Einstein (turns out he had the unfair advantage of extra gleal cells) is refreshing, reassuring and CLEAR.

THIS IS THE RIGHT BOOK FOR PARENTS (AND EXPECTING PARENTS) WHO WANT USEFUL INFORMATION WITHOUT FRIGHTENING HYPE (OR MOBILES)! A GOOD READ.

We're always told that "there is no instruction manual for being a parent." However, now there is one! This book is a must-have, must-read, must-do and will make any parent feel capable of doing the right things to help their child reach his or her highest potential. I only wish I had this book when my daughter was young. The message of this book gives us reassurance that we have the ability to have influence and effect when it comes to raising our children, and the concrete suggestions give us the means. Don't wait another day to order this terrific book!

This book was so helpful for me as a new, stay-at-home mom. It helped alleviate some of my concerns (yes, it is actually good and even necessary to let your baby have some "down time") and it also gave me some great ideas for age appropriate learning and play activities. I have a much better insight into the brain of a baby and how my little girl best learns and absorbs the world around her. A few examples of some helpful advice from Bright From The Start: After reading how wonderful signing is for your baby's brain development, my husband and I started signing with our daughter. She is now 6 months old and can sign 4 words! I was also very interested in the section on television and children under two. No more T.V. for baby! ...not even Sesame Street.
After reading it, I gave this book to a friend of mine who liked it so much she bought copies to share with some of her friends. Interesting, informative and well written.

It is really difficult for parents, first-time parents especially, to know which direction to take in encouraging their child's development. You want to give them every opportunity and push them to reach their potential but you worry they'll develop Woody Allen-sized neurosis and blame you for it later when they're on the couch; "i don't know if it was the steady Rorschach regimen or the speed violin lessons, but i think that is why i've had trouble maintaining a serious relationship or holding down a job."

This book demystifies all of the issues a parent tangles with, makes you feel at ease with some of your intuitive practices while giving you a full menu of things to consider. The language is also very accessible.

Nicely done.

This is a great book!! It makes the science easy-to-understand; it gives down-to-earth practical tips on how to help your child's brain develop; and the story of the author's relationship with her own two daughters is fascinating....especially because they were so different from each other. What a story!

Great book, but after reading "Smart-wiring your baby's brain" which was published 5 or 6 years before this book, I noticed that it was incredibly similar in content. Bright from the Start does have some additional activity ideas but overall provides much of the same information. I would suggest reading either one of these two books, but not reading both (too redundant).

As a new mom and a kindergarten teacher, I love this book!! I really wanted to know how to take every opportunity to interact with my little one in ways that were beneficial to his development. The book is very reassuring in that as parents we do most of these things already. As an educator, the science information is facinating! I also love that this book is not about teaching your child to read (not a pre-requisite for kindergarten...), but it is about cultivating your child so that they can make the most of their future learning experiences.

I have read so many books on the subject of brain development and parenting, but no one compares to this one. I have read "Baby Brain Rules", "Einstein Never Used Flash Cards", "Super Baby", (they are good books too) but "Bright From The Start" was by far the best book of-its-kind. This book is very easy to read, understand, and up-to-date with the latest brain development research. I highly recommend this book.