Customer Reviews

Ghosts from the Nursery: Tracing the Roots of Violence

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This book has gotten excellent and well-deserved advance praise from a variety of sources. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in children, children's issues, social policy, or even just looking for some fascinating information on the development of the human brain (and all that that implies). It is clear, just from news accounts, that younger and younger children are committing crimes that are more and more violent. This book is an explanation for this rising tide of violence by youth using the latest early brain development research, case studies, etc. This book asks us to look at the (largely ignored in practice and policy) 0-3 age group as a source of changing this tide of violence. Abuse, neglect, head injury, chemicals, etc. all have lasting effects on the developing child & child's brain. "Ghosts From The Nursery" shows us that we really need look not much further than early childhood to explain and alter this expanding youth violence, anger and crime. There are chapters on brain development and substances that are well-written and easy for the layman to understand. There is an excellent chapter on the important role that fathers play in their children's development, and there are some excellent resources. With all of the discussion of the importance of the 0-3 age group that is currently cropping up, this is the best and most comprehensive book for the exact importance of that age group.

The author's general hypothesis for this book is the importance of the first two years of life (including in utero) to child development, and how when a combination of factors are combined, it is easy to predict that a child will turn to violence.

A fascinating book that is well-researched. I was able to understand the importance that the first two years of life have for a child, and how a baby deprived of love and the essentials for emotional and physical growth can be affected for the rest of their life by this time.

If you're a parent and you're interested by this book, also check out "Our Babies, Ourselves".

If you're looking for a book on how your child, raised in a happy and functional home, can avoid violence, this is probably not it. But if you read in the papers about children who carry guns to school and wonder why it happens, you're barking up the right alley. :)

If there is one book that could potentially change the direction of public policy regarding children's issues, this could be it. The authors delve into recent research into brain development. They presents their findings in a clear, understandable form. This research is then associated with what this means to our society. A case study, regarding a 16 year old boy who murdered an 84 year old man, weaves its way through the book so readers can relate the data to a real person.
This book examines how recent studies using PET and MRI scans and other methods allow us to better understand the human brain. Most of the crucial brain development occurs before a child reaches three years old. During those years, the human brain is programmed to adapt to its environment. Frontal lobe activity can be stimulated by parental involvement. A lack of this activity can lead to lifelong depressed behavior. What a baby is exposed to, or not exposed to, determines how the brain forms and how the brain is apt to operate for the rest of life.
A child who does not find empathy by the age of three is likely to have difficulty showing empathy towards others. A person without consideration for others has a much greater tendency to drift towards anti-social behavior such as violent crime. A baby growing up in a withdrawn or hostile environment may begin life at a signficant disadvantage.
The policy debate this creates is enormous. "Liberals" may call for taking steps to see that babies' brains are properly stimulated during the critical formulative years. Outreach programs to pregnant women and families with babies should provide information on good parenting techniques. There should be high quality child care with programs that stimulate babies' brain developments. Early education opportunities should reach the pre-school age. "Conservatives" may call for getting families to focus more of their energies on their children.
This is a fascinating book. Anyone interested in children should learn much from this book.

This was a truly amazing exploration of how children are affected from birth and beyond. Completely refuting the debate over nature vs. nurture, this book brilliantly examines how both inner and outer environments combine to determine the fate of children. Using the story of teenage killer "Jeffrey," each chapter of the book outlines how each stage of pre- and post-natal development determine if children will be destined for violence from the very beginning. This is an essential book for any person interested in redefining the cycle of violence. The ammunition that "Ghosts from the Nursery" provides through direct examples, research findings, and supported theories is invaluable for parents, social workers, psychology majors, and people in general who want to do more than put a band-aid on the epidemic of violence.

This was a truly amazing exploration of how children are affected from birth and beyond. Completely refuting the debate over nature vs. nurture, this book brilliantly examines how both inner and outer environments combine to determine the fate of children. Using the story of teenage killer "Jeffrey," each chapter of the book outlines how each stage of pre- and post-natal development determine if children will be destined for violence from the very beginning. This is an essential book for any person interested in redefining the cycle of violence. The ammunition that "Ghosts from the Nursery" provides through direct examples, research findings, and supported theories is invaluable for parents, social workers, psychology majors, and people in general who want to do more than put a band-aid on the epidemic of violence.

GFTN draws some frightening pictures and equally frightening conclusions. My attachment to this book is that it is essentially fact-based and scientific. I might not like the tale, but I believe the authors have done a good job at setting forth their case.
And, whether or not one agrees with the authors' methodology. conclusions or recommendations, one must read this book and understand its message.

Nature versus nurture--the age-old debate. This book takes a look at how both determine the way children grow up, and whether they are predestined to grow up violent. Each stage of development--pre- and post-natal--is explored. A fascinating study.

Another recent title I've read: Miss America By Day by Marilyn VanDerber. Also highly recommended.

Extensive biblography, the book lists programs which its goal is to help prevent violence. It also lists resources which you can contact for -data on the status of children, -infomation on programs that work, -infomation on early brain developemnt & community advocacy and the roles of fathers in child development. The book also go in depth on what factors may cause violence in children and teenagers.

I wish I could praise this book enough. I stayed up very late many nights because of the compelling content. All people considering having children should read this book to make them better parent BEFORE the fact. It simply confirmed everything that I "knew" in my heart... we need to intervene with our children from the moment we even consider having sex... and also that we need to totally re-vision what we want our society to be. At the rate we are going, we will sink faster than the Titanic and the toll will be greater than we could ever imagine.

This is not easy reading - not so much for the content - as for the writing style. This is more a report of studies done on young child abuse and its ramifications in the manner of a professional, medical report. The information fascinating, just be prepared to work at reading it. 'Course, the content can be hard to take, too.