Customer Reviews

The Magic Years: Understanding and Handling the Problems of Early Childhood

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As a psychotherapist who has worked with many children, I cannot praise this delightful work highly enough. This fascinating book is an easy to read and brilliantly conceived glimpse into the child's reality. Though written decades ago, The Magic Years is still standard assigned reading for psychologists in training. Fraiberg describes the development in childrens' reasoning (e.g., how they perceive and interpret things through the use of "magical thought"; hence the title). She also discusses kids' changing emotional and intellectual needs as they develop through these years from toddlerhood through grade school. Her vivid grasp of the child's perspective allows anyone to relate better to children. It is never too early or too late to read this book. A must-read for parents or for anyone who wants to better understand the logic behind how young kids work. A great gift for the new parent!

This book is must reading for anyone who is around kids a lot. I am a pediatrician and have learned more from this book than any other, including Nelson's Text of Pediatrics. Selma Fraiberg offers us a window into the mind of children, from the 8 month old to kindergartener. She teaches us what is not in textbooks. She has an amazing way with words and many of anecdotes are hilarious and touching. Read what she has to say about how children and parents handle loss. Here is an excerpt from "The Missionaries Arrive", about the toddler: "The missionaries have arrived. They come bearing culture to the joyful savage. They smuggled themselves in as infatuated parents, of course. They nurtured him, made themselves indispensable to him, lured him into discovery of their fascinating world, and after a decent interval they come forth with salesmen's smiles to promote higher civilization." Ms Fraiberg teaches us child development and gives us the tools to handle developmental bumps in the road. Buy and cherish.

I have owned several copies of this over the years, and reread it every year or so. It is the best book for understanding development from the young child's perspective. I use examples from this book in my workshops. It is readable, enjoyable, and although it is 40 years old, is one of the most up-to-date and clear books I have read on children's emotional development. She was a woman ahead of her time!

I read this book because Holly Van Gulden recommended it at an attachment workshop I attended. I've read it twice now and I refer to it all the time.

Fraiberg's writing style is a bit awkward at times, so it took me a while to get through the book, but it was definitely worth the effort. She offers reasonable and understandle explanations of the stages and struggles of the developing young child. Using concrete examples from her vast experience, she addresses the roles of anxiety, fear, imaginary friends, and language in the emotional and intellectual development of the child from birth through age six.

As the mother to a child with mild attachment problems, this book was invaluable in helping me gauge my daughter's emotional development and making informed decisions about the kind of therapeutic parenting she needs. I found Fraiberg's explanations and advice to be reassuring and empowering.

Get inside an infant's and toddler's mind. This book will teach you that your baby is not driving you nuts for fun or profit. They are just being normal. It made our lives easier, and it made us better parents.

I first read this book 28 years ago when my daughter was born. I didn't remember the whole name nor the author, but I had read it several times, and it made such a lasting impression on me that I did remember the words "The Magic Years". I was very glad to see it's still in print. Now I'm going to send it to a niece who just had a baby. There are many books about the physical sequence of development in babies and toddlers and how to enhance each stage of development but none addresses their mental and social development and needs as completely as this book does. Unfortunately for babies and young children, adults tend to view their mental and social development from an adult's perspective. This can result in a lot of misinterpretations and misunderstandings regarding a baby's or young child's behavior. What I remember most about this book is that unlike any other book it enabled me to see the world from a baby's and very young child's point of view. It vividly describes what adjusting to and living in our world is like for babies amd young children and enables parents to see the world from their perspective. The result is parents who understand their baby's and young child's behavior and who can then react to and influence it positively instead of negatively. The book is not for those who want an easy to read, quick, month by month synopsis of their baby's development. But for the parents who want a thorough understanding of their baby's or young child's mental & social development and needs and who want to do their best to meet these needs, it's a resource unlike any other: a resource I've remembered for 28 years and one I would highly recommend.

Of the twenty or so books on parenting I read after our first daughter was born, I recommend this one to friends most often. Based on research, well written and with almost no redundant material, this book helped me understand psychological development of our child very much. Two more books I would readily recommend are Haim G Ginott's Between Parent and Child and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek's Einstein Never Used Flash Cards.

This book is excellent. It was given to me by a psychiatrist, and I have often been grateful for that. I had experience raising older foster children, but upon the arrival of a baby, discovered new parental challenges for which I wished to be well prepared. I found this book to be extremely enlightening as to the way that infants and young children view their world and the healthy way a parent can respond to them. It logically explains how children develop a conscience. It showed how easily parents or caregivers can misinterpret a child's behavior and make mistakes that may adversely affect the parent-child relationship and the child's emotional development, and set the stage for lifelong conflicts, emotional imbalance, and perhaps even anti-social behavior.

As Dr. Fraiberg explains, the infant is born absolutely self-centered, and her book is invaluable in guiding parental response in order to set the child up to be emotionally healthy enough to become autonomous and objective, which in turn will allow it to develop a healthy self esteem, and compassion and generosity to others.


I am very glad I read this book and have bought many copies for friends and even strangers. I always offer this with my gift: There are a few pages right at the beginning that are somewhat technical, defining mental health and the roots of anxiety, and that might scare some readers off. In actuality, the book is a very enjoyable read with humorous examples and descriptions. Highly recommended.

this book is not new but the information it contains is more valuable each year... in these days of day care and nannies, this keeps your eye on the prize...

This book gives the reader a wonderful insight into the thought processes of children throughout early childhood. The winsome descriptions and psychological information combines well to give the reader a well-rounded view of early childhood. The clear examples given allow a parent to determine his child's developmental stage.