Customer Reviews

How to Raise a Brighter Child

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4 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book gently encourages and guides parents to stimulate their children's intellectual development - without pushing, without pressure. The authors emphasize that the aim of early learning is to raise happier children, not to turn them into geniuses or protegees. I particularly enjoyed the recommended activities, toys and other resources. This book taught me how to talk, listen and play with my child. In just a few days, my husband and I observed how our 4-yr-old's daughter simply exploded and her inquisitiveness and creativity bloomed. I wish I had read this book much earlier. In addition, the authors don't add to my guilt of being a working mother. Rather, they emphasize and any parent, even single mothers, can give their children early learning. This book has also reinforced my decision to teach my child to read at home (using "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons), a decision that I was not very confident about previously. Now I know that teaching my daughter to read is one of the best gifts we could ever give her. The small text, newsprint and unimaginative layout do not make for easy reading, however. Nevertheless, I have and will continue to give copies of this book as baby shower gifts to all my pregnant friends.

I was a young new mom and scared to death when the doctors told me that my new baby MAY be slightly learning disabled and in need of surgery to correct a very rare birth defect.

I read every book I could find concerning the brain, its function, learning, IQ, etc..., determined to help my baby as best I could. "How To Raise A Brighter Child" saved me much grief and gave me confidence that no matter what my son's future, I felt armed with the skills to give him a better chance of being as normal a kid as he could possibly be.

At present, my son is a happy, heathly, handsome, bright and very NORMAL teenager. He has won both academic and sports related awards to attest to his mental and physical capabilities. The surgery turned out (with much praying) to be nothing more than a cosmetic correction.

The book helped me to appreciate just how much and how fast a baby learned, that its IQ was established before school age, and how much a parent can do to easily help it learn more. This book IS the missing 'Owner's Manual' for a new baby. I have given a copy to every first time parent I have ever met (instead of the traditional pair of crochet booties).

Absolutely invaluable. Shows the crucial importance of early mental development and how to stimulate it in your child. Countless examples of how to direct your child's natural curiosity. Explains why first 6 years of life are perhaps the most important for intellectual developoment, and how those years can give a child a "leg up" that lasts a lifetime.

Our son learned his alphabet by 20 months, knew phonetics by age 3, and was reading short words just before his 4th birthday. He teachers regard him as one of the happiest and brightest children they've encountered.

After this book, I'd recommend "Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons" by Englemann as a great follow up.

28 years ago, when I used ideas from the first edition of this book to teach my daughter to read, mainstream educators thought it was harmful to "push" a child to read before age 6. Her own reactions of interest and delight in the suggested activities told me otherwise. She was reading Dr. Suess by age 3 and chapter books without pictures by 4 1/2. Her Montessori teachers were totally amazed. Of course, I kept reading to her myself until she was 8 or so, because we both enjoyed that activity. Today she is an avid reader and the mother of a 10 month old daughter. She recently asked me how I taught her to read, and I remembered this book and came looking for it here. Now I remember that it had many, many other good suggestions for encouraging a child's natural curiousity. It was, by far, the best child development book I've ever read.

This book is the best source of hundreds and hundreds of stimulating, enjoyable games and exercises -- ideas for playtime with a child from birth to 10. It is a classic and still the best on the subject of early learning. It does not argue for any extreme notions -- just loving, encouraging involvement with a child. Marvelous. No kiddin. My kids were raised with the book. Those college scholarships are in the pipeline for you, as they were for us!

If you have little kids in your house, you must read this book.The book writing is very simple and easy to follow its guidance.( I first know it from the Library, published in 1967.) The contents of the books show you to start stimulate your child thinking development since he is a baby to preschool years. It shows you how to talk to your child, how to play with him. I read it when I have my first kid since he was very baby. Now, the guidance had proved! It gives you many prespective of your child characters. It provide you very good, smooth, and classic suggestions for working parents. I am working mom. After I read it, it makes me have more understanding what my kid needs. It explains to you how you can approach to teach your child in different ways, by physical play or verbals. (It reduces choatic in the house with the little kid, as a plus. )This book is one of my favorite parenting books. As a mother of 2, I still use this book for my 2nd child. It makes me have a confidence as being a mother & mentor to my children. You will not be regreated. PS: I don't know if the author is still alive. I would like to say deeply specially Thanks to her.

The basic premise of this book is that you should create a stimulating environment in which your child will enjoy learning. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it? Well, I thought so. I was very excited to read this book. As it turns out, I've never been so disappointed in a book. Since the title is "How to Raise a Brighter Child" I had expected that it would be a "how to" book. The author does give a handful of examples of activities and games to engage in with your child. However, in most of the book she simply regurgitates other people's experimentation and data attempting to prove that it is advantageous to teach your child at a young age. Well, I wouldn't have bought this book if I didn't believe that! I don't think the author had a single unique idea of her own. The 38 pages of references and bibliography speaks for itself! I did read the entire book while continually hoping that it would get better, which it did not. Save yourself the cost of this book. As I said, the basic premise is wonderful. Take that and use your own imagination to make it work. You'll be much better served!

My son is 34 years old. I happened upon the book when he was - oh - two. We used many of the suggestions in the book in raising him, and I really believe it was instrumental in his development. He grew up to be outstanding in music (played with a professional orchestra since before he was 12), academics - presidential scholar (one of 120 each year for the entire USA), graduated with honors in computer sciences from an ivy-league school and went on to grad school to become an architect because he didn't want to spend his life in front of a computer. He is also one of the most moral and socially adept people I know.

Some of the most memorable advice in the book - if your child is bright, don't try to have him skip grades, but develop his lateral skills. Invaluable! Also, a good toy is 5% toy and 95% child. (Saved us a lot of cash too!) I can't thank Ms. Beck enough.

I am very excited to see there's a new edition to the book and am purchasing it for my future grandkid(s), since my son got married last summer to a lovely woman.

When our children were born, (nearly 30 years ago), we were fortunate enough to have read this book. The things we learned are timeless, as valuable today as they were then. For years, we've given the book as gifts to nieces and nephews, explaining that nothing will guarantee that their wonderful little offspring will grow up to be a genius, but that knowing how to stimulate the growing mind has real value and is definitely worth the effort. A properly stimulated child is generally a happy child

I continue to recommend this book to new parents, including my own children who now have children of their own.

I read this book when my son was 2. He's now 27 and just graduated with a PhD in Electrical Engineering. Now I'm buying him a copy for his first child.