Touchpoints Three to Six: Your Child's Emotional and Behavioral Development [Hardcover]

T. Berry Brazelton (Author), M.D. Joshua A. Sparrow (Author), M.D. T. Berry Brazelton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 7, 2001

For decades, new parents have relied on Dr. Brazelton's wisdom in such beloved best sellers as Infants and Mothers and Touchpoints. But all "Brazelton babies" grow up. Now at last, the internationally famous pediatrician, in collaboration with an eminent child psychiatrist, has brought his unique insights to the preschool and first-grade years. In his warm, funny, empathic tone, he again listens to the child's perspective while also showing his characteristic compassion for the parents' feelings.Parents will welcome the unique features of this important new guide. First the authors profile four very different children, followed throughout these years in a delightful and revealing narrative that applies the touchpoints theory to each of the great cognitive, behavioral, and emotional leaps that a child makes from ages three through six. The second part of the book, arranged alphabetically by topic, offers guidance to parents facing contemporary pressures and stresses, such as how to keep a child safe without instilling fear, countering the electronic barrage of violent games and marketing aimed at children, coping successfully with varied family configurations, shifting gender roles, over-scheduling, competition, and more. A Merloyd Lawrence Book

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Like a soothing tonic, Touchpoints Three to Six offers a simple theory and plenty of sound advice to parents who struggle with their child's ever-changing moods and behaviors. Noted pediatrician T. Berry Brazelton, M.D., bestselling author of Infants and Mothers and Touchpoints, builds on his theory that kids essentially "rev up" prior to reaching developmental milestones (like walking, talking, and potty training). Unfortunately for the whole family, such revving typically involves temper tantrums, night waking, and regression. Teaming with child psychiatrist Joshua D. Sparrow, M.D., Dr. Brazelton offers compassionate suggestions for recognizing key touchpoints in children 3 to 6 years old, helping kids work through them, and keeping one's cool throughout the process.

The first four chapters--one per age--provide fairly exhaustive study material on five topics: temperament, learning, moral development, building relationships, and separation and independence. To make the reading more engaging, Brazelton and Sparrow whip up four imaginary children, each with a distinct temperament, learning ability, and level of adaptability. Their shared experiences--from exploring the playground at age 3 to "entering the real world" during their 6th year--provide a helpful backdrop for discussing a myriad of pertinent issues. Smart dialogue, accurate depiction of parents' emotional responses, and surprise discoveries both amusing and serious all add to the breadth of information covered. The second half of the book offers about 200 pages of alphabetically arranged "perennials" and "current issues," for troubleshooting specifics like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, computers, divorce, habits, sadness, and toilet learning. An excellent resource for those who support empathetic parenting. --Liane Thomas

From Publishers Weekly

Venerable pediatrician Brazelton (Touchpoints) teams up with child psychologist Joshua D. Sparrow to adapt his theory of "touchpoints" to children ages three to six. In his earlier work, Brazelton explained that infants undergo periods of behavioral regression (touchpoints) before each developmental burst. Here he addresses issues like sibling rivalry, bedwetting, tantrums and lying as normal aspects of development, and suggests ways parents can be emotionally supportive. The first of the book's two major sections follows four imaginary children with varying, composite temperaments (an active boy, a quiet boy, an intense girl and a cheerful girl), exploring everything from adjusting to a new sibling to making friends. Readers may soon find themselves skipping all but the portions directly related to their own child's temperament type (and weeding out the fictional scenes to get to the nitty-gritty of what to do when a child lies, wets the bed, etc.). In the second section, the authors straightforwardly discuss various contemporary parenting concerns, such as the pros and cons of computers and dealing with divorce. Throughout, Brazelton and Sparrow maintain a characteristically comforting tone, reminding parents that it's best to accept a child's temperament while helping her adapt to the world. The authors not only point toward the predictable touchpoints for this age group but note that parents, too, may react to transition in certain ways, such as worrying that one is abandoning their first child when a new baby arrives. As always, Brazelton's poised, encouraging voice guides parents through the developmental maze. Photos.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 500 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; 1 edition (August 7, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738201995
• ISBN-13: 978-0738201993
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #112,403 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Helpful, Yet Disappointing, February 27, 2002

By 

Gail A. Brewster (WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Touchpoints Three to Six: Your Child's Emotional and Behavioral Development (Hardcover)

I have admired Dr. Brazelton for years. I was delighted to find that he had come out with a book on three to six-year-olds. As the author of a behavior management program (The Voucher System), I have been searching for the right book to help parents of four-year-olds understand this often challenging age. I wish I had read the book before singing its praises to hundreds. Compared to "Touchpoints: Your Child's Emotional and Behavioral Development," Dr. Brazelton's new book lacks a reflection of his vast knowledge and wonderful talent. However, a person can glean much from this book. Even though "answers" are often hidden behind waves of arbitrary reading the book does touch on many important issues.

What many young parents are looking for is a simply laid out book addressing the habits, emotional development, and characteristics which are conducive to a child's respective age. This is not that kind of book. Have we forgotten that parents need the same answers we did twenty years ago? I remember the colorful, easy to read, thin book that helped me through the first six years. It explained that it's normal for a five-year-old to go through a lying phase, and how a four-year-old needs fantasy play, story books, coloring books and interaction with adults who will teach them the many things their minds are dying to soak in.

If you like to read, and you have the time, I suggest ordering this book and reading it cover to cover. It may not be the best book on specific answers to specific questions, but it's worth a read.

57 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Vignettes Too Detailed for Practical Use, September 28, 2001

By 

L. Scribner - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Touchpoints Three to Six: Your Child's Emotional and Behavioral Development (Hardcover)

I am very sad to say that I was very disappointed since I am not sure I could have made it through the first three years without the first Touchpoints. Unfortunately, the clean organization and consistent formatting in each chapter that made Touchpoints such a valuable reference was lost in favor of more detailed stories about four children. It is very difficult to find your child in the four examples since they are so detailed it reads more like a novel than a parenting book. Also, I am aware of the amazing experience of the authors, but I don't know any children like those described. The three-year-olds are much more verbal and social, with less motor development than the ones I have known. That alone makes me feel like I am reading a sociological ethnography rather than the practical primer I was hoping to find. If you are looking for practical advice on why your four-year-old has started night waking, or why your formerly mellow three-year-old now has daily temper tantrums, you will only find it here if you are willing to dig through the entire volume and read between the lines.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars lacking in style but not substance, September 25, 2002

By 

audrey (white mtns) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Touchpoints Three to Six: Your Child's Emotional and Behavioral Development (Hardcover)

Dr. Brazelton seems to be a gentle and loving advocate for children, and a doctor who understands them! I've read other books by him and enjoyed them very much, and been comforted by them, and was looking forward to this addition to his work. Unfortunately I agree with most of the other comments made here, that the format makes it much more difficult to find specific information. Because the authors use four composite children to describe many events and behaviors, it makes it difficult to tease out what is relevant. Our toddler is very similar in temperament to "Billy", but Billy supposedly grew up with an abusive father for a while and his mother has remarried -- nothing like our child's experience -- so what becomes irrelevant in the text and what can we still use? Largely told as lengthy narratives, it takes a long time to find useful ideas, but there is a good index that helps.

Despite the poor format, the ideas here are solid and helpful. Brazelton and Sparrow posit that as children reach milestones of development they backslide in other areas -- a usually peaceful child suddenly indulging in temper tantrums as they begin to conquer speech, for example.

We've found Brazelton's ideas helpful and spot-on, and there are unique events in this age range that make the book useful, though the clunky format keeps it from being invaluable.