"This is a very practical and entertaining window into the baby's first year and a half. van de Rijt and Plooij have observed and found the vulnerable times in an infant's development that I independently came to in my book Touchpoints (Perseus). The authors' observations and practical suggestions are wonderful." (T. Berry Brazelton, M.D., professor emeritus, Harvard Medical School). ---"Anyone who deals with infants and young children will want to read 'The Wonder Weeks.' This book will open parents' eyes to aspects of their children's growth, development, changing behavior, and emotional responsiveness that they might otherwise not notice or find puzzling and distressing." (Catherine Snow, Ph.D., Shattuck Professor of Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education). ---"van de Rijt and Plooij's work on infant development has enormous value for clinical use and scientific application. Not only have they explained the periods of puzzling, difficult behavior in infancy which so worry parents, they have also shown how these behaviors mark developmental leaps and have described the stages in the infant's understanding. Together, this gives parents and professionals soundly based insight into babies' developing minds. What's more, van de Rijt and Plooij have described the play and communication that work best with babies at different ages and thus helped parents understand and connect sensitively with their babies. This parent-child connection is the major prerequisite for the development of secure, well-adjusted children. 'The Wonder Weeks' is essential reading for everyone who works with infants: pediatricians, social workers, psychologists, and, of course, parents." (John Richer, Ph.D., Dip. Clin. Psychol., consultant clinical psychologist and Head of Pediatric Psychology, Department of Pediatrics, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, England). ---"van de Rijt and Plooij will help you see the world the way an infant sees it. As the child grows, displays of emotion (such as crying) tell us the child is summoning reserves of energy and is calling out for help in finding new ways to perceive the changing world. Because van de Rijt and Plooij have discovered predictable stages in the widening of the infant's perceptions and skills, they can enable you, with their superb examples, to recognize the onset of these stressful episodes and to join your child in coping with them. So rich, indeed, are the implications of finding new perceptions and new skills in the midst of stress that whether or not you are a parent, it can never be too early or too late to profit from this book." (Philip J. Runkel, Ph.D., professor emeritus of psychology and education, University of Oregon). ---"'Terrible Twos' a Misnomer, According to Research; Extended Edition of International Bestseller Released, Helps Parents Weather Emotional Storms. Research shows that the so-called 'terrible twos' don't need to exist when it comes to child development. In fact, the behavior often associated with this stage - tantrums, moodiness, nagging and an affinity for the word 'no' - begins shortly after the first birthday. For parents, it is important to jump into action at this point so they can prevent the 'two's' from becoming terrible and turn them into something tremendous. A child doesn't need to act so 'terrible,' as long as you know what to do and, more important, why he is acting this way. By understanding these leaps you can make the transition into toddlerhood, and the subsequent stages including the 'terrible two's,' into the 'tremendous two's' and beyond. 'Tremendous,' says Dr. Plooij, 'because it is with these leaps that a huge part of socialization is set for life. And tremendous: because good values and norms start now. If you invest in your toddler in this time, it will pay off for lifetime and especially in puberty." (From the SFGate, home of the San Francisco Chronicle). "For those of us who love 'The Wonder Weeks' but wish it wasn't just about babies, your wish is granted. They've just released a new, expanded edition that goes up to 20 months and has more ideas about things you can do during the wonder week leaps to make the leaps more entertaining for you and, presumably, your baby. US$25 at Amazon, which makes it the perfect baby shower or new-parent or gift-giving-holiday-at-the-end-of-the-calendar-year gift." (AskMoxie.org). ---"Great News! 'The Wonder Weeks' have come out with their new, expanded edition up to 20 months old. I love this book, and highly recommend it for some fascinating reading on what is really happening in your little one's development. (Best Milk Bistro, via Facebook). ---" 'The Wonder Weeks' - a look at cognitive growth in the first year - why might the baby be fussy, and what can parents do." (via Carolyn Hax, The Washington Post Writers' Group, Facebook followers). ---" 'The Wonder Weeks' is a great book for new parents! It takes you step by step through the first two years of life and helps explain out those mysterious times in your child's life where you think your fabulously well behaved child has suddenly become possessed... I can't wait to get my hands on an updated copy of this book, because I think the insights will be invaluable in terms of being prepared and navigating the independence stage in a positive way!" (Heather, ActingBalanced.com). ---"We've found 'THE' must have gift for all parent's to be! 'The Wonder Weeks - How to stimulate your baby's mental development and help them turn their 10 predictable, great, fussy phases into magical leaps forward'!" (WHO Adelaide Chummy Mummy' and 'Tot Shop'). ---"Everything I know about when and what the actual developmental spurts are I learned from the book 'The Wonder Weeks.' One of the things I love about this book is that they don't tell you what to do, aside from suggesting games to play. They just tell you what's going on. I have a definite bias against books that tell you how to raise your kids, and I love that this book is just a roadmap of what's going on when." (AskMoxie.org). ---"If you want to be really prepared for the 'regressions,' I'd say borrow or buy 'the Wonder Weeks' book, read it, and pay attention to the signals your baby is giving you. Once you know what's going on, it becomes fasciating and annoying instead of worrisome and torturous." (AskMoxie.org). ---"You all know of my love for the book 'The Wonder Weeks.' I love it because it explains what developmental leaps happen when with your child, up through the first 15 months or so, so you know why your happy or sleeping baby is suddenly wigging out and/or not sleeping. By doing that, it revealed exactly why there's a hideous 4-month sleep regression as well as an equally-if-not-more-hideous 8-9-month sleep regression. It's a book that tells you what's going on, not what you're supposed to do. I can't count the number of times people have said to me, 'It let me have patience with my baby and realize I wasn't doing anything wrong.' Score." (AskMoxie.org). ---"So last week I was on Twitter and discovered that 'The Wonder Weeks' has a Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/thewonderweeks) and...an iPhone app. Which I think is just brilliant. Also, the iPhone app is only US$2 (yes, that's two dollars). Even more brilliant." (AskMoxie.org). ---"Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love this book, 'The Wonder Weeks,' to describe the age-linked changes (leaps) in development in a baby's first 14 mos. If you don't have this book, and you have a baby, GET IT! Fascinating read. And now they are here on FB and Twitter @thewonderweeks, they also have an iPhone App." (Stacy Rodes Meyers, Founder, BestMilkBistro.com). ---"Ask Moxie is a HUGE proponent of your book, that's how most people probably learned of it. At least I did, almost 3 years ago and waited for it to be back in print. I LOVE it!" (Stacy Rodes Meyers, Founder, BestMilkBistro.com). ---"I highly recommend the book, 'The Wonder Weeks' as they all really do go through extra clingy phases when going through developmental changes. If I recall, around now give or take a couple weeks they go through a stage of separation anxiety as developmentally they've realized that you're capable of moving away from them and that the distance between you is out of their control. I'd love to go into it more but I'm sneaking in some online time while feeding the monkey in between packing for holidays!" (Petra, Boston, via BundleJungle.com). ---"I've got 'The Wonder Weeks' and refer to it constantly. It's not just the odd day though, or even the odd group of days, its been every single day since he was born, he will go to other people once he knows them, but I still have to be in eye sight, and the sleeping thing is crazy, I can't even nurse him off to sleep and then sneak out off the room, its like he feels the pressure change on the mattress and instantly wakes." (Moderator, BundleJungle.com). ---"Thanks so much! I LOVE the book!!!" (AnnMarie, Kentucky). ---"I LOVE your book and cannot stop suggesting it to friends!" (Janelle, California). ---"I have been using the info in this book since I first got some notes on the Dutch version (in English) WAAAAY back more than a decade ago. I still give this book as an essential book for new parents. It makes so much just plain sense, when otherwise, it seems random!" (Heather, Delaware). ---"This book is 'exactly' what every new parent wants: a guide that tells exactly why your baby is fine one week and freaking out the next. We all know about the physical growth spurts at 3 and 6 weeks and then 3 and 6 months, but there isn't anything else that tells you when developmental spurts are happening. Until now. As soon as I got this book, I went back and looked in my journal from when my son was a baby, and all his fussy weeks matched up with the ones in the book! If I'd had this book at the time, it would have been so much easier just to roll with it and not wonder what was 'wrong'." (IME). ---"The best thing about this book is that it doesn't tell you how to be a perfect parent, or give you some focacta plan you have to follow exactly to make your baby turn out the right way. Instead it just tells you why your baby is doing what s/he is doing, so you can have p...
Born in 1944, Hetty van de Rijt studied Educational Psychology at the University of Nijmegen, the Netherlands and following graduation she worked in an institute for the mentally handicapped. From 1971 to 1973, with her husband Frans Plooij, she studied infant development in free-living chimpanzees with Dr. Jane Goodall in the Gombe National Park, Tanzania, East Africa. From 1973 to 1976, she studied with Prof. Robert Hinde in the Medical Research Council unit on the Development and Integration of Behaviour. In 1976 her daughter Xaviera was born. She obtained her Ph.D. in Physical Anthropology at the University of Cambridge, England in 1982. As a researcher at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands from 1986 to 1990, she studied the development of human babies in their home environment through direct observations, filming, and in-depth interviews with their parents. As lead author with her husband as co-author, she wrote the best-selling parenting book The Wonder Weeks, which has been published in twelve languages, from the USA to Japan. She designed a parental support and education program called "Leaping hurdles," based on the Wonder Weeks and published a scientific evaluation study to report on the results of this program. She died far too young at the age of 59. --- Born in 1946, Frans X. Plooij studied in the Netherlands with Adriaan Kortlandt, University of Amsterdam, with Hein Oomen, University of Nijmegen, and with Gerard Baerends, University of Groningen, where he received his Ph.D. in 1980. In 1971-73, he and his wife Hetty van de Rijt worked with Jane Goodall in the Gombe National Park, Tanzania, East-Africa, on infant development in free-living chimpanzees. In 1973-76 he worked with Robert Hinde in the Medical Research Council unit on the Development and Integration of Behaviour, University Sub-department of Animal Behaviour in Madingley, Cambridge, England; in 1976-80 at the department of Developmental Psychology, University of Nijmegen, the Netherlands; and from 1981 to 1993 as head of the department of Research and Development at the institute for Child Studies of the City of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where, among other things, he participated in European Union SOCRATES-LINGUA projects concerning the implementation of an innovative second- and foreign-language teaching method for preschool children. From 1993 to 1998, he was a professor at the Department of Developmental and Experimental Clinical Psychology, University of Groningen. Currently, Dr. Plooij is president of the International Research-institute on Infant Studies (IRIS) at Arnhem, the Netherlands, initiator of the European project on "the intercultural study of infantile regression periods" (ISIRP), and director of Kiddy World Promotions B.V., a consulting firm that serves companies producing products related to children, such as toys. Dr. Plooij was Vice-president for Information of the International Society for Human Ethology from 1989-1993, Vice-president of the Institut Europeen pour le Development de tous les Enfants (IEDPE), served on the editorial board of the journal "Ethology and Sociobiology," and is member of the panel of assessors of the Journal of Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry. He is a full member of several international, scientific societies in the domains of child development and behavioural biology, and of the New York Academy of Sciences. In addition to numerous scientific publications, Dr. Plooij has written several bestselling parenting books.
