Touchpoints-Birth to Three – September 26, 2006

Touchpoints-Birth to Three Paperback – September 26, 2006

Author: Visit Amazon's T. Berry Brazelton Page | Language: English | ISBN: 0738210498 | Format: PDF, EPUB

Description
Book Details
Table of Contents
Reviews

Touchpoints-Birth to Three – September 26, 2006
Download Touchpoints-Birth to Three Paperback – September 26, 2006 from mediafire, rapishare, and mirror link

Review

Little Rock Family, February 2010
“[Brazelton’s] advice is timeless.”

Warwick Beacon, 8/19/10

“Should be required reading for any prospective parents or child daycare providers.”

About the Author

T. Berry Brazelton, M.D., founder of the Child Development Unit at Children's Hospital Boston, is Clinical Professor of Pediatrics Emeritus at Harvard Medical School and Professor of Pediatrics and Human Development at Brown University. He is a famed advocate for children, and his many other internationally acclaimed books for parents include To Listen to a Child, Infants and Mothers, and, with Stanley I. Greenspan, M.D., The Irreducible Needs of Children. Joshua D. Sparrow, M.D child psychiatrist and supervisor of inpatient psychiatry at Children's Hospital Boston, is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and Associate Director of Training at the Brazelton Touchpoints Center. He is co-author with Dr. Brazelton of Touchpoints Three to Six and several titles in the Brazelton Way series.

Direct download links available for Touchpoints-Birth to Three – September 26, 2006

Paperback: 528 pages
Publisher: Da Capo Press; Second Edition edition (September 26, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0738210498
ISBN-13: 978-0738210490
Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.8 x 1 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,356 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3 in Books > Textbooks > Social Sciences > Psychology > Developmental Psychology
- #16 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Children's Studies
- #17 in Books > Medical Books > Psychology > Child Psychology

There are so many books on the market about parenting in the first few years of your baby's life. I have read a dozen of them, and was mostly disappointed. The "What To Expect" books, for example, are very wordy, and have very pragmatic advice, but for me lack some "depth". Brazelton's book, by contrast is both pragmatic and philosophical, giving parents much more depth on this subject. I loved reading this book; I found it to be engaging, interesting, and very relevant to raising my 2-year old.

In particular, some things that impressed me:
* The author has great insight into infant and toddler behavioral development (in fact, he has great insight into parental behavior as well). This background gives parents some inclination for what is going on with their child, and is useful in crafting responses to various behaviors that are observed in the early years of a child's life.
* The book is comprehensive, touching on most aspects of parenting in the first three years.
* The book is extremely well organized. It serves well as both a reference, and a cover-to-cover read.

I do agree with other reviewers who have said the author is opinionated. I think this is a good thing -- and I gained more and more confidence in the author's opinions as I went along. Most new parents will do well to have a "starting point" when forming their own opinions. As an example, Brazelton discusses at length the importance of establishing boundaries with infants and toddlers, as this will help the child to feel competent and secure as they continually gain new dimensions of independence which both excites and scares children. But this is balanced with the moderating view that parents minimize negativity by not making big deals of things that don't really matter.

TOUCHPOINTS is a parental guide that deals with the development of children aged 0-3 from the viewpoint of an experienced pediatrician. The advice is sound and balanced. If there are many ways to approach a subject, the benefits and drawbacks of each are explored. The best insights come when Dr. Brazeleton reveals precisely what he is looking for - in the child and in the parents - during pediatrician visits. He sees the role of the pediatrician as part of the parental team and stresses this philosophy throughout the book. Some people in these reviews have complained about the author's tone; however, I do not see any problem. To me, the author is nothing more the helpful and very experienced. I am in the process of interviewing pediatricians, as directed by the advice by Dr. Brazelton, and if we end up with one similar to him, I will be very happy.

So, why only 3 stars? While I find the advice in TOUCHPOINTS very helpful, I think it could be organized much better. Each chapter deals with a time period in the child's development, but oftentimes, the subject matters are scattered throughout the chapter or even across several chapters (with no cross reference given in-line). I found myself using a highlighter marker extensively so that I could use the book better when I need a reference.

Ironically, the one attribute that made TOUCHPOINTS completely worth the investment was its reference to another book, The Children's Hospital Guide to Your Child's Health and Development, which I bought.