Book Review: Bright From The Start

I've always enjoyed reading science and psychology books, especially ones that apply to practical knowledge. I've been reading a lot of baby-related books lately, especially concerning about the brain and mind development. For me it is fascinating to "re-learn" what we know about human. I am always intrigued with the concept of "nature" vs "nurture". Why siblings turn out differently? Why are there serial killers in the world? Is there such thing as "bad seed" or "bad gene"? Although baby is born with a predisposed set of genes from his parents,  he is still technically in a blank state. How he grows up and how his environment affects him from day one will shape him into who he is. 

Bright From The Start book by Jill Stamm explores how nurture can compliment nature. It is written from the scientific point of view but less technical (and more read friendly) than What's Going On In There? book by Lise Eliot. Jill Stamm, who holds a PhD in psychology, co-writes this book with her daughter, a neuroscientist, and provides explanations from the latest neuroscience findings as well as her own personal experience (her other daughter was born premature at 6 months and was severely handicapped). She explains what's best to shape a baby's mind is not the latest toy gadgets or baby einstein videos, but just simple nurturing such as touch, bonding, attention and communication. Baby's brain has not yet fully developed when he is born. So the first three years is very crucial for the baby's developing brain. 

In her book, Dr. Stamm provides practical suggestions for parents/caregivers on how to interact with their babies plus easy-to-understand scientific explanations behind them. One of her suggestions that I think is neat is to nurse the baby alternatively with the left and right side to encourage the building of the neuron pathway between the left and right side of the brain. The reason is when a mother nurses baby on the right side, she touches his left arm and stimulates the baby's left side of the brain, and vice versa. The better building of that pathway, the faster information is transported in the brain.

Another topic she mentions in the book is about the importance of downtime. Nowadays, modern parents are so keen in making renaissance children, involving them in jam-packed activities from tennis, math, arts, piano, soccer, gymnastics etc. There's nothing wrong with encouraging your children to be active and to experience diverse activities, but it is also important to incorporate downtime, especially when they are babies and toddlers. Not every moment has to be filled with "educational" activities. Downtime is essential for memory storing in the brain. It also gives kids a break from all the stimulation and gives them a chance to observe and analyze what they have seen or done. It supports creativity and calms them down. Otherwise, if they never experience downtime,  when they grow up, they won't know what to do with their idle times. In the book, Dr. Stamm provides some simple activities of downtime with your babies and toddlers.

She also answers questions commonly asked by new parents, such as "Should parents always pick-up their baby every time he cries?", "Are TV and computer (including einstein videos) bad for infants and toddlers?", "Is carrying baby everywhere in car seat bad for the baby?" and other topics including choosing daycare, how to talk to babies, games to play with them, and so on.

I think this book is easy to read, very educational, organized well with each topic and provides a lot of useful practical information that we can apply in our daily nurturing to our baby. It also makes me understand more about human mind and baby development and help me make informed decisions on how to raise my baby, so I am not doing so just because of hearsay or society is doing so. The book is quite thick but I highly recommend it to everyone, especially new parents who are always willing to learn to better themselves for their children.

Highly recommended!