Nurtureshock

This book was so interesting to me, and I think Jenae and Christine would love it, since it kind of relates to their fields of work. But really, I think everyone would find it interesting (notice how any book I love I automatically thing EVERYONE would love haha..).

It is a non-fiction book on different topics relating to children (things like lying, sleeping, self-control, teen rebellion) and each chapter gets its own topic . The authors compiled a bunch of research on each topic, and they find that a lot of the things that work when raising children are actually counter-intuitive.

For example: the first chapter is called "The Inverse Power of Praise." In it, they talk about how if you praise a child for being smart, they are more likely to rely on their natural abilities and make less of an effort when something doesn't come easy to them. In the "smart" child's mind, having to work at something means they lose their "smart" status. However, if you praise a child for their effort, they are more likely to associate success with the amount of effort they put in, and they are more likely to try new things and be persistent.

In another chapter called "Why Hanna Talks and Alyssa Doesn't," they discuss what is most successful in helping babies learn to talk. A lot of people think that constantly talking to your baby and narrating your every move helps language development the most, but that is not what they found. Instead, what matters most is how much you respond to your baby when they initiate a conversation (coo or babble). I experimented with this on Henry and I think it really worked! He had just been saying, "Eeeeeeeeeee" and other vowels but no consonants, so I started making more of an effort to respond to him and a day later he started saying, "Dadadtatamamababbabtada." Could be a coincidence, of course.

Anyway, I thought it was a fascinating read and I had a fun time comparing it to my own life. I also felt like it was an easy non-fiction read. The authors did a good job of keeping you interested, I never felt like I was reading a textbook. I would highly recommend it!