{"id":1097,"date":"2009-03-31T07:27:28","date_gmt":"2009-03-30T23:27:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/?p=1097"},"modified":"2025-09-14T10:12:05","modified_gmt":"2025-09-14T02:12:05","slug":"nonfiction20090331","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/2009\/03\/31\/nonfiction20090331\/","title":{"rendered":"Rec\u00adom\u00admend a par\u00adent\u00ading sci\u00adence book that is dif\u00adfi\u00adcult to clas\u00adsi\u00adfy"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n<\/a>http:\/\/www.hongniba.com.cn\/bookclub\/images\/books\/book_20004114_b.jpg<\/a>
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\nThe Begin\u00adning of a Beau\u00adti\u00adful Life: Under\u00adstand\u00ading Your Baby\u2019s Brain and Behav\u00adior (Pop\u00adu\u00adlar Sci\u00adence, 2008)<\/strong>This book, pub\u00adlished by the Nation\u00adal Acad\u00ade\u00admy of Sci\u00adences Press, specif\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly explains the brain devel\u00adop\u00adment and behav\u00adioral pat\u00adterns of babies from the fetus to six years old. The authors are a unique couple\u2014the hus\u00adband is a renowned Swiss pedi\u00ada\u00adtri\u00adcian and neu\u00adro\u00adsci\u00aden\u00adtist, and the wife is a renowned Amer\u00adi\u00adcan edu\u00adca\u00adtion expert. This book, the cul\u00admi\u00adna\u00adtion of their years of col\u00adlab\u00ado\u00adra\u00adtion, com\u00adbines cut\u00adting-edge knowl\u00adedge of infant and tod\u00addler neu\u00adro\u00adscience with intu\u00aditive and acces\u00adsi\u00adble par\u00adent\u00ading tips. It\u2019s dif\u00adfi\u00adcult to pin\u00adpoint a book like this, per\u00adhaps because the bet\u00adter the book, the hard\u00ader it is to pin it down to a spe\u00adcif\u00adic cat\u00ade\u00adgo\u00adry.
\n   
\nJudg\u00ading from the tone, this book is main\u00adly writ\u00adten for par\u00adents and seems to be clas\u00adsi\u00adfied as a \u201cpar\u00adent\u00ading book\u201d. How\u00adev\u00ader, com\u00adpared with the \u201cpar\u00adent\u00ading books\u201d com\u00admon\u00adly found on the mar\u00adket, this book is full of brain neu\u00adro\u00adscience terms. Although read\u00aders can often refer to the \u201cPar\u00adent\u00ading Process\u201d in the mid\u00addle of the book, 
\n\u201cInside the Brain: The Ner\u00advous Sys\u00adtem and Its Periph\u00adery\u201d is a book that requires con\u00adsid\u00ader\u00adable patience to read with ref\u00ader\u00adence to pro\u00adfes\u00adsion\u00adal dia\u00adgrams and glos\u00adsaries. In addi\u00adtion, while typ\u00adi\u00adcal par\u00adent\u00ading books usu\u00adal\u00adly explic\u00adit\u00adly tell par\u00adents what they should or should\u00adn\u2019t do, many of the answers giv\u00aden in this book are often \u201cmaybe,\u201d \u201cthere\u2019s not enough sol\u00adid evi\u00addence yet,\u201d \u201cit might be fun to try it,\u201d etc., com\u00adplete\u00adly using the diplo\u00admat\u00adic rhetoric of a sci\u00aden\u00adtist! What\u2019s more, typ\u00adi\u00adcal par\u00adent\u00ading books often offer many \u201cmag\u00adic pills\u201d to help par\u00adents teach their babies to become out\u00adstand\u00ading and suc\u00adcess\u00adful peo\u00adple in the future, but this book seems to com\u00adplete\u00adly ignore the ardent desires of many par\u00adents. In the author\u2019s view, it seems that rais\u00ading chil\u00addren nor\u00admal\u00adly is good enough. As Har\u00advard Uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty psy\u00adchol\u00ado\u00adgy pro\u00adfes\u00adsor Jerome Kagan said in the pref\u00adace, \u201cThe author sug\u00adgests that par\u00adents should treat their chil\u00addren as friends, rather than as thor\u00adough\u00adbred race\u00adhors\u00ades that will bring them hon\u00ador and wealth one day in the future. I strong\u00adly agree with this.\u201d
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\nFor the rea\u00adsons stat\u00aded above, I don\u2019t think it is appro\u00adpri\u00adate to clas\u00adsi\u00adfy it as a typ\u00adi\u00adcal \u201cpar\u00adent\u00ading\u201d book.
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\nHar\u00adry Gur\u00adgany, MD, a pro\u00adfes\u00adsor of pedi\u00adatric neu\u00adrol\u00ado\u00adgy, con\u00adsid\u00aders it \u201can out\u00adstand\u00ading neu\u00adro\u00adscience work, a ground\u00adbreak\u00ading text for the study of child devel\u00adop\u00adment.\u201d While it might seem like a the\u00ado\u00adret\u00adi\u00adcal neu\u00adro\u00adscience trea\u00adtise, it\u2019s actu\u00adal\u00adly less intim\u00adi\u00addat\u00ading and acces\u00adsi\u00adble to the aver\u00adage read\u00ader. Par\u00adents, teach\u00aders, and read\u00aders inter\u00adest\u00aded in the neu\u00adrode\u00advel\u00adop\u00adment and behav\u00adioral pat\u00adterns of chil\u00addren from the fetus to infant will find it deeply inspir\u00ading. Dis\u00adcus\u00adsions of ear\u00adly child\u00adhood edu\u00adca\u00adtion often rely on com\u00admon expe\u00adri\u00adence, often rel\u00adish\u00ading the envi\u00adable expe\u00adri\u00adences of suc\u00adcess\u00adful care\u00adgivers and edu\u00adca\u00adtion\u00adal experts, or the edu\u00adca\u00adtion\u00adal hypothe\u00adses of roman\u00adtic fig\u00adures like Locke and Rousseau. This book repeat\u00aded\u00adly reminds us that, in the 21st cen\u00adtu\u00adry, we have made numer\u00adous new dis\u00adcov\u00ader\u00adies about the brain and ner\u00advous sys\u00adtem from the fetus to infant, and pos\u00adsess a robust foun\u00adda\u00adtion of knowl\u00adedge. It is entire\u00adly pos\u00adsi\u00adble and nec\u00ades\u00adsary to rebuild a mod\u00adern body of knowl\u00adedge in this area to bet\u00adter under\u00adstand and sup\u00adport chil\u00addren\u2019s devel\u00adop\u00adment.
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\nAs I read through this book, I was over\u00adwhelmed with the feel\u00ading that I had\u00adn\u2019t seen it ear\u00adli\u00ader. It\u2019s a shame my daugh\u00adter is already over nine. I kept rem\u00adi\u00adnisc\u00ading about the time before she was six, and even about my own child\u00adhood, which brought a smile to my face. But I also felt a sense of regret that I had missed the time to observe and exper\u00adi\u00adment with the book. Nev\u00ader\u00adthe\u00adless, it has great\u00adly sat\u00adis\u00adfied my curios\u00adi\u00adty about this field.
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\nThere\u00adfore, in sum\u00adma\u00adry, I think this book can be said to be a par\u00adent\u00ading text\u00adbook with a rig\u00ador\u00adous sci\u00aden\u00adtif\u00adic spir\u00adit, an easy-to-under\u00adstand mono\u00adgraph on infant neu\u00adrol\u00ado\u00adgy, and a very inspir\u00ading pop\u00adu\u00adlar sci\u00adence book.
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\nIt\u2019s impor\u00adtant to note that while the book is easy to under\u00adstand, the author often inter\u00adrupts with humor, and the nar\u00adra\u00adtive is pri\u00admar\u00adi\u00adly based on hypo\u00adthet\u00adi\u00adcal par\u00adent\u00ading cas\u00ades, read\u00ading it through still requires con\u00adsid\u00ader\u00adable patience and courage. For\u00adtu\u00adnate\u00adly, this is a trust\u00adwor\u00adthy jour\u00adney, and one that promis\u00ades to be reward\u00ading.
\n 
\n\u3010Attach\u00adment\u3011
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\nFor exam\u00adple, in Chap\u00adter 6 of the third part of the book, \u201cTwo Years Old,\u201d there are two para\u00adgraphs describ\u00ading the \u201cmove\u00adment and par\u00adtic\u00adi\u00adpa\u00adtion\u201d of two-year-old chil\u00addren:
\n   
\nAt Emi\u00adly\u2019s first birth\u00adday par\u00adty, most of the lit\u00adtle guests were still crawl\u00ading around on the floor, though a few chil\u00addren could stand up or even take a few steps. Now they can all walk. Two-year-old Matthew opens doors and walks up and down stairs, one foot up, the oth\u00ader fol\u00adlow\u00ading, one hand hold\u00ading onto the wall. Steven can already stand on tip\u00adtoe and grab the string of a bal\u00adloon.<\/p>\n

   
\nMus\u00adcle devel\u00adop\u00adment enables chil\u00addren to walk, and the brain\u2019s cen\u00adtral ner\u00advous sys\u00adtem begins to func\u00adtion. Even in ear\u00adly child\u00adhood, it takes a long time for move\u00adment from the brain to the fin\u00adgers to devel\u00adop. Sig\u00adnals are trans\u00admit\u00adted by the axons of motor neu\u00adrons in the spinal cord, which are now sur\u00adround\u00aded by an insu\u00adlat\u00ading lay\u00ader of myelin. Myelin elim\u00adi\u00adnates inter\u00adfer\u00adence from adja\u00adcent axons, pre\u00advent\u00ading \u201cshort cir\u00adcuits.\u201d This facil\u00adi\u00adtates faster and more effi\u00adcient trans\u00admis\u00adsion of sig\u00adnals from motor neu\u00adrons to leg mus\u00adcles. The increased effi\u00adcien\u00adcy of spinal motor neu\u00adrons also enables self-con\u00adtrol of the sphinc\u00adter and blad\u00adder mus\u00adcles, allow\u00ading chil\u00addren to learn to use the toi\u00adlet. Girls devel\u00adop myelin ear\u00adli\u00ader than boys, fur\u00adther sup\u00adport\u00ading the rea\u00adson why girls learn to use the toi\u00adlet ear\u00adli\u00ader than boys.
\n   
\nThe two para\u00adgraphs quot\u00aded above gen\u00ader\u00adal\u00adly reflect the book\u2019s nar\u00adra\u00adtive style. The sec\u00adond para\u00adgraph uses a series of terms to describe facts, which, in plain lan\u00adguage, rough\u00adly means that \u201ctod\u00addlers around two years old are gen\u00ader\u00adal\u00adly able to learn to use the toi\u00adlet, and girls usu\u00adal\u00adly learn ear\u00adli\u00ader than boys.\u201d The chil\u00addren men\u00adtioned in the first para\u00adgraph are fic\u00adti\u00adtious. For the sake of rep\u00adre\u00adsen\u00adta\u00adtion, there are boys and girls, as well as a vari\u00adety of typ\u00adi\u00adcal tem\u00adpera\u00adments. Per\u00adhaps the most excit\u00ading part of this book is the part that dis\u00adcuss\u00ades the for\u00adma\u00adtion of chil\u00addren\u2019s tem\u00adpera\u00adments.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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