psychology / developmental / child

"[This book] explores how today's parenting techniques and our myopic education system are failing to prepare children for their certain-to-be-uncertain futures--and how we can reverse course to ensure their lasting adaptability, resilience, health, and happiness"--Dust jacket.

"A refreshingly positive look at the new digital landscape of childhood and how to navigate it. In The New Childhood, Jordan Shapiro provides a hopeful counterpoint to the fearful hand-wringing that has come to define our narrative around children and technology. Drawing on groundbreaking research in economics, psychology, philosophy, and education, The New Childhood shows how technology is guiding humanity toward a bright future in which our children will be able to create new, better models of global citizenship, connection, and community. Shapiro offers concrete, practical advice on how to parent and educate children effectively in a connected world, and provides tools and techniques for using technology to engage with kids and help them learn and grow. He compares this moment in time to other great technological revolutions in humanity's past and presents entertaining micro-histories of cultural fixtures: the sandbox, finger painting, the family dinner, and more. But most importantly, The New Childhood paints a timely, inspiring and positive picture of today's children, recognizing that they are poised to create a progressive, diverse, meaningful, and hyper-connected world that today's adults can only barely imagine."--Dust jacket.

The author argues that there are children who have the capacity to survive and thrive under any circumstances and those who are highly sensitive to their environment who, if properly nurtured, can also survive and flourish.

"Offers practical tools for helping parents implement discipline that's respectful and effective; ... offers a framework to guide parents in making decisions about why, when, and how to hold tighter reins,... and why, when, and how to loosen the reins"--Dust jacket.

"The brain is either in a reactive (no) state, which makes us rigid and self-conscious, putting us on high alert for rules and consequences; or in a receptive (yes) state, which is what enables curiosity and creativity, and fosters resilience. Most traditional learning environments--and many parenting approaches--necessarily trigger the 'no' state in children (allowing teachers and school systems to assess and manage them), but parents can nurture the mindset that leads to authentic happiness and success by supplying children with neurological counterbalancing 'yes brain' experiences and interactions. [The authors] . . . explain the underpinnings of this neurological dichotomy, and give parents the scripts, ideas and activities for igniting and wiring the 'yes' state in kids of all ages"--Provided by publisher.

"A child is presented with a marshmallow and given a choice: Eat this one now, or wait and enjoy two later. What will she do? And what are the implications for her behavior later in life? The world's leading expert on self-control, Walter Mischel has proven that the ability to delay gratification is critical for a successful life, predicting higher SAT scores, better social and cognitive functioning, a healthier lifestyle and a greater sense of self-worth. But is willpower prewired, or can it be taught? In The Marshmallow Test, Mischel explains how self-control can be mastered and applied to challenges in everyday life--from weight control to quitting smoking, overcoming heartbreak, making major decisions, and planning for retirement. With profound implications for the choices we make in parenting, education, public policy and self-care, The Marshmallow Test will change the way you think about who we are and what we can be"--.

"A leading cognitive scientist argues that a deep sense of good and evil is bred in the bone. From Sigmund Freud to Lawrence Kohlberg, psychologists have long believed that we begin life as amoral animals. After all, isn't it the parents' role to turn babies into civilized beings who can experience empathy and shame, and override selfish impulses? In Just Babies, Paul Bloom argues that humans are in fact hardwired with a sense of morality. Drawing upon years of original research at his Yale lab, he shows that babies and toddlers can judge the goodness and badness of others' actions; that they act to soothe those in distress; and that they feel guilt, shame, pride, and righteous anger. Yet this innate morality is tragically limited. Our natural strong moral feelings toward those in our own group--same family, same race--are offset by ingrained dislike, even hatred, of those in different groups. Put more simply, we are natural-born bigots. Vivid and intellectually probing, Just Babies argues that through intelligence and creativity we can transcend the primitive sense of morality we are born with. This erudite yet accessible book will captivate readers of Steven Pinker, Philip Zimbardo, and Robert Wright"--.