Infant-and-Toddler-Development Books

This book is very good. I read all the reviews and none of them let me know that I needed the flash cards to go with it. There are alot of signs in there but the flash cards would be a great asset.

Because I didn't start teaching my son ASL when he was an infant, I thought all hope was lost! Then I was introduced to this book and to my complete shock and amazement, not only is it NOT too late for my 4 year old to start learning, but he can enjoy the book as much as I do!

This book is composed in such a way that you can follow it though any child's stages of personal development. Even those with mental or physical challenges can use this book with the help of one chapter's advice on how to modify the learning process.

The first half of the book is very comprehensive by teaching the parent what parts of ASL to introduce at various stages and the back of the book is arranged by signs at those same stages.

I can't wait to use this with our next child, but for now, my four year old and I are enjoying learning this together. The second half of the book is illustrated so that he can understand as well as I can!

I highly recommend this book to parents with infants or older children. I now know that it is NEVER too late to learn American Sign Language!

I really like this book. Maybe the ideas are not all that new, but it is all complete in one book. My children love to look at this book and get ideas for play. Very well formatted book.

For those of you who like me have built up a Waldorf education/craft books library over the years, this book doesn't bring anything new as you will find most of the creative projects it contains in various other Steiner books ie. Floris craft books series, All Year round, etc. However it is well written, with good advice and ideas and it gathers under one cover, the toy projects you can undertake specifically with your toddler. I still like it very much and it has definitely found its place with my other books.

Diane McGuinness does not hold back in this book. If you are wanting some very interesting information on how a parent can affect their child's language abilities as well as their reading and writing abilities, then this is the book for you.

The author cites many references and studies that support her conclusions and recommendations.

I am currently in a Masters of Elem Education Program and taking a class in Reading Assessment. In my opinion, this book should be required reading.

There are many ways in which those in the education system in the USA have steered all of us in the wrong direction as to the best system for teaching reading. This book has made me want to conduct further research into the reasons for this. As a future classroom teacher (I've homeschooled my now nine-year triplets), I want to be an instrument of progress and this book has opened my eyes to some startling information.

I would not only recommend the book to all teachers, but to newly pregnant moms who are intersted in ways they can influence their child's literacy progress from the very start!

I would LOVE to have a long, face-to-face discussion with Diane about her theories, her research, and her recommendations.

I gained some good suggestions from this book (namely the recommendation for the Jolly Phonics system) but was a bit disappointed with the lack of practical suggestions I could use with my already-quite-verbal 2 year old. Perhaps readers who work with language-challenged children would find this book more beneficial.

The author seeks to help parents model and teach language skills to their children. However, many of the recommendations seemed to almost make fun of parents who struggle with communicating with their children. I thought a more supportive tone would help achieve the author's goals, especially since (as she goes to great lengths to explain) parents do not always do a good job of listening and speaking appropriately to their children. I also found the author relied overly on anecdotal situations. Often the text referred to past anecdotes without a reminder of the context; this left me feeling lost on more than one occasion.

But as I mentioned previously, this book did steer me toward Jolly Phonics, which has provided exactly the tools I sought to help me guide my toddler into the world of phonics, reading, and writing.

I liked this book because a lot of the suggestions are really good and easy to do. I didn't give this book five stars because some of the suggestions are just so obvious and there were quite a few recommendations in sections that were a few months ahead of where they should have been.

Play & Learn concentrates on key areas of development through age appropriate activities which enhance motor skills, problem solving, coordination, language skills and encourage individual creativity and imagination. 1001 activities for children from birth to age five provides ideas for parents to connect with their children at every stage, helps build a strong sense of self and fosters a positive attitude towards learning.

The first thing I noticed was the sturdy cover, the colorful tab-style layout, with the age clearly marked on the center tab, which makes finding the exact section you're looking for a breeze. The book is filled with gorgeous pictures of children at every stage, brilliant art work and lots and lots of color. At the beginning of each age change (0+, 3mo+, 6mo+, etc.) the authors have written an introduction page that includes a set of four milestones, displayed in color-coded boxes, giving parents a heads-up on what to expect as your little one reaches important and life-changing milestones.

Some of the activities include, recording your child's favorite book on tape, making and decorating gingerbread cookies to enjoy while reading the story, playing footsie and the time tested trick to stop restaurant melt-downs, Mr. Fork and Ms. Spoon. The book is jam-packed with simple but ingenious ideas that help parents amuse and entertain even the fussiest child. With no preparation needed, using everyday household items, or sometimes just the sound of your own voice, these activities will enrich your relationship with your children and provide years of priceless memories.

This is an excellent tool for parents and caregivers, that I highly recommend. Loaded with fun activities that make life a little bit easier for tired parents and lots of fun for curious, energetic little ones.

This book is well written, easy to read, and full of practical ideas for making your program ideal for ALL infants and toddlers. The author captures the feelings that infants and toddlers evoke in their caregivers, both good and bad, and explains so well how to provide the best individualized care for babies. I highly recommend this as a textbook for a class, a resource for teachers or an addition to any baby lovers personal library.

This text is a great reference for anyone involved in the care of infants and toddlers. It is well organized and contains several useful tables and sample forms that can be utilized in an infant/toddler childcare setting.

The book explores developmental stages, beginning in infancy, and compares and contrasts the stages of babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. Included in these comparisons are program requirements to meet the needs in these stages and the role of the responsive teacher during these stages.

Topics included in this book are the role of the parent, responsive teaching, daily living activities, and infant/toddler care management and administration. Sample forms for planning, activities, and teacher performance checks are included.

I came across this book at my University's library while trying to find approprite material for a project in my ECD class, and this book was phenominal in answering any questions I came up with, as well as sparking ideas of my own. This is a must read for all parents and caregivers. Great ideas!

I checked this book out of the local library and was so impressed I'm buying it. Concentrating on ages 0-24 months, this book is broken out in small month divisions so you are sure to find an activity right for your child's development age. Much better than other books that give 6 month ranges and often don't target young babies with few coordination skills. This book takes developmental stages and provides a few practical ideas that are easy to do in any home and often sparks ideas for your own homemade activities. A blessing for those trying to entertain babies all day long!

THis book is packed with so much excellent guidelines and ideas for stimulating your kids intellectually, socially, and emotionally. It tells parents the why, how and when to interact and teach with your children. Really invaluable information. And with all the creative ideas, crafts and games that you can easily do and apply at home, it also serves as a very good rainy day 'ideas book". All stay-at-home or home schoolers will benefit from this book.

I browsed through this book and thought, if some of my student's parents had this, it would have helped them prepare their children for school. I liked the way it encouraged the arts (art and music) as well as parents or guardians reading to their children EVERYDAY. This is extremely important to enhance reading skills as well as language development. I will be purchasing this book to enrich the students in my classroom.

This book provides a readable, and reasonably good, overview of fetal development, with a scientific perspective. The downside is that I found the second half to be quite repetitive, and the author harps on, pushing his research agenda.

Nathanielsz presents information regarding our understanding of fetal development in a way we all can relate to. I recommend this book, as well as his latest title (Life in the Womb), to all those interested in what happens during the first nine months of life.

I found it quite simplistic. It does have good ideas for playing and it addresses the importance of play in children's development.

This is a simple compilation of toddler or children's activities, presented by Fred Rogers, of television's Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. Most of the activities can be done using things you really can find around your house; not expensive craft supplies that you have to go out and buy. I wasn't so much impressed with the originality of the ideas; however, the organization and simplicity with which the ideas are presented is superb. There are sections on sharing/caring, pretend play, helping, things that go, feelings, creative fun, nature and science. Each activity page includes a list of things you'll need, steps for setting up and participating in the activity and what your child is working on developmentally by doing the activity; extra tips are included on many pages, as well. A helpful list of household things to save (instead of throwing out) for use in play activities is also included in the back of the book. This is a great book, and although we've only tried a few of the many activities so far, my kids and I really like this book.

You read the NYRB and go to small movies and you think "Ah, Granta, this is the baby book for me." Only it isn't quite.

It's still pretty good though.

I read this book during the first month after my daughter was born. It was massively comforting and the sections are wonderfully short. Just enough to read in the ten minutes between crying and sleeping. It is a reasurring and gently literate book that welcomed me into parenthood with the idea, to paraphrase, that you wonder how you're going to do it, and then you realize a month later that you are doing it. Fantastic.