How to Build a Human: What Science Knows About Childhood

Description

Looking after children can be overwhelming, especially when a lot of people say they have the 'right' answer. But what if, instead of following instructions, you parented like a scientist? What if you took the available evidence-based information, and then really looked at how it relates to the unique child in front of you? This is what scientist Emma Byrne decided to do when she became a mother. This book will tell you what is probably happening neurologically and physiologically in your child. It will talk about how they might develop. It will challenge the perceived wisdom, not by claiming that the studies are wrong, but by focusing on the variance, as well as the mean. Your child is an individual, not an average. Like all good scientists, you're going to screw up along the way. You'll reach dead ends, you'll need to wrack your brain for new approaches. But by staying curious, creative, and paying attention to what's really happening with your family, Emma Byrne will help you figure it out. Just in time for everything to change once again.

Dr Emma Byrne is a scientist, journalist, and public speaker. Her BBC Radio 4 'Four Thought' episode was selected as one of the 'Best of 2013' by the programme's editors. She has been selected as a British Science Association Media Fellow and for the BBC Expert Women Training, and is published in CIO, Forbes, the Financial Times and e-Health Insider. Her first book, Swearing is Good For You is, among other things, reassuring about swearing in front of your kids.

Byrne's book is about scientific parenting, and it is very welcome indeed ... At its best it is an overview of what we know about child development ... breezy and digestible ... this is such a good book -- Tom Whipple * The Times * I really like the premise of this book - that the findings of research on child development can help parents understand and respond to their own children better. It's a mine of information for all new parents who are curious about the remarkable capacity of infants to quickly become complex social beings. Emma Byrne's reassuring message will inspire confidence and give insight into the mysteries of the first years of life. -- Professor Susan Golombok, Director of the Centre for Family Research at the University of Cambridge Praise for Emma Byrne * - * Byrne is a science writer with a PhD in robotics and a gleefully robust attitude * The Sunday Times * A glorious uplifting read -- Lucy Kellaway * Financial Times * Makes science feel downright celebratory -- Mary Norris, author of * Between You & Me * Joyous -- Lorraine Candy * Sunday Times Style * Chatty, humorously informative * Mail on Sunday * Entertaining and informative * Observer *