What's Going on in There? : How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life

"What's Going on in There? How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life" is titled accurately in that it discusses in much detail the processes that are going on in the brain through a child's 5th year. The book is organized in 17 chapters covering topics from how the visual system develops to how intelligence and memory is processed in the younger ages. What is great about this book is that statements are fully backed up by previous research which makes the book a reliable source for those wanting to learn how to raise a child. But it is also useful for those merely interested in the development of the brain. Overall, "What's Going on in There?" provides a great depth of knowledge; however the details sometimes detract from those simply wanting advice on how to rear a child.Critique/How to Read the BookBecause of the dense material covered in Eliot's book , it is difficult to turn to a page you want to learn about at random. Also, the lay out of the book being that it is organized into chapters on topics rather than in chapters by chronological age makes it challenging to turn to the sections for a 3 year old if let's say you just bought the book when your child was 3-4 years old. To overcome these, I suggest that if you are reading this book as a resourceful guide on what to expect and how to raise your infant, it is best to read this ahead of time and highlight the parts you think are important. In this way, you can easily refer back to the sections you thought were helpful. Additionally, it is important to note that the chapters are mostly organized in chronological order from the fetus stage, early infant, then on to its toddler and pre-school years. Therefore, you can skim through the end of a chapter in an area of interest if you already have a child who is in his/her toddler years.First Few ChaptersThe first few chapters focus on the basics of the brain in an evolutionary and anatomical sense. It discusses the egg's fertilization, passage through the fallopian tube, and implantation in the uterus, as well as briefly discusses the cellular growth in the cerebral cortex, "increasingly spiky or complex" EEGs, and of course the argument of nature versus nurture.Prenatal InfluencesAn entire 55 pages are devoted to explaining the "Prenatal Influences on the Brain." A section of this discusses how the nicotine and carbon monoxide found in cigarettes adversely affects the fetus. They "decrease the amount of oxygen available to the fetus, and less oxygen means slower growth of all bodily organs." The effects of maternal stress are fully explained by first providing in depth information on the how the fight-or-flight response works. There is even a table at the end of the chapter summarizing the prenatal factors (toxins, radiation, other chemicals, etc.) that are harmful, non-conclusive, and recommendations for how to avoid the harmful factors.Importance of Being HeldOne of the most well explained and interesting parts of the book are the chapters, "The Importance of Touch" and "Why Babies Love to Be Bounced." Eliot describes how the vestibular system develops from a fetus to an infant using plenty of pictures and diagrams first, which then helps her describe specific studies on how cuddling and holding a baby lead to a behavior that is less irritable as children. There are many benefits to vestibular stimulation at a young age including "newborns cry less when they are being rocked, carried, jiggled, or suddenly changed in position, all actions that activate the vestibular system;" overall behavioral state in "decreasing the baby's level of arousal;" and pre-term babies being "less irritable, move less jerkily, and sleep more."SensesEven if you are only interested in how the visual, gustatory, vestibular, and auditory systems work in humans, you will receive an abundant amount of information regarding these systems because the chapters first discuss the basics of how each develops, works together, and the components involved in each. Eliot does an excellent job in describing the beauty of each part while providing useful information on topics such as how hearing improves (in terms of frequency sensitivity, sound localization, threshold and the ability to discriminate sounds in a noisy background), obligatory looking (where babies fixate on an object for minutes at a time), binocularity and depth perception, and the function of prenatal taste ability.Debunking MythsWhat makes this book even more interesting is that it covers many of the myths or statements you hear people making regularly. Eliot explains how being exposed to a variety of tastes at a young age influences later preferences making the adults more likely to try and also like non-novel foods. She shows that acquired taste has a large role in this process rather than genes. "What's Going on in There?" also explains how infant walkers don't really help infants walk mainly because of its limiting effect on an infant's ability to explore the world on its own, stimulating various parts of his/her brain. She states, "They can explore and satisfy their curiosity without developing their balance or locomotor skills, so these abilities come more slowly."Smarter Child?The last few chapters provide the most information in terms of practical use that parents can utilize to encourage a better lifestyle, memory, and social emotional growth. Even though Eliot describes countless ways of improving these based on previous research conducted, she states an important view to keep in mind. "It is the model we set, rather than the specific teaching we attempt, that is going to have the biggest impact on a child's cognitive abilities and success in life."ConclusionIn conclusion "What's Going in There?" by Lise Eliot, provides wonderful explanations as to how the brain develops from a fetus through age 5. It provides a myriad of useful information and debunks I would greatly recommend this book to one simply wanting to learn more about the details of how the brain is formed and how much plasticity there is at an early age. I would also recommend this great book to mothers-to-be or one who already have an infant to use as a resource to refer to. It is detailed enough to not only know what is going on in the brain, but also understand the processes taking place! What you do with these facts from diagrams or previous studies is up to you though since Eliot focuses more on the actual material rather than how to implement this knowledge into practical use- which may be a challenge if you do not have a very good science background but can be great for those who already know some in this area to form your own ideas.

This book is for the parent who wants to know all the "Whys." I have identical twins, so it is very interesting to me to see why their personalities might be different. Identical twins are used in many experiments, so I found this book especially interesting. My mother-in-law is also a pschologist and did many "experiements" with my husband (wish they had video cameras back then -- would have been neat to see). :) My husband and I have always been fascinated with child development since our children were born. This answered all our questions!It is a very technical, detailed book, but it is not too far over an average parent's head to get something out of it. I did find myself skipping over some of the parts that got bogged down in details (I just want to get to the point sometimes), but I would get the main idea. My husband and I found this book while searching for a more scientific book on brain development. We were watching a series on TLC that showed different experiements done with children and when children acquire specific skills and why. We tried finding it again without success, so we searched for a book instead. You can find tons of books that tell you when your child should do what, but they don't tell why and what is really going on in their heads. This book will explain all that!! You will even learn things like why toddlers should drink whole milk until the age of 2! It is broken up into the different senses as well as being chronological, which I found really easy to follow.This will definitely make you a better parent. As an educator myself, I find it fascinating just to have the knowledge, and I feel it is important for all parents to have this knowledge. You will learn how to stimulate your child at different ages so that his/her brain develops to its fullest. You and your child will be happier and more relaxed just having the information contained in this book.The only regret I have is not having read it sooner! I had all the other parenting books, but I never felt fulfilled reading them. I didn't want a list of milestones, I wanted to know why they do milestones when they do. This is the only parenting book you need! I recommend reading it before your children are born, but it is never too late to read it! Mine were 2 when I got this book!

For some reason, I thought this book would be more about what my baby is thinking. Instead it is very much about biology. Every chapter starts with a discussion of when a certain part of your baby's brain began developing including regions, names, and discussions about when and how fast the nuerons in that area mylenate. This leads to discussions about what your baby's brain can and cannot do and when that changes. You can extrapolate from this information to get an idea of "Whats going on in there?", but it isn't really what the book is about. For example, the book discusses that your baby can smell right at birth (maybe before) and that the scent of the mother and milk and so on play a roll in bonding. Then, it talks about the tests that were done to show that this is true. It never says whether or not your baby would enjoy more smells, or maybe which smells, or even if it matters whether or not there are any smells. For me, I wanted that kind of information, not so much biology. For example, if her room seems a bit stuffy to me, will is seem that way to her? Should I delay her nap time by 5 minutes to maybe open the windows and air it out, or could she care less? This book does not answer those kinds of questions.However, as a baby brain biology book, I have no doubt that this is probably the tops on that score. It is interesting to know how your baby's senses develop and what her brain is and isn't capable of at a certain age. So if you want a book about that, this book is great, it is easily readable, and very accessable (the brain has complicated names for its parts, but there is nothing the author can do about that). If you are looking for a book that lets you in on what might be going on in that little head of hers...well, I haven't found that book yet.

I am expecting my first child and this book was very useful preparation for me. It explains in accessible scientific details how a child develops from conception to early childhood and what is the parents and environment role in this.Knowing this information helped me and my partner decide what to do with all the advice we are getting as first-time parents and feel more confident. It is also a very enjoyable read.

The book goes into significant detail about the development through time for every skill. It gives a good summary of the existing body of knowledge about each skill, and suggests the course a parent should take based on the evidence we have. It is admirable that the book is so readable in spite of the detail it goes into.

I am now expecting my second child and rereading this book. It has helped me so much with my first one! It does really help you understand well what is going on in there (as the book says) from a scientific point of view (aren't you tired of the thousands of books that are just some parents' opinions without any actual science behind their words?). And that deep understanding and knowledge can really help you maximize your child's intelligence and sociability.By far this is the best book on this topic and a must-buy for any expectant family.

I enjoyed reading this book. A must read for every parent who wants to provide the best care for their child (and who doesn't?). This book has a lot of scientific information as well for those interested in those topics, but it doesn't mean that this book is a scientific read. It has a perfect blend of both scientific and "general" topics, probably a little more on the non-scientific side, which makes it even more interesting (at least for me) and doesn't make it feel like you are reading a technical book. You will understand a great deal on how brain works, not just in children, but also in adults.I especially enjoyed reading the last few chapters of this book (Chapter 12 to 17) which provide a lot of practical information on how raise a "smarter" child.

This is a great resource for parents (and parents-to-be) wanting to understand the development of a baby's brain and how it affects behaviour, physical development, first movements, nature vs nurture, personality, etc. Lots of facts and information. I found it particularly helpful when my first child was about a month old as it helped me better understand what she might be thinking or why she was behaving a certain way due to the physical changes she was going through. The book is written in a much more objective way than other books I have read and I liked that it would present the information, sometimes from various points of view, and allow the reader to make their own conclusions. I wished I had gotten this book while I still pregnant! As a new mother, I found the number of books on child development overwhelming and with the number of different "methods" being touted, I eventually decided that I was just going to read this book to try to get a better understanding on what is going on in my baby's brain as a guide and then do the best that I can with that knowledge. Great book!