Building Healthy Minds is a practical book for parents of babies and young children written by an expert in child development and a well-known and practicing child psychiatrist, Stanley Greenspan. The book is easy to follow, and although intended primarily for parents, would be useful for mental health practitioners, educators, and childcare staff as well. The book highlights the critical importance of parent-child interactions from birth through 48 months for the healthy emotional and intellectual development of children.

Although the book’s title promises to discuss “six experiences,” the book really examines six developmental stages of babies and young children and then makes suggestions to parents on how to best enhance the child’s intelligence and emotional health at each stage through the use of certain interactions. The premise of the book is that by helping a child learn and practice the skills throughout each stage of development, a parent can enhance their child’s intelligence and emotional health. The book thus focuses on training parents how to interact effectively with their children so as to teach and encourage their capabilities.

The book is outlined according to the six developmental stages, with one chapter focusing on each stage of the child’s development. The six stages include: 1) becoming calm, attentive, and interested in the world; 2) falling in love; 3) becoming a two-way communicator; 4) solving problems and forming a sense of self; 5) discovering a world of ideas; and 6) building bridges between ideas. The book also covers topics of child development and the corresponding growth of the brain as it occurs through each stage; and how to make the best use of floor time when interacting with young children. In addition the author has also included a functional developmental growth chart and questionnaire, which is practical for assessing babies and young children.

The author’s style of writing is clear and well-organized, and the book is thorough in its content. There is not much technical language, even though the author clearly has a firm grasp on the subject. Each chapter is organized in a similar fashion, by first describing what the particular developmental stage is all about; second, suggestions are given on what to look for during the stage; third, the importance of the stage is highlighted; next, suggestions are given on how to teach the baby or child the skills of the specific stage; and then advice is given on how to promote the child’s new found abilities on an ongoing basis. Then at the end of each chapter, the author offers five specific case examples of children and their families who have faced various challenges in mastering each stage given the baby’s or child’s unique temperament and disposition. These children are described as either “sensitive to touch and sound”; “underwhelmed by the world around them”; “craving sensations/stimulation”; “taking in sights, but tuning out sounds”; or “taking in sounds, but having a hard time figuring out sights.” The same five children are then followed through each stage of development and thus throughout the course of the book, and examples are given on how these families have overcome their challenges.

Due to the nature and intended audience for this book, it is unclear how much of Greenspan’s writing is grounded in empirical work, due to a notable lack of references or cites to research. Instead, much of his writing and suggestions appear to be theory-based, and his ample use of case examples help in applying and clarifying the relevance of his theories to real children and parents. A second drawback of the book is in its notable absence of references to children with special needs. The book applies mainly to children who are developing within normal limits. However, it appears the author has written a second book targeting children with special needs.

Overall, this book is an excellent resource for parents, mental health therapists, educators, and childcare staff who are interested in learning more about ways to promote healthy cognitive and emotional development in babies and children.

© 2001 Christine Sutherland

Categories: General