Description The keys to this development are parents, and in particular mothers. A society which really cares for its children, says Sally Goddard Blythe, values parents and makes it possible for them to spend time and be actively involved with their children for at least the first two years of life. Raising Happy Healthy Children presents convincing research to show how a baby’s relationship with its mother has a lasting, deep impact. Recent social changes, such as delayed motherhood, juggling of work/life balance, limited uptake of breastfeeding, and use of parent-substitute baby equipment and electronic devices, are interfering with key developmental milestones that are essential for wellbeing in later life. Sally Goddard Blythe says: ‘We need a society that gives children their parents, and most of all values motherhood in the early years.’ Includes: Latest research about pre-conceptual, baby and child development. How social changes have unleashed a crisis in the experience of childhood. The crucial early years and child development from the child’s perspective How parents can give their child the best start in life. The importance of motherhood. …provides parents with the information they need to raise healthy, balanced, resilient children…. Above all it demonstrates that what babies and children really need is the time, love and attention of the loving adults in their lives. — Marie Peacock, from the foreword C O N T E N T S Foreword 1. Introduction 2. Conception and Society: The Politics of Fertility 3. Does Early Development Matter? 4. Events Surrounding Birth 5. Events Following Birth—Risky Factors 6. Breastfeeding 7. Movement Instinct 8. Language Instinct 9. Building on the First Year: The Neuroscience behind Regulation of Emotions 10. Factors Parents Can Control 11. From Toddlers to Teens: Why Parenting Matters 12. What Needs to Be Done? Resources Bibliography Index
