NurtureShock

New Thinking About Children

By: Po Bronson, Ashley Merryman

Narrated by: Po Bronson

Length: 7 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award, Personal Development, 2010

In a world of modern, involved, caring parents, why are so many kids aggressive and cruel? Where is intelligence hidden in the brain, and why does that matter? Why do cross-racial friendships decrease in schools that are more integrated? If 98% of kids think lying is morally wrong, then why do 98% of kids lie? What's the single most important thing that helps infants learn language?

NurtureShock is a groundbreaking collaboration between award-winning science journalists Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman. They argue that when it comes to children, we've mistaken good intentions for good ideas. With impeccable storytelling and razor-sharp analysis, they demonstrate that many of modern society's strategies for nurturing children are in fact backfiring - because key twists in the science have been overlooked.

Nothing like a parenting manual, the authors' work is an insightful exploration of themes and issues that transcend children's (and adults') lives.

©2009 Po Bronson (P)2009 Hachette

Critic reviews

"A provocative collection of essays popularizing recent research that challenges conventional wisdom about raising children...[Bronson and Merryman] ably explore a range of subjects of interest to parents... Their findings are often surprising." ( Kirkus)

Good enough that I bought five paper copies...

I had heard of this book from a number of other parents with children of various ages, but was not all that convinced--often, titles like this conceal a bunch of crappy, half-baked not well thought out ideas.

That's not the case for nurture shock.

Working in tech, the name Po Bronson was familiar enough to me that my first thought was "What does he know about child rearing"--after all, the book I knew him by was "Nudist on the Late Shift", so there isn't a lot of obvious correlation. It turns out that he felt the same way--he's just a dad who was trying to do things the right way, and started looking at the studies on child rearing, and the way that children actually turn out.

Similar to Freakonomics, it turns out that when the entire set of science related to child raising (including teenagers) is consolidated, there are many, many surprises in store.

A few examples:

Peter and the Wolf vs. George Washington and the Cherry Tree--which is more effective in stopping children from lying, and why?

Parents who argue with their teenagers frequently vs. rarely--how does the perception of the adult differ from that of the teen in the relationship?

Is spanking good, bad or indifferent? Does it matter who spanks, where and when?

How "colorblind" approaches to child raising are the wrong way to go...

and much more.

If you buy it, be warned--you may end up buying others for other parents you know so that you can talk and compare notes.

This is a fantastic book.

I am not a huge fan of reading educational texts, but this is a fantastic read. I am going to listen again to it, and I have bought the book as well. I never write reviews, but I had to in this case.

Great book. You'll recommend it to friends.

An important book. I wish I had read it years ago when my children were still small. It is easy to follow and packed with insight.

Eye opener

This book looks into several aspects of parenting that we may have been wrong about for years. The biggest take away for me was not to assume children respond the same as adults.

great

enlightened. a must read for every parent, teacher, and physician.

great book.

loved it. recommend it to all parents. wish there were more books with similar subject.

Interesting research

I like how the author decided to speak about his subjects of concern through studies and extensive research. I believe there might be more into child develpment and nurturing but this book has a good amount of information to consider while raising a child through teeage period.

Insightful

Anyone who cares for kids (or is who just fascinated with the way the mind works) should check this out. By turns surprising, encouraging, ordinary, and disturbing, it's an accessible look into the sometimes unpredictable science and research about development.

Realistic!

For the first time in many parenting books I've read, I felt a real connection to the stories and scenarios presented in this book. It represents exactly how my husband and I feel about many parenting faux pas. Thank you for this well researched, organized, and easily understood book!

Astounding

This book is amazing! Fascinating research and the book truly inspired critical thinking about choices made in parenting/raising children! I will read this book over and over again!