NurtureShock

New Thinking About Children

By: Po Bronson, Ashley Merryman

Narrated by: Po Bronson

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)

Excellent Book, Not a Great Audiobook

I am a fan of Po Bronson's writing; turns out his reading... not so much. Still, if you're not going to read this book, you should at least listen to it, especially if you are a parent or teacher. The problem with Bronson's reading, and this may not bother other people, is that every single sentence has at least one word on which he puts great emphasis. Every single sentence. After ten or fifteen minutes, this cadence becomes a little annoying. And this book is eight hours long...

Yeah, I kind of knew that already..

As a new parent, I felt like reading about children even though I find the general purpose of this unclear given that knowing what to do is the easier, but doing it is a different story.

NurtureShock is sold off as "new thinking" but, to be honest, there's nothing very new about anything there and I was telling a friend about what the book said and that person wasn't surprised. Certainly, praising a child's intelligence might increase the fear of failing. Sure, indifference can be worse than fight. And, yes, it's good to interact/speak with baby.

This is not so much new thinking, as mainly everybody knows what is there, but a question of whether parents are really willing to do it; as I said, knowing something does not mean you would like to do it. Most parents might want their kid to feel good about themselves, not maximize intellectual prowess, or do not want to be facing constant fights between siblings, or do not want to be constantly exchanging with baby. I am not saying that that these are good things, but that presenting these as grand insights are like teaching that eating burgers every day is probably not the best diet choice.

Great stats and studies!

Although some of the studies and the delivery of their results takes a little while, they are totally worthwhile!
Great insights and understanding of tots to teens, and some of it I'll definitely use in my future as a Father. loved the studies and the fact that the results are not what you'd expect, and at times counter intuitive. Helps me realise that as a society we are not all correct all the time and we Can get caught up in fads that will fade out.

Nurture Shock is enlightening

The book openned up the readers mind to look at child rearing differently and also blew open some of the myths that have captured our culture. I feel as if what feels natural is what works...and so much of what we have done really was unnatural and did not work as we would have exprected. Good read if you are a parent ....

Helps to expand our minds and well worth my time

I'm always looking for a better way help my family and I know I dont have all the answers. This helped expand my mind a little more. I try to get at least one lesson from a book. I now praise my kids in a better way.

great

Nurture Shock was full of new and valuable info both as a parent and a human.

Thought-provoking, but needed a pro narrator

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

There are a lot of ideas in here that I thought were spot-on. Some examples are the inverse power of praise, that children are significantly affected by a lack of sleep, etc. It is a very worthwhile read for parents and teachers. I have read some legitimate criticisms of this book, but I would take those with a grain of salt. Some reviewers have said that it lacks scientific support for the conclusions it draws, but I don't think this book claims to be an airtight meta-analysis. A book like this is meant to be thought-provoking, and it should not be taken as child-rearing Gospel. Nor should any other parenting book out there. For what it's worth, this book references way more decent studies than do most parenting books.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Po Bronson is clearly dedicated to the material he is presenting, but I think he did this book a disservice by not hiring a professional reader. His cadence is off-putting, and I swear that it sounds like he is baby-talking the listener half the time. Had I not been really, really interested in the content, I would not have finished listening to this. I would strongly recommend reading this book, not listening to it.

Why didn't I have this book sooner?

Parenthood carries a load of guilt--for all the things we did wrong--and this book doesn't help. But I loved it anyway. I bought it for 4 of my friends immediately. It is non-fiction, but a page-turner all the same.

Very different look at parenting

i enjoyed the different perspective on parenting

Fascinating and Highly Recommended

If you are a parent, I recommend this book very highly. The section around sleep and it's connection to grades and depression was especially important. "Tools for the Mind" was a fascinating look at early childhood learning. This book has influenced my perspectives on parenting greatly. If you like Gladwell's books or the Freakonomics books, this will be right up your alley.