YOUR BABY'S MIND AND HOW IT GROWS: Piaget's Theory for Parents

by Mary Ann Spencer Pulaski ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 1978

Pulaski remains one of the abler interpreters of Piaget's work, readily adapting his densely written original thoughts into more accessible terms for a nonprofessional audience. Understanding Piaget (1971) consisted of essential introductory selections from his many books--a meal of nutritious snacks. This new guide follows the child from birth to age three, examining small milestones in view of their cognitive significance and incorporating relevant psychological observations as well, especially from Margaret Mahler. in less competent hands, such an approach could easily turn dry and lifeless, but Pulaski combines the psychologist's authority with the grandmother's enthusiasm and I-remember instances, capturing the excitement of those first acts--intentionally reaching for a rattle or looking under the rug--as well as the developmental import. She indicates why a decrepit blanket or old doll accrues in value, when mothers get the cold shoulder while the baby sitter goes free, and how to gauge the time for toilet training (her own sister was so positively conditioned that she would say ""I want to go good girl""). Although formal terms (adaptive schema, assimilation and accommodation) are used, they don't intrude unseemly or overpower the text, and the anecdotal examples (Piaget's and her own) are always illustrative.

Pub Date: July 1, 1978

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harper & Row

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1978

Categories: NONFICTION