Bright Baby

Great book! All you need for your baby's development, a great guide for your child's development presented simply with examples of activities that can help stimulate your child. Doesn't over-complicate the issue as so many baby books on the market do. As a nanny this series of books is my favourite.

For parents with just a short amount of time to devote to reading about infant development, this book is for you! The segments are broken down into well-organized (by age) sections, meaning that you don't have to read it cover-to-cover. This book is so interesting that I even caught my husband reading it several times! I do think the title is misleading, however. This book is not going to turn you into a flashcard parent. It merely explains how infants develop and gives you ideas to encourage the progression. I especially like that it suggests toys that are well-suited to each phase. It helped us sort through the myriad of offerings at our local toy store.

"Bright Baby" is a friendly introduction to the stages of infant development for parents. While the title may mislead you, this is not a guide to building your own "superbaby". Rather, it focuses on developmental milestones for the first 18 months of life. In this attractive and easy to use book, basic developmental milestones are listed first, and then broken down in more detail--for example, there are chapters on movement, communication, hand-eye coordination and more. Each chapter also gives appropriate developmental activities for that particular category and age. As a mom, I love it. When will my baby be able to wave bye-bye? He's four months, and he loves to stand--is this normal? When can I expect to hear his first word? This book answers lots of "what is normal" questions in a very user-friendly format, and give plenty of wiggle room in what is defined as "normal". It is a great reference, especially for first time parents like me!