Please Touch

I'm amazed at so few reviews...this book is in my top 5 fav parenting books. It just totally blew my mind! It's not just ideas for fostering creativity...no, it is so much more than that! It's really about a mindset regarding our children. For example, how many times have you seen a parent try to calm a fussy or rambunctious child by giving them their 'favorite toy?' What does the child do? Often, the child throws the toy aside, much to the parent's dismay! Why? Why didn't the child eagerly grab the favorite toy? Because the child has ALREADY EXPLORED that toy! The child is much more interested in the light switch, or the stereo, or tv remote control. The child is inquisitive...always learning. Toys are educational to a young child. While parents may think of toys as just amusement, something to keep the child busy, they are totally missing the point. The child is interested in your new camera not to be obnoxious, because it is something NEW! Something to be EXPLORED! This book totally blew my mind. After reading it, I understood why my baby delighted in turning the light switch on and off...why my toddler just HAD to go thru the childhood ritual of unrolling the entire tube of toilet tissue. How many parents let their children unroll the toilet paper? It's a definite NO, right? And yet, these same parents spend so much on brain-dead toys for their children. Guess what! My child only unrolled the toilet tissue about 3 times...for a total cost to me of, what, a dollar or so? What an inexpensive way to stretch his mind! That's just one example among many...I don't think the author is saying that you MUST let your child have free reign over your entire house...obviously you can't let him play with your expensive gadgets. But hey, why not save the OLD, broken camera and let him take it apart? Then he'll get it out of his system and maybe won't have the need to take your new camera apart (and you still need rules and discipline, and still need to keep stuff like that out of reach, of course). The point is in your thinking...to recognize what is driving your child's curiosity...the desire to learn about his environment. AWESOME BOOK!

I loved this book. I read it when I was working as a nanny. It inspired me. The author believes that it is the primary role of a caregiver to stimulate the child's creativity. The book tells you how to do this. The chapters are arranged by age, starting from infancy. She gives advice about encouraging creative behavior through movement, music, art, language, etc. The baby I was taking care of at the time also loved the activities. Believe me, this book is worth the money.