Welcome to Your Child's Brain: How the Mind Grows from Conception to College
By Sam Wang, Sandra Aamodt

Click here to learn more or to order at Amazon.com discount prices

How children think is one of the most enduring mysteries-and difficulties-encountered by parents. In an effort to raise our children smarter, happier, stronger, and better, parents will try almost anything, from vitamins to toys to DVDs. But how can we tell marketing from real science? And what really goes through your kid's growing mind-as an infant, in school, and during adolescence?

Neuroscientists Sandra Aamodt and Sam Wang (who is also a parent) explain the facets and functions of the developing brain, discussing salient subjects such as sleep problems, language learning, gender differences, and autism. They dispel common myths about important subjects such as the value of educational videos for babies, the meaning of ADHD in the classroom, and the best predictor of academic success (hint: It's not IQ ). Most of all, this book helps you know when to worry, how to respond, and, most important, when to relax.

Welcome to Your Child's Brain upends myths and misinformation with practical advice, surprising revelations, and real, reliable science. It's essential reading for parents of children of any age, from infancy well into their teens.

Editorial Reviews

Review 

"Dr. Wang and Dr. Aamodt playfully and engagingly introduce us to the hidden talents of our children’s brains." —Dr. Mehmet Oz, host of The Dr. Oz Show

"Few humans are as neurotic as parents, frantic about the disastrous lifelong consequences of every errant hiccup. In this smart, funny, accessible, and supremely sane book, Aamodt and Wang explain that our supposed knowledge in this realm is riddled with urban myths and that a child’s brain is tough and resilient in the face of adversity. This is a terrific, fun, educational book." —Robert Sapolsky, Ph.D., author of Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers

"Fact-filled and fascinating, Welcome to Your Child’s Brain will answer many of parents’ most urgent questions. Neuroscientists Sandra Aamodt and Sam Wang present the real data that will help parents understand and nurture their children of all ages." —Dr. Lise Eliot, associate professor of neuroscience at Rosalind Franklin University and author of What’s Going On in There? and Pink Brain, Blue Brain

About the Author 

Sandra Aamodt, Ph.D, is the former editor in chief of Nature Neuroscience, the leading scientific journal in the field of brain research. During her career, she has read over 5000 neuroscience papers, given lectures at many universities, and attended over fort scientific meetings in ten countries. Her science writing has been published in the New York Times, Washington Post, El Mundo and the London Times. She lives in Northern California with her husband, one cat, and three chickens.

Sam Wang, Ph.D, is an associate professor of neuroscience at Princeton University. He has published fifty articles on the brain in leading scientific journals and received numerous awards. His research and analysis has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and on National Public Radio, and he has made numerous television and radio appearances. He lives in Princeton, NJ with his wife and their two-year-old daughter.