The Irreducible Needs of Children: What Every Child Must Have to Grow, Learn, and Flourish
Parents can sometimes feel like ships being tossed in the storm--trying  to keep their households afloat amidst escalating child-care and health-care  costs, declining funding for public schools, and workplaces that do not favor  working families. TheIrreducible Needs of Childrenreads like a social  compass, or better yet, a family's true north. T. Berry Brazelton, one of the  world's most respected pediatricians, joins with one of the most respected child  psychiatrists, Stanley Greenspan, to offer parents, as well as caregivers,  teachers, policymakers, and even custody-hearing judges clear-cut guidelines for  rearing healthy, well-nurtured children.Each chapter speaks to the fundamental priorities, such as "The Need for  Ongoing, Nurturing Relationships" or "The Need for Limit Setting, Structure, and  Expectations." In every chapter the two doctors offer a lively dialog as they  boldly assert their child-rearing opinions based on solid research and their  collective years of wisdom. They then lead into a list of joint recommendations.  No topic is too controversial or specific for these hard-core child advocates,  including how many hours a baby or toddler should be in child care per week  (ideally less than 30), the importance of one-on-one time, setting upchild-orientedcustody arrangements, and how much homework or television  a child should have each day. Although you may not agree with every  recommendation, this makes an excellent navigational tool for parents and anyone  else who controls the course of children's destinies.--Gail Hudson