You Are Your Child's First Teacher, Third Edition: Encouraging Your Child's Natural Development from Birth to Age Six

I suppose my review might mean more if I start by saying I am not a fan of parenting books and fads on how to raise child.However.The insights I have learned from this book are INVALUABLE! I am grateful for the teachings and the reviews that steered me to this book. The Waldorf Preschool I wanted my child to attend recommended Across the Rainbow Bridge,which my friend purchased. The reviews said it was a good book but not actionable for parents. This book on the other hand is FILLED with friendly suggestions, examples, and TONS of resources at the end of every chapter. I found myself wanting to buy every book the author recommended, because her style of writing is so inclusive I was inspired to learn as much as I could.Anyway, since the first chapter I was finding reasons to stay up later to continue reading. I found myself prefacing most conversations with, " This book I'm reading talks about that...", and when I would share with my friend who was reading the book I had intended to buy I asked if any of this content was discussed and repeatedly she said none of the topics we were discussing regarding child rearing were addressed.I am very happy with my purchase and would recommend this book to even a brand new mom. I personally didn't want to read any books I was so overwhelmed as a single parent and new mom. BUT I do wish I had these insights with a new baby and maybe even in my last trimester when reading books was a simple task ;)

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I found it an easy read that gave a lot of insight into the phases of growth our children go through. The information is presented in a way that is memorable and easy to share with other adults in my child's life. My son is only 8 months old, but I plan to return to this book throughout his childhood for a refresher on ideas and information for each stage of life. I especially appreciated the lists of suggested resources at the end of each chapter.Most importantly, I feel this book validated my actions as a mother who doesn't keep my baby on my hip all day. He has always needed time to play independently. This book helped me to realize that, by letting my baby play independently (with supervision, of course), he will have the opportunities to learn to crawl, walk, manipulate objects, observe adult actions, and imitate life around him. I now am more guilt free about letting him do things like bang on the swiffer box in the kitchen while I unload the dishwasher instead of feeling like every waking moment I need to be interacting with an entertaining him. With this approach, he has become a very curious, independent, and determined little mover who can teach ME how he likes to play and explore the fascinating (every day) world around him.

I don't typically write reviews, but I love this book so much. First time mom and I can't say I read and apply like it's fact but I have to say I love the different perspectives it gives me. I do find I will se situations differently thanks to this book offering a new waubtonvirw situations. I find it very helpful in that way. Love this book.

Definitely frou-frou. If you are wealthy and can afford to be a stay at home mom, enjoy this book fully. If you are middle class or lower class economically, get ready to feel guilty, poor, and inadequate! Can't afford Waldorf education, beeswax for sculpting, or a kinderharp? Sorry, you should read Simplicity Parenting. At least the author lists many other books that are interesting and touch on topics she writes about. I won't lie, I liked this book enough that I put it in my bathroom. Alot of the stuff the author said about parenting not being valued in our society and mothering and staying home with your kids was spot on!

This is a great book Waldorf school parents use it and many other people get great support from this book as well

This book has many excellent points and information. I especially like the part about the child "growing down" as first a baby gains control of his head, then hands, and finally feet and legs. I felt there were true facts and I could agree with much of it. It is based on the Waldorf approach to education which can be done at home, and that is fine. There are many lovely things about Waldorf, for sure. The schools do not use plastic materials and only natural materials such as wooden blocks. However, this went a big far in explaining that although Waldorf does not require that students are not immunized, many are not. That part should be left to local laws. I thought this book was so great I bought two copies as I wanted to give one away and then thought better of the idea. However, it is an interesting perspective.

This book was really great and brought up some really good points I am going to keep in mind while raising my daughter. But I also felt like it was a little bit just trying to sell the Waldorf schools.I like how it tells parents to slow down and not treat kids like little adults. It also gives some great ideas on what to do with kids

I LOVE this book!! Totally worth the money. The amount of useful information this book contains is unbelievable. I’ve recommended it to every parent I know.It’s also a very easy, casual read. Definitely not something you need to have complete quiet to enjoy, which is hard to come by anyways when you have little ones. I’m so pleased I got it!

I work in research and I'm always so fussy about books being scientific, so I thought I wouldn't be able to get into this because it would be too woo woo. But, she got me, alright? I love it. I don't care that the sources aren't super varied and that there isn't a lot of scientific detail. I'M FINE WITH IT.So many books and websites promote the image that failing to do finicky little things will result in significant harm to your baby. Authors go around making EXTREMELY strong positive statements on topics where the science is not settled or the effect is weak/disproven. The basic idea of this book is to teach you about infant development by age, so that you can gently encourage those developments without fancy gadgets or regimes. For each age group, the author gives a helpful summary of the small set of items that you actually need. The descriptions of the developments that occur at each age are quite detailed, so I didn't read the chapters for the upper ages completely because I imagine I'll have to read them again.

This book has been the most helpful and eye opening book. It really helped me understand what my daughter needed at each age and how my everyday actions help her learn. It showed how little you need in terms of 'things' and helped me see how my daughter saw things. An absolute must for any parent.

I would highly recommend this book to all "normal " parents, there seems to be a tendancy nowadays to look for books, shows and other instruments to make your child smarter, nicer, a little Einstein, well...this book is not one of them. It's a very nice book that has a simple yet great message:let your child enjoy his/her childhood at his/her own pace while you slowly introduce rhythm, music, storytelling, painting and other interesting activities. The book is well structered, each chapter has a specific theme, ex how your baby develops, how he acquires language, how establishing rhythm can make your life and his/hers easier, etc, a theme that is nicely developed and followed by a list of other possible readings. Although this book is written by a Waldorf teacher, i find it conveys opinions that match both Waldorf and non Waldorf parents.A must have for all parents.

Great book for all parents to read and better understand the world from a child's perspective. Both my husband and I have read it and recommend it to all our family and friends.

I wanted to love this book. Since having children I am very interested in their development and what I can do to help them to become well rounded, thoughtful people. This book seems to be a bit of a philosophical text with much talk of the emerging spirit of the child and a lot of terribly modest anecdotes about the many things the author achieved whilst also raising her children brilliantly. That aside (maybe I am a little touchy since motherhood has drained all of my ambition and focus on my own career!) I believe in her approach to encouraging in a none pedagogical way and the importance of a stable and loving environment for children to explore in their own time. I did however prefer Steve Biddulph's book Raising boys.