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The Baby in the Mirror: A Child's World from Birth to Three

For Charles Fernyhough, the birth of his daughter Athena was an opportunity to view the psychological development and growth of a child first hand. Integrating scientific research with careful observation and questioning, this unique study investigates what it is like to be a newborn baby, an infant on the threshold of language, and a toddler testing out autonomy. Using Athena as a case study, Fernyhough vividly describes the huge amount of mental work children undertake right from birth, including the newborn’s task of learning about objects and people; the toddler’s forging of a self; the development of a sense of time and space; and the process of coming to grasp with the transforming power of the imagination. En route, he explains in simple terminology the ideas of the great child psychologists — including Vygotsky, Piaget, and Bowlby — and introduces some of the latest neuroscientific and developmental research. Written with a father’s tenderness and a keen scientific eye, this funny, touching, and fascinating investigation will allow parents and all those interested by child development to understand the extraordinary journey a child makes during the first three years of life.

  • Format
  • paperback
  • Pages
  • 288
  • Language
  • english
  • ISBN
  • 9781847080073
  • Genres
  • parenting, psychology, science
  • Release date
  • 2008