'Tried-and-trusted' US parenting classic is revised for the UK market. It is appealing to parents looking for an alternative to rigid Gina Ford-style childcare regimes. Bringing up children has become a race to accelerate development even before birth. Educational toys and gadgets such as womb speakers, flashcards and 'baby' Mozart are a multi-million pound industry, along with baby gymnastics, and maths and reading lessons for pre-schoolers. In "You Are Your Child's First Teacher", Rahima Baldwin Dancy speaks out against hyper-parenting and rushing children through childhood. 'Our children need us for the heart connection, but they don't need constant adult input and intellectual stimulation,' says Baldwin Dancy. 'Allowing children to be children today means recognising their need for creative play which is the work of childhood.' She advocates a 'slow parenting' revolution which will allow children to develop at their own pace, and crucially, will help parents to enjoy the magical first years of raising a child. Rahima Baldwin Dancy's practical, down-to-earth advice will help parents to: understand their child's different intellectual, mental and physical needs at each stage of development; nourish their child's imagination with simple home-made toys and materials from the garden and kitchen cupboard; enjoy storytelling, arts, crafts and musical activities with their child; create their own family rituals to ease the daily routine; use imitation, repetition and setting limits to promote positive discipline; and value their own ability to understand and care for their child.

Table of Contents

You Are Your Child's First Teacher; Receiving and Caring for the Newborn; Growing Down and Waking Up; Helping Your Baby's Development in the First Year; Helping Your Toddler's Development; Parenting Issues of the First Three Years; The Development of Fantasy and Creative Play; Nourishing Your Child's Imagination; Developing Your Child's Artistic Ability; Your Child's Musical Ability; Rhythm and Discipline in Home Life; Cognitive Development and Early; Childhood Education; More Parenting Issues.

Author Biography

RAHIMA BALDWIN DANCY is a Steiner/Waldorf early childhood educator and professional midwife. She is mother of four children and lives in Boulder, USA.