Brain Rules for Baby (Updated and Expanded): How to Raise a Smart and Happy Child from Zero to Five

What’s the single most important thing you can do during pregnancy? What does watching TV do to a child’s brain? What’s the best way to handle temper tantrums? Scientists know.

In his New York Times bestseller Brain Rules, Dr. John Medina showed us how our brains really work—and why we ought to redesign our workplaces and schools. Now, in Brain Rules for Baby, he shares what the latest science says about how to raise smart and happy children from zero to five. This book is destined to revolutionize parenting. Just one of the surprises: The best way to get your children into the college of their choice? Teach them impulse control.

Brain Rules for Baby bridges the gap between what scientists know and what parents practice. Through fascinating and funny stories, Medina, a developmental molecular biologist and dad, unravels how a child’s brain develops – and what you can do to optimize it.

You will view your children—and how to raise them—in a whole new light. You’ll learn:

Where nature ends and nurture begins
Why men should do more household chores
What you do when emotions run hot affects how
your baby turns out, because babies need to feel safe
above all
TV is harmful for children under 2
Your child’s ability to relate to others predicts her
future math performance
Smart and happy are inseparable. Pursuing your child’s
intellectual success at the expense of his happiness
achieves neither
Praising effort is better than praising intelligence
The best predictor of academic performance is not
IQ. It’s self-control
What you do right now—before pregnancy, during pregnancy, and through the first five years—will affect your children for the rest of their lives. Brain Rules for Baby is an indispensable guide.

"Dr. Medina hits the nail on the head with 'Brain Rules for Baby.' We are always looking for ways to make our kids smarter, better, happier. Medina gives such practical, usable advice and tips."
- Nina L. Shapiro, MD, UCLA School of Medicine

"An engaging and fun-to-read translation of the best research on child development and effective parenting. I gave Dr. Medina's book to my own son."
- Ginger Maloney, Ph.D, The Marsico Institute for Early Learning and Literacy

"John Medina uses a very readable and refreshing style to present parenting strategies in the context of factual scientific information."
- Jadene Wong, M.D., Stanford University School of Medicine

"If you've no room for another brain-development title, weed an old one to make room for this. Covering such topics as pregnancy, relationships, and "moral" babies, the book will educate even the most learned parents. Medina's humorous, conversational style make this an absolute please to read."
- Library Journal

"We recommend this book to all of our new-parent groups. With a gift for storytelling, Dr. Medina marries the science with practical advice that helps make sense of it all. Sleep-deprived parents still find time to read Brain Rules for Baby and love it."
- Laura Kussick, Executive Director, Program for Early Parent Support

John Medina, a developmental molecular biologist, has a lifelong fascination with how the mind reacts to and organizes information. He is also the author of the New York Times bestseller Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School -- a provocative book that takes on the way our schools and work environments are designed. Medina is an affiliate Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He lives in Seattle, Washington, with his wife and two boys.