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NurtureShock
New Thinking About Children
by Po Bronson and Ashely Merryman
ISBN: 978-0-446-50412-6

When I cracked open my copy of Bronson and Merryman’s NurtureShock I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Would it be the equivalent of a condescending lecture on how one should be raising their kids or would it instead be a dry collection of statistics and studies that would better serve as a cure for insomnia? Perhaps a combination of the two?

Thankfully NutureShock is none of the above. Instead I was pleasantly surprised to see Bronson and Merryman had in fact compiled a staggering amount of evidence based on the findings of numerous studies that have helped to disprove numerous long-held beliefs and “truths” when it comes to raising children. In some cases, where an answer is not readily available, Bronson and Merryman help to bring to light glaring errors that are having a detrimental affect. A perfect example of this occurs in chapter 5 of the book and is humorlessly entitled “The Search for Intelligent Life in Kindergarten”.

In the hopes of securing a better future for children, parents race to get their children into private schools and advanced programs for the gifted as soon as possible. A primary requirement for placement in such programs is, of course, a test to determine the child’s IQ level. Millions of kids are competing for seats in gifted programs and private schools. Admissions officers say it’s an art: new science says they’re wrong, 73% of the time – the facts are saddening and the lack of “push” to rectify these errors is just plain frightening.

Gifted children will indeed score high on the IQ tests used by programs and institutions, but sadly, the vast majority of the so-called gifted children who also score so well are just fortunate to have come from good backgrounds. By the third grade an alarming number of “gifted” students are struggling in their advanced classes and yet the schools and programs refuse to drop them. How is this happening and why isn’t anything being done to truly rectify it? The answers to these questions are disturbing to say the least.

That is just one of the many interesting topics that Bronson and Merryman hit upon in this book. Other shocking topics that are brought up are the inverse effects of praise; the astounding effects sleep have on a child’s development and even their weight; even when children begin to lie and the why behind it. Then there is the chapter on race, and that if nothing else, is well worth reading. You will be amazed what studies have shown when it comes to just how early on children notice the race of others, even if they do not yet understand the concept behind it, and the effects not addressing it early on can have.

I strongly recommend and encourage any person who has even the slightest day to day contact with children to pick up a copy of this book. It contains a great deal of insight and provides a banquet-worth of food for thought without a hint of condescension or criticism directed to readers. In fact, Bronson and Merryman readily share several trials and misadventures that they themselves endured while attempting to raise their own children utilizing the information that they had gleaned from the various studies and applying it to their own methods. By no means is this book an instruction manual on how to raise your children. Rather, it is more accurate to say that this book provides is a fountain of information that no parent, teacher, and so forth, should be without.

Joana’s Rating: (4 out of 5 stars)

Pst! Click here to find out how you can win a free copy of NurtureShock by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman in either hardback or audiobook!

Special thanks to Ana Balasi of Hachette Book Group for providing a copy for review.