Bøker av Dr Melodie de Jager

Brain development MILESTONES and learning was motivated by the need for a practical plan of action for parents and caregivers to optimise the most sensitive time of neurological development as well as a practical plan of action for parents and teachers of school going children who, as babies, had skipped a developmental milestone or completed their milestones out of sequence and is still subjected to the influence of the primitive reflexes' first call on brain activity. This culture sensitive book promises to enable parents and caregivers to prevent learning problems at school and in life. It also shows what an older child can do to play developmental catch-up if he/she has skipped a motor milestone as a baby.

There is much to learn from this book and, for sure, there are parts that are controversial, not least because De Jager is strong in her beliefs - "Just as you would not expect someone with a broken leg to climb a mountain, you could not expect these learners to help and change themselves"- and, as was stated earlier, it is the propensity of the author to raise important issues for discussion. She also believes that, "Teachers tend to teach the way they learn." But, as De Jager so clearly explains in this book, the chosen way is not necessarily the way that every mind moves - whether the learner is a child or an adult.This book is a must-read for qualified teachers and therapists, and especially teachers and therapists in training, because it raises important issues that should be considered and discussed by everyone interested in learning.

PLAY LEARN GROW is a practical guide that will help to ensure that your baby's early years do not just slip away - and with them the amazing opportunity to shape a little body, emotions and thought patterns. The book is packed with stimulating ideas that will develop your baby or toddler's brain optimally, in a playful way and without any undue pressure, during the first three years. Babies and toddlers develop so quickly that what is fun today is boring tomorrow. Regardless of whether or not your baby or toddler attends a stimulation class, the activities in PLAY LEARN GROW are age-appropriate and correspond to the latest research in development and the brain. In addition, each age-related phase concludes with a checklist that offers you the assurance that your little one is progressing. Faster is not better but progress is important and fun. And with a caring adult, it is the best brain food for birth to 3 year olds. Come play with us! Come learn with us! Come grow with us! We are often too busy and distracted - or in too much of a hurry to stop and simply enjoy the moment, but a baby, infant or toddler knows exactly how to make us stop and pay attention to all the wonders of the world that are right there, before our eyes. It is in those moments, the ones where we make eye contact with our baby or when we hear their giggles of utter delight at the simplest of things, that time stands still and we feel truly special and blessed. All our distractions disappear into the background and these moments become the ones that really matter. Our young ones need us, and depend on us, to be able to laugh out loud, to play, to sometimes just be silly, and of course - to be clever.