Customer Reviews
Not what it claims to be 
2008-06-05
One of the other reviewers noted that this book has a deceptive title, and I completely agree. There are very few games in this book, and most of them aren't really games--they're more like tricks. The book is about how babies learn and how their brains develop, not about games that you can play to help them grow.
If you want to know about child development, then it's a fine book. But if you want a book with ideas for games to play with your baby, you don't want this book.
Great information for parents! 
2008-04-02
This book is amazing, showing us, the parents, just what our babies really can do! The authors empasize on the importance of the childs emotions, how to connect with your baby in a way that will not only teach your baby but give them a loving relationship to bond with their parents. This book is an excellant choice for anyone who wants to look beyond their childs outerbeing and really understand so much more.
Mother of 4
Half theory; half practice: great combo to understand what you're doing 2008-03-17
I loved Baby Minds. While browsing for "games" books for my future first child, I stumbled upon this one and decided to buy it. Although there aren't many brain-building games, there are quite enough for a great start. What I especially liked are the explanations before the activities. I really felt like the authors researched a lot for this book and they made me understand that babies have a lot of potential we can help them reach with simple activities. Most people keep saying that babies don't do anything for months and I now realize that maybe they're the ones not doing anything. Well worth my time and money!
A thinly veiled ad for "Baby Signs"... 
2008-01-25
..most of the practical advice is stuff anyone who keeps up with the popular press is already aware of -- e.g. reading to your child is good, etc...the underlying purpose of the book, I suspect, shows up in chapter five where the authors excitedly announce "Parents wowed by babies' sign language"...of course, the authors started "Baby Signs" and sell "baby Signs" stuff by the truckload...but I guess that doesn't affect their opinion...
Fabulous book - every parent should have! 2007-08-01
I read this book and then bought a copy so I could keep it as a reference. Full of fascinating information about baby development that every parent should know -- I was surprised to learn just how advanced babies' minds are as soon as they are born, how they are much more aware of the world around them than previously thought. This book has many ideas of how to capitalize on your baby's brain development as s/he grows. Simple and fun games to play and ways to interact with your child. I love this book and have used many of the ideas already with my 8-month-old daughter.
Focusing Mr. Live Wire 2007-05-13
More than 65 delightful games and activities to jump-start your baby's amazing brainpower
Can simply singing a song or blowing a dandelion under a toddler's nose help her mind to blossom? Can your baby count, remember events, and solve problems even before he can talk? The exciting answer to both questions is yes!
Breakthrough research is revealing the extraordinary inborn abilities of infants.
It is also showing how experiences during the first years of life profoundly
influence intelligence, creativity, language development-and even later
reading and math skills.
Now two psychologists and child development experts-authors of the bestselling Baby Signs-have created a delightful guide for parents based on the most up-to-date knowledge of how babies discover the world. You'll learn how to:
_ Create a homemade mobile to stimulate your three-month-old's delight in solving problems
_ Play a patty-cake game to help your two-year-old
make logical connections
_ Initiate bedtime conversations that build your child's memory and sense of personal history
_ Develop "Baby Signs" to help your toddler communicate before he or she can talk
_ Stimulate your child's natural number skills with puppets and counting games
_ Use nursery rhymes and special read-aloud techniques to foster reading readiness
_ Nurture budding creativity with humor and fantasy play
_ And much more!
Baby Minds is not another program for creating "super babies." Instead it
builds on activities that babies instinctively love to develop their unique abilities and make your daily interactions full of the joy of discovery-for both of you.
Great info on baby's brains! 
2007-03-28
Sort of a review of "Early Childhood Development" courses. With reference to Skinner and Vygotsky's work. Very interesting and a fast, easy read.
Interesting but wordy 
2006-11-04
This is an interesting book and it goes into detail about little minds, but some of it may be too technical for parents who just want to learn the games and not why or how they stimulate. Some parents might not have time to read all the background info and would like to just get down to the fun part, which is a little bit difficult with this book. Still, if you have the time to devote to this book, it really is interesting and enlightening and may encourage you to try to develop even more games to stimulate your child's growing mind which is certainly a good thing!
prefer Perlmutter's Raise a Smarter Child by Kindergarten 2006-10-23
If you are looking for more activities / games to play with your child, there are over 30 in chapter 3 of David Perlmutter's book, Raise A Smarter Child by Kindergarten.
Fascinating but not a quick game guide 2006-08-05
As a teacher, child psychology graduate and mother I have to say that this book was very useful. Even having studied most of the material in this book in university, it was a excellent reminder of the many ways to stimulate a child's mind. Yes there are not many gmaes - and the ones included are simple and sometimes obvious. However the connection the book makes between the games, that most parents play with their babies anyway, and how those games stimulate the mind is fascinating and is what this book is really trying to do. Once you understand the function of a particular game you can adapt and modify and make new games that stimulate the same parts of the brain.
If you are looking for a strictly games book with less psychology and more actual games and songs, definitely buy Baby Play by Gymboree. It has games organized by age and then color coded on each page to highlight the game, song, skill, related research etc and you can easily find just what you want without reading all the extra stuff. Plus, there are fantastic pictures!
But I digress. Baby Minds is a book with a lot of information. It is designed, I believe, for the parent or teacher who wants to understand what their child is learning when they play. Can you successfully raise your child without reading this book? Absolutely! Will this book make you more aware of the types of activities you do with your child and what your child is gaining? Absolutely!
