Read to Me Talk to Me Listen to Me: Your Child's First Three Years

By Nancy Devlin Ph.D.

Being just a mother is the highest calling one can have. The problem is that no one believes thisnot the mother, not the workplace, and not the government.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jul 17, 2015
• ISBN: 9781504923323

Nancy Devlin Ph.D.

Dr. Nancy Devlin graduated from Hunter College with a degree in English and a Masters degree in Guidance and School Counseling. She taught elementary school in New York City, and in military-dependent schools in Germany, Denmark and Japan. She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology at the University of California at Berkeley. She was a psychologist for twenty-two years in the Princeton Schools. She is a licensed psychologist, a family therapist and a nationally-certified school psychologist. She is married to a Physicist and they have three sons. She has published hundreds of newspaper articles on issues of education and childrearing. At present, she has a website and blog, www.Cassandrasclassroom.com providing information on education, parenting and related topics.

Book preview

READ

to me

TALK

to me

LISTEN

to me

Your Child’s

First Three Years

NANCY DEVLIN, PH.D.

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©

2015 Nancy Devlin, Ph.D. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 08/04/2015

ISBN: 978-1-5049-2333-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5049-2332-3 (e)

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

1 Introduction

2 Politicians

3 Motherhood as a Profession

4 Career and Children

5 Development

6 First Three Years

7 Play

8 Independence

9 Too Soon

10 Decide to Work

11 Hearing and Language

12 Testing and Teaching

13 Empathy

14 Self-esteem

15 Praise and Encouragement

16 Finally

Index

About the Author

1

Introduction

We know the country has a problem when a woman says: I don’t work. I’m just a stay-at-home mother. Or even, I’m just a housewife. These words are said humbly and apologetically in answer to the question, What do you do?

Just a mother is the highest calling one can have. The problem is that no one believes this: not the mother, not the workplace and not the government.

We know the mother does not believe it because even before the baby is born, plans have been made for somebody else to take care of him. This, in spite of the fact that all of the studies unequivocally find that what is best for the baby is for his mother to nurture and if possible to breast feed him for at least the first six months.

We know that the workplace does not believe this because a law had to be passed before employers would give mothers the right to stay home in order to nurture their new babies. The Family and Medical Leave Act allows mothers to take up to twelve unpaid weeks off, without risking their jobs, to care for the newborn baby. Many employers do not inform their employees of their rights under this law nor do they post the notice as required by law.

Even when informed, many women do not take advantage of the law because they fear it will affect their careers and future earnings if they take off six months, let alone three years to raise their child. This, in spite of the fact that women live longer and will be in the work force longer. Three years seems a short time to take out of a career that

Reviews for Read to Me Talk to Me Listen to Me

[bemislibrary · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Author Devlin proposes that society systematically undermines the value of mothers and motherhood through an abundance of day care, only short-term maternity leave options, and the social pressure put on a female ability to hold a paying job. As a licensed psychologist, she uses her experience and education to build a case that the first three years of a child’s life is the most critical to future well-being. She presents some very interesting example and opinions, but fails to support her thesis with sources through footnotes, endnotes, or list of references. There is an index listing seven names, but page numbers are missing. Expecting parents should use the short 37-page book to trigger questions and discuss what the best options for their unique situations are.