Child Development

Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Some basic concepts of child development Chapter 3: Concepts related to genetic factors and prenatal development Chapter 4: Concepts of physical growth and development Chapter 5: Development of cognition and perception Chapter 6: Concepts of emotion and personality Chapter 7: Social development and formative experiences

This book has it all - key concepts, practical examples, riveting research, and critical thinking. This conceptual approach will help students see the big picture as well as specific snapshots into the life of the developing child. -- Stephen Hupp Professor Mercer has taken great care to explain the complexities of conceptual thinking in child development - the way metaphors can help us put words to the unobservable, but also how that can then constrain our thinking about the process. And she does this in a very accessible way, right across child development. Importantly, this includes attention is given to development that takes place before birth, rather than with the neonate. It is a welcome world away from the dry, analytical thinking as taught in my undergraduate days. Complicated terminology is returned to everyday experience and everyday practice examples. I wish I had had this kind of writing as an undergraduate. -- Dr. Matt Woolgar This is an engaging and accomplished book, cautiously and critically reviewing a range of complex literatures on child development. It will equip students with a skeptical and questioning approach to some of the claims routinely made about child development and parenting and encourage them to ask the right questions of themselves and others. -- Sue White