Thinking critically about child development : examining myths, mistakes, and misunderstandings / Jean Mercer, Stockton University.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction -- Part I. Genetics and prenatal life -- 1. Genetic factors play such a strong role in human development that genes alone can determine certain human behavioral characteristics -- 2. Although prematurely born babies are smaller than most and my need special medical care, the babies and their parents instinctively know how to interact with each other -- 3. If a child's problem is genetically caused, the problem will be present at birth and will stay the same throughout life -- 4. Unborn babies are not influenced much by the environment outside the mother's body -- 5. As the date when her child will be born gets closer, a mother-to-be needs to be more careful about alcohol and drugs because the risk of birth defects increases throughout pregnancy -- 6. Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) offer reliable ways for couples to have healthy children in spite of fertility problems -- 7. Genetic relationships are a powerful factor in social and emotional interactions, so people recognize and are attracted to blood relatives even if they have never met them before -- 8. Babies work hard to be born -- 9. When a baby has genetic problems, there are no pre- or postnatal methods for treatment -- 10. Except for their reproductive organs, there are no differences between boy and girl babies before or soon after birth : gender differences occur as a result of different experiences for boys and girls -- Part II. Infants and toddlers -- 11. Parents need to have contact with their babies right after birth so that they can bond with them -- 12. Babies are born with emotional attachments to their mothers and can recognize their mothers at once -- 13. When mothers of young babies are depressed, the problem is caused by the changes in hormones they experience after the birth -- 14. It's been proved that it's always better for parentless children to be placed in foster care rather than in orphanages or other institutions -- 15. A baby's sleeping position can cause or prevent sudden infant death syndrome -- 16. Parents should not talk baby talk to their children because it slows their language development -- 17. Being exposed to two different languages is confusing for babies and interferes with normal language development -- 18. It's a problem, and possiblye means autism, if babies don't make eye contact in the first few weeks of life -- 19. It's harmful to preschoolers' psychological development if they make overnight visits to estranged parents -- 20. Toddlers drop food on the floor because they want to make their parents angry -- 21. It is important for parents to work with babies and teach them how to walk -- 22. It is a good thing for an infant or a toddler to have experience with many caregivers, not just one or two -- 23. Screen devices provide excellent resources for encouraging infants' and toddlers' mental development -- 24. People who were abused as children are likely to abuse their own children --

Part III. Preschoolers -- 25. Having kids listen to Mozart makes them smart -- 26. The time between birth and age 3 years is the most important period of development and learning in a person's life -- 27. Children need to develop basic trust and show it by their confidence in other people -- 28. If a child is able to complete a task with an adult present, he or she is also able to do it alone -- 29. Preschoolers who hold their breath when angry are trying to upset their parents and get their own way -- 30. Vaccines and heavy metals cause autism -- 31. Autism rates are rising rapidly, especially in certain parts of the country, so something must be happening to cause more cases of this serious developmental problem -- 32. Preschool children who lie are developing along dangerous lines and need to be corrected severely in order to stop this bad behavior -- 33. Preschoolers who try to bargain with their parents really want to manipulate and control adults, and they should not be allowed to negotiate -- 34. A young child can tell when someone is just teasing -- 35. Children with attachment disorders must be treated very sternly and differently from typically developing children : even in ways that are ordinarily considered abusive -- 36. Spanking should never be used to discipline a child because it is ineffective and caused children to model the aggression they experience -- Part IV. School-age children -- 37. Girls who get their first period early are also likely to mature quickly in other ways -- 38. Children have different learning styles, depending on whether they are left brained or right brained -- 39. It's healthy for children to be a little on the chubby side -- 40. Birth order is an important factor that determines children's intelligence and personality -- 41. When a child is mentally ill, any psychological treatment is better than no treatment -- 42. Bullying is a natural behavior for children, and there's nothing you can do to stop it -- 43. Sugar is a major cause of hyperactive behavior -- 44. Adopted children have many more social and emotional development problems than do nonadopted children -- 45. If a child is sexually molested, he or she will probably repress the memory -- Part V. Adolescents -- 46. Regular experience of share family meals is critical for children's academic and behavioral development -- 47. Children are more likely to become delinquent if their fathers are absent or uninvolved -- 48. Violent television programs and video games cause increased aggressive behavior -- 49. If parents are not strict enough, children will behave badly and my become criminals -- 50. Marijuana use by adolescents causes long-term problems in brain and cognitive functioning -- 51. High self-esteem makes children perform better in school -- 52. Single-sex schools give better outcomes of academic achievement than do coeducational schools -- 53. The DARE program is an effective way to prevent children and adolescents from dealing or using drugs -- 54. Children and adolescents learn bad behavior from their peers -- 55. Young teenagers should be tried and sentenced as adults if they commit serious crimes -- 56. Adolescence is an emotionally dangerous time when teenagers are likely to attempt or commit suicide -- 57. Punishment is an effective way to change children's and adolescents' undesirable behaviors -- 58. Children are reaching puberty earlier with each generation -- 59. Psychological treatments like "conversion therapy" can change a person's same-sex orientation to a heterosexual orientation -- Afterthoughts.