Customer Reviews
Wasted opportunity. Buy The Continuum Concept instead. - By: R. L. Moss, 04 Sep 2008 
I really, really wanted to like this book.
For years, those of us into attachment-style parenting have been saying exactly the same as the author; basically, something is rottenin the state of childhood.
And we've been saying the something is actually many things.
* Over-medicalisation of birth instead of birth at home orin a safe non-medical place
The New Experience of Childbirth
* Babies being fed powdered cows' milk from a bottle on a schedule & given a plastic dummy to meet their sucking needs, rather than nursed on cue by their mother for nourishment *and* comfort for as many months & years as the child & mother are both agreeable
Breastfeeding Made Simple: Seven Natural Laws for Nursing Mothers
* Young children are pushedin buggies & prams rather than tied to their caregiver with a simple piece of cloth
The Continuum Concept (Arkana)
* They're separated from their mothers before they can walk & their fathers before they can even smile
Why Love Matters: How Affection Shapes a Baby's Brain
* They're made to sleepin a separate bed or even a separate room, pushed to "sleep through the night" as early as three monthsin some cases, certainly before a year, rather than sleeping with their parents with access to the mother's warm milk, waking several times to ensure their body alerts them to any internal problems but baby & mother both lulled back to sleep by the hormonesin milk
Sleeping with Your Baby: A Parent's Guide to Cosleeping
* pushed into compulsory schooling as early as possible rather than learning from their parents, relatives & local mentors...
How Children Learn (Penguin Education)
And we've been trying to find a way around thisin a society that is as far removed from "the village" it takes to raise a child as it's possible to be, compromising where we have to but doing the best we can. And on reading the dust jacket of this book I thought, "finally, this debate isin the public domain"!
Sadly not.
For example, this book quotes the national sleep association as saying that babies should be sleeping through the night from six to nine months. Really? Maybe if they arein a cot, on their own, away from the noises of their parents. But has the author actually stopped to consider for one moment that babies actually evolved to sleep with their mothers (and possibly fathers too - certainly Dads can join in!) with access to the breast? And that if this means that babies wake often, often through toddler years & into early childhood, for suckling & comfort, that ... *this* might be the norm? No, the book just rehashes the same old stuff we've heard before. If you are desperate for an uninterrupted night's sleep a book on very gentle night weaning such as this one The No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night (Pantley) might help, but certainly, ignore this book's advice entirely.
And a book that talks at length about obesity, crapin children's food, sleep apnoea, snuffles & colds... (all with far higher instancesin non-breastfed babies) but doesn't mention breastfeeding AT ALL (oh, okay, just once, to berate nursing mothers who internet at the same time) is not a book I have much time for.
And the fact she talks a lot about the problemsin modern schooling... but never once even suggests that the very idea of compulsory schooling might be the problem concerns me.
Which is a pity, because her chapter on childcare makes some sense (although again, she talks about mothers having "the hormones for it" but neglects to say she's talking about prolactin... the breastfeeding hormone!) & her chapter on the great outdoors has a lot of good points, as do some of her other chapters, but I'm sorry, I just couldn't take it seriously.
I felt like I was reading an extended edition of the daily mail's "femail" section at points (and when you look at the author's web site you'll see she's spoken at the Conservative party conference... hmm) because, besides spectacularly missing the point, at times it reads incredibly judgementally, like a "back to basics" rant from the Toriesin the nineties!
Read the other books mentionedin this review, if you're really interestedin "toxic childhood" syndrome.
The startling reality of today's childhood - By: Julie Munro, 09 Mar 2008 
I really liked this book as it is very well written & researched on the problems of childhood today. It could be depressing but to me it wasn't as it gives parents hope that something can be done to give your child a better childhood, some things are glaringly obvious like switching off the tv & actually spending time with your children talking to them! As a person interestedin nutrition Sue Palmer covered this aspect very well, if you feed them junk then you can't expect them to have healthily functioning brains, hence the large increasein ADHD & other brain disorders! I'm not a mother myself but if I was ever blessed with children then I know I would certainly turn to this book. If you are a parent & are looking for ideas to make things better for your child, then look no further.
A long awaited call to arms - By: A. P. Swift, 25 Apr 2007 Ever heard someone talking disparagingly about the "youth of today"? Ever thought that kids today seem unable to hold a conversation, behavioural disorders seem to by on the rise & that the old - fashioned adage of respecting your elders has withered away?
Sue Palmer neatly labels this as "toxic childhood syndrome" - & we soon see how apt this diagnosis is as she produces a mind - boggling cocktail of causes, consequences & potential cures.
Ingredients such as sleep deprivation, family time, television & advertising & others are placed under the microscope, & you could say that this book is a societal autopsy which yields alarming results. Sue Palmer treads with caution, however,in urging us to resist the common temptation to brazenly lay blamein one area, (ie the parents). What arises from these factors is a vicious circle of epic proportions.
Importantly for a book with so much to offer, her findings are laid outin bite - sized sections. More importantly still, Palmer keeps a tight reign on herself & never digresses into the patronising tone that often accompanies books on this topic. Each chapter is succinctly rounded up with practical suggestions that can be adopted to suit the needs of individual children.
Her many years of experiencein education are obvious from the start, & they provide a solid grounding for her thorough research. Fluent writing & sparse touches of humour maintain the reader's interest & while never light - hearted, Toxic Childhood makes very accessible work of what could easily become depressing subject.
Whether or not you are a teacher, youth worker, parent or anyone else who comes into contact with kids, this book is both an uplifting battle - cry & an essential toolin our understanding of the children of today & of tomorrow.
Excellent - By: RG, 15 Apr 2007 Sue Palmer is saying what most teachers have been thinking for ages now. It is a great book for parents to raise their awareness of the impact their lives can unwittingly have on child development. This book should be given outin maternity wards!
Excellent study, promoting 'family-friendly economies' - By: William Podmore, 12 Apr 2007 Sue Palmer is an experienced writer & broadcaster on children's education. This very useful book makes a strong case for some traditional values. Our children need to develop focus, self-restraint & empathy; they need to learn to do as you would be done by; & they need presence, not presents, parents who listen & talk to their children. She recommends real food, less of sugar's empty calories & more fish oil, eaten at family meals; play & exercise; bedtime routines; & protecting children from advertising (Sweden bans advertising to under-12s).
In Finland, a teacher of nursery children must have a master's degree. Britain, on the cheap, uses poorly-qualified, even unqualified, staff, not justin nurseries but increasinglyin primary & secondary education too. Our children from age five are subjected to tests & targets: our 11-year-olds are bottom of the league for enjoying reading. In Sweden & Finland, formal education starts at seven: they are top for literacy & have smaller gaps between rich & poor & between boys & girls.
But it is not just a matter of deficient parenting skills, or of a defective educational system. Why do these happen? Our competitive, long-hours, rat-race, culture is harming our children - & our adults too! When both parents have to be out working to make ends meet, the whole family suffers. As Ms Palmer says, we need family-friendly economies, not economy-friendly families.
And there is the vital matter of inequality, which, unfortunately, she does not treatin this book. Britain has the third biggest gap between haves & have-nots among the 24 OECD countries; the USA has the biggest. We have the second highest child death rate; the USA has the highest. The othersin the bottom six - New Zealand, Australia, Ireland & Canada - also have the `Anglo-Saxon' model of unfettered free markets.
Researchers from Dundee University recently pointed out, "There is a very strong association between income inequality & under-five mortality among the wealthier OECD countries. Within this group the highest child mortality figures are to be foundin those `Anglo-American' countries which attracted criticismin 1993in a Unicef study on child neglect. Since 1960, the relative ranking, based on increasing under-five mortality, of these countries has markedly worsened relative to the others." [David Collison et al, `Income inequality & child mortalityin wealthy nations', Journal of Public Health, published online 13 March.] In 1993, we were 15th, we are now joint 22nd. This decline happened equally under Conservative & Labour governments.
Perhaps our whole social model is wrong. Perhaps we should stop looking to the USA's failed social model. We do need to change things & as she writes, "Nobody ever changed anything by sitting around bemoaning the status quo."
