Over the past couple of decades, advances in technology have made possible new and exciting insights into how the brain grows, learns and operates. And there is now growing consensus that this knowledge is of great relevance to parenting and all manner of child-rearing contexts. Nurturing a Healthy Mind takes the available science on how the brain responds to the environment, processes stimuli and 'thinks', and presents it in an easy-to- understand and user-friendly format. It 'translates' what neuroscience is telling us about the development of a child's mind from birth to pre-pubescence. Specifically, it details the development of the brain from infancy to the early school years and explains how this knowledge can help us deal with the everyday realities of raising healthy and happy children.

The 90's was declared the "Decade of the Brain" and a flurry of research on brain development soon followed. The result: two decades on we now know more about the brain than we did since the first recorded writings 6000 years ago.

Advances in technology and science have taught us a great deal and 'Nurturing a Healthy Mind' supports the growing consensus that research on brain development is relevant to parenting. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, parents and teachers are seeing the benefits of this research, with child rearing and education being shaped by new understandings of the human brain.

It is becoming wider knowledge that the interactions between our genetic makeup, early experiences and environmental influences shape the architecture of the developing brain. And as such our understanding of the importance of the early years of life have, thankfully, received much greater attention and scrutiny. We are witnessing a tsunami of research, in conjunction with well-informed individuals, looking to ensure that all children receive the attention they need in their earliest days of life.

'Nurturing a Healthy Mind', with its easy-to-understand format, gives parents and early caregivers a great opportunity to tap into this research and provide the best environment possible for healthy child development.