No parenting advice, but baby insight!

Most probably you can answer a couple of these questions with resounding ‘YES!’ We know this because decades of scientific research have shown that all babies go through the same fussy phases at the same time. Frans Plooij, Ph.D., and author of the worldwide bestseller The Wonder Weeks spent almost 40 years exploring the reason and timing of these fussy phases all babies go through during their first years.

Here’s the good news! You, dear parent, are doing nothing wrong, and there is nothing wrong with your baby. On the contrary: the fussy phases ARE good news! These fussy phases signal great and drastic changes your baby’s mental development. During these times, his brain is giving him new possibilities. So many possibilities, in fact, that the world around him seems totally different and new. No wonder he is fussy! He needs to get grip on this ‘new world’ suddenly in front of him. As a result, he acts out and becomes more Clingy, Cranky and Cries more.

• Eats less
• Sleeps less or wakes up a lot of the times
• Seems to go back in his development in stead of forth
• Cries more
• Is cranky
• Clings to you all the time
• Is ill more often
• Is not satisfied, no matter what you do.

The Wonder Weeks gives you a “heads up” as to when these periods are expected and explains to you what is going on in the head of your child. Forewarned is forearmed! By knowing what is changing in the mental development of your child, you can help him go through these difficult phases and it will help you as you know why he is not the easiest baby in the world right now. It’s no wonder that new parents everywhere who have read the book calls it a “sanity savior.”

The Wonder Weeks helps your baby to get the most out of his development during the most important mental developmental phase of his life.

All babies go though the same changes in the mental development at the same time. This is called a mental leap. With each leap, your baby is given the possibility to learn new things. And every baby wants to learn, much less master, these new skills, as learning these makes him master that ‘puzzle’ or ‘chaos’ that is in his brain since the leap. Learning new things helps him to get through the fussy phase and is good for his development for the rest of his life.

With each change and new connection in the brain, your baby enters a sort of “use it, or lose it” phase, in which he tries out his new skills while they are still fresh and new. As a parent, The Wonder Weeks tells you what your baby want to explore after each leap and gives you ideas as to what you can play with him that will stimulate the new brain possibility. The Wonder Weeks tells you what he can use from what point forward, when he can use it and what you can do to get the most out of his development. And of course, all in a baby friendly way, as under-stimulating your child is not good, but neither is over-stimulating!

• Babies are less fussy, or fussy for shorter duration
• Babies cope with a mental development change more easy
• Babies are sick less often
• Parents can cope with the fussy periods more easily
• Children do better at school later on in life

We know that every other baby book out there claims to be the definitive baby book: ‘If you do this, here’s what will happen and you will have good results and your baby will be President someday.’

Well, it doesn’t work that way. Every parent has his own parenting style and every good-hearted parent knows what is best for his child. Telling parents what to do is not doing them – or their baby – any good. It just frustrated everyone. This is why The Wonder Weeks is different. It gives parents insight to their baby’s head and, armed with this knowledge, parents can better recognize how to raise their kids. The Wonder Weeks is a facilitator, offering guidance in a relaxed and easy manner, not a manual.