To expand knowledge about the family for pediatricians and knowledge about the infant and child for family practitioners is crucial. The practicing pediatrician needs to know more in breadth about the developmental needs of families than do family physicians, and need to know more in depth about the development of infants and children. This book is an important attempt to present this knowledge in a manner that has broad appeal. The authors have an important message, which goes beyond usual knowledge: it is a message of caring and understanding.
The book covers pregnancy and fetal development, infancy, the toddler and preschool years, and middle childhood. Each of these chapters deals with individual and family developmental tasks, examines selected variables for each developmental period, such as family size and structure, socioeconomic and cultural influences, impact of media, parenting, temperament, and, finally, presents clinical applications for each.
A valuable part of the