Amazon.com Review
Enabling parents to provide "daily doses" of quality time with their kids often proves as tough as getting kids to eat their daily requirements of fruits and vegetables. But try we must, insists infant and child development expert Stanley Greenspan, MD, author of The Four-Thirds Solution. Drawing from enlightening research (including his own extensive studies) on the emotional and intellectual development of the very young, Greenspan shows the significance of consistent, loving interaction between child and caregiver-- levels rarely achieved in the majority of American daycare facilities. With passion and urgency, Greenspan shows that America's increased dependence on out- of-home childcare (what he calls "our social experiment") poses serious threats to our youth's long-term development, and ultimately, to our society. Simply put, his "four-thirds solution" serves as a metaphor for rearranging work schedules, allowing parents more time at home. Six real-life scenarios show how different families (including a divorced couple) interpreted the solution, struggled with the changes, and eventually reaped the rewards. Along the way, the Ittleson Prize-winning doctor nimbly debates skeptics and challenges corporations and government to rebalance their priorities. Guilt-inducing? Perhaps, but if Four-Thirds compels parents to spend even one- third more time with their child, it's guilt well invested. --Liane Thomas