Contributions

  • Wiley, Meredith S. - Contributor

Publication

1997 - The Atlantic Monthly Press, New York, New York (State)

Language

English

Word Count

91,000 words, Guess

Page Count

364 pages

Identifiers

and 2 more
  • Goodreads4198896
  • LibraryThing279871

Classifications

  • DDC618.92/89
  • LCCHQ784.V55 K37 1997

Description

As the nation becomes alarmed by reports in the media of the growing wave of violent children, Ghosts from the Nursery presents startling new evidence that links aggressive and violent behavior to the effects of abuse and neglect on the infant brain. While violent behavior has typically been traced to adolescence, this book points to the cradle as the genesis of this problem. In clear and accessible prose, Karr-Morse and Wiley integrate narratives of real children, and interviews from death row, with compelling new research on psychological and physiological brain development. Ghosts from the Nursery demonstrates that positive infant care stimulates the brain's capacity for intelligence, trust, and empathy, while trauma, abuse, and neglect during the first two years of life can lead to the permanent suppression of these important protective capacities. By unveiling previously unseen vulnerabilities and opportunities present in infancy, Ghosts from the Nursery creates a convincing case for a revolution in our beliefs about how to begin to stem the violence currently overwhelming the nation.

Description

One in twenty children born today will spend some part of his or her adult life in jail. During the last thirty years, violent crimes committed by youth have risen by 371 percent. Cutting to the heart of this alarming trend, Ghosts from the Nursery gives startling new evidence that violent behavior is fundamentally linked to abuse and neglect in the first two years of life. In absorbing and accessible prose, Robin Karr-Morse and Meredith S. Wiley present case histories of "children who kill," along with the latest in brain development research. Ghosts from the Nursery compellingly demonstrates the poisonous effect that neglect, abuse, trauma, injury, and toxicity have in the first thirty-three months of life - and makes a convincing case for a revolution in our beliefs about the care of babies.

Subjects

Other Editions

  • Ghosts from the nursery: tracing the roots of violenceThe Atlantic Monthly Press1997-01-01

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