Customer Rating: 
Summary: This book should be compulsory reading prior to anyone bringing a human being into this world.
Comment: I truly believe this book should be a compulsory read for anyone thinking or putting themselves in a situation which will result in a human being introduced into this world.
It is a relatively simple read but it explains so well why love is important - even vital - for proper development, not only in order to be able to relate and empathise with others but also for sound mental health.
Many parenting books will talk about "developmental milestones" and so-called "must-haves" and "essential" equipment. 'Why Love Matters' is different. It's talks about what really matters, what is really essential and why.
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Summary: A MUST for any parent
Comment: I bought this book on a whim without really knowing in which context it was written, whilst I was surprised, I was not dissapointed.
This is not a wishy washy parents handbook with vague advice, it is a very thorough study into the development of babies based on the care given. It is no easy read, but certainly a worthwhile one.
I must add, that if you are reading it following the birth or impending birth of a second, third or fourth (and so on) child then prepare yourself for an almighty guilt trip! I was certainly never what a social worker might call a Neglectful Mother, but I had my children during a highly emotional and difficult time of my life, reading this book I saw the error of some of my previous ways and the discovery of how they may affect your child is quite a profound wake up call.
Every new parent should read this book!
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Opinion dressed up as science
Comment: Sue Gerhardt's style of argument can be summed up as follows. Some of the people with problem A also have B. One possible explanation for B is C. C might be linked to experiences in early years. Therefore problem A is caused by not being loved enough as a baby. This is used to explain every problem from asthma to unemployment.
Starting with the simple and uncontroversial point that babies who are cared for tend to do better than babies who are not, Sue Gerhardt's obsession with her view of how mothers should behave towards babies distorts everything from then on. She only quotes bits of scientific studies that she can use to support her ideas, ignoring contradictory evidence even if it is in the same studies she quotes. She hardly ever considers any alternative explanation than her own and even on the rare occasions she does raise a doubt, she dismisses it simply because it doesn't fit with her view of the world.
Some scientific studies quoted in the book have only the most tenuous connection to the paragraphs preceding them and seem only to have been included to pad out the references page and create the impression that this book has some basis in science. Her `case studies' sound more like excerpts from trashy novels than scientific studies. I think Sue Gerhardt's approach to proper research is typified by the fact that she feels qualified to make judgements about the families of the killers of James Bulger based on what she had read in the newspapers.
Most people I know who have started this book haven't even been able to finish it because they have been so appalled by the sweeping generalisations, stereotyped views and idiotic conclusions. If you want to read a book about child rearing, read one based on evidence rather than this collection of opinions written by a women who doesn't even appear to understand the science she is quoting.
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Summary: Why love matters is a conversation starter
Comment: Taking the book with me on the bus or at the Waitrose checkout or at the barbers shop or Sussex University its title attracts attention. In the brief encounters which follow I enjoy speaking to parents whose infants obviously enjoy what's going on with the adults. I'm able to affirm that the love care and attention they give the child in those early years do make a difference and will set her up for life. To older people, and I am elderly, I speak of the 'forgiving space' that Sue Gerhart gives me in which to understand my chequered life. As Kierkegaard said 'Life must be lived foward, but it can only be understood backwards.'
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Summary: An eye opener
Comment: I'm expecting my first baby in Feb-2008. I was looking for books about babies psychology, it's true that there are many things you know by instinct but many others are part of medical research, also important to consider.
I read the reviews of this book and that made me buy it immediately!. I loved it since the beginning, although it gives lots of technical info in the first chapters,I found it important as well, to understand in depth the rest of the book.
It's a great eye opener for all parents, parents to be, teachers and everyone in general, interested to understand babies and human behaviour... to improve our lives and the lifes of our loved ones.
100% recommended.
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