Resources: Review - Child development in the modern age

The book takes a global perspective. And, in light of the Unicef reportinto children's wellbeing in the developed world, it is very timely.

Smidt begins with analyses of Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget and Russianpsychologist Lev Vygotsky and the theorists who've added to or contestedtheir work. Then there are chapters on children as creative thinkers,children as users of symbolic information, the influence of specificcultures and culturally engendered roles and, finally, an overview ofneuroscientific research on early brain development.

In fact, I only have two quibbles with this book. First, I wish Smidtdidn't so swiftly dismiss the work of John Bowlby, in the belief that heclaimed children's early attachment had to be to their mothers, hedidn't. Second, I wish she'd paid more attention to the effects ofglobalised competitive consumerism. But, as an academic, she wasinevitably hampered by the shortage of research on this.