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BIRTH - Issues In Perinatal Care
Vol. 30, Number 2, June 2003, P. 139-140
Amazing Babies: Essential Movement for Your Baby in the First Year
By Beverly Stokes

As child care professionals, we are frequently asked questions like, "should she be rolling over yet?" or "why isn't my baby crawling?" Many parents, both new and experienced, are eager to encourage movement development in their newborns, but do not feel they posses the knowledge or ability to do so competently. Rather, they compare their children to the rate at which they developed as a child or to other children who were born around the same time.

Beverly Stokes, a registered movement educator, has produced a resource to educate parents and child care professionals about what to expect during movement development during the child's first year. It also assists the individual to follow the child's lead when interacting during skill development. In his foreword, Dr. Thomas Verney accurately describes Amazing Babies as follows:

Child care professionals and educators will benefit by learning the body-mind organization overview and the relationship between movement and preverbal development. Based on this information they will discover new ways to observe, relate, and design activities for babies. Both the groups will find the material theoretically sound and of great practical value.

The goal of Amazing Babies is to guide the new mother/caretaker through the important first year of the baby's life. While reading the book, the caretaker will develop body awareness, learn to interact with the child to enhance his or her development. and understand, with confidence, why babies do the things they do. With the caretaker's understanding of movement development, the baby will gain confidence in movement explorations, become an active initiator of play sessions, and through interaction form a close bond with the parent.

The book is divided into two sections: the prelocomotion stage, newborn to 5 months, and the locomotion stage, 6 to 12 months. Within these sections are 12 chapters focusing on motor development during each month of the first year. The chapters are titled with unique phrases that highlight each month's development, such as "born to move" and "actions before words." Each chapter begins by explaining what to expect or observe from the baby this month. This explanation is followed by "parent-baby interactions" and "adult movement explorations" that directly relate to the baby's monthly skills. Bold headings separate each part of the chapter and allow easy review of individual aspects of the month. Much information is bulleted, which creates ease of reading and understanding the main points. Chapter concludes with a summary of the highlights from each month and journal entry suggestions for the new parents to reflect on their observations and feelings about interactions with the child. The journal entries each month are a great way to make the first year a meaningful and memorable experience for both parent and child.

Throughout the book, Beverly Stokes provides comprehensive explanations of the newborn's fine and gross motor development as well as verbal and nonverbal communication. How to understand the baby's messages is a unique and valuable aspect to this book. Correctly responding to the baby's body language by portraying interest, pleasure, and frustration enables enhancement of motor development at the baby's pace. During the prelocomotion stages the author explains how each new movement precedes the next and is essential for the baby to master before becoming mobile.

Descriptions are clear and concise, and provide a precise visual image of what the child will display. As the baby progresses into the locomotion stage, Stokes teaches about the development of balance and equilibrium responses and spinal mobility. These skills are not only important for the clinician but also for the parent to understand. The information can aid parents in answering those questions that are continually in the minds - "why isn't my baby doing that yet?"

Excellent photographs and illustrations accompany the text. Although this book is filled with information, skills learned in previous months are continuously reviewed as they relate to newly emerging skills, thereby allowing the reader to gain a full understanding of the order of motor development.

The adult movement explorations help to increase the caretaker's body awareness so that she or he can better relate to the baby. They also provide an opportunity for new parents to increase their physical fitness and flexibility. The first chapter focuses on breathing and relaxation techniques that are used throughout the book, and are beneficial to caretakers throughout parenting. As the child becomes more mobile, the adult movements become more difficult and assist the adult in keeping up with a busy baby. Caretakers may find that along with their child, they have also gained new awareness of their own bodies at the completion of this first year.

The book is written at a level that a non-child care professional can understand, yet it includes valuable clinical information. Stokes has incorporated important reflexes and response milestones that will enhance the knowledge of parents and caretakers at all levels. I have found myself referring to this book several times in my practice as a physical therapist, and I believe it has enhanced my understanding of what children are trying to express through their verbal and nonverbal communication.

Beverly Stokes' thorough research has proved valuable in assisting both parents and health care professionals how to understand and promote a strong, mobile, and happy baby. The most novel aspect is her teaching "how to change your body position to interact body-to-body and face-to-face with your baby." Many parents come with good intentions of enhancing their child's development, with list of motor milestones and joining child playgroups. Amazing Babies, complete with interactive ideas and numerous examples, ties everything together by promoting the caretaker's interaction at the child's level as these wonderful new skills emerge. I recommend this book to all new and experienced parents and to child care providers who are looking for a well-rounded and comprehensive reference to enhance a child's development during the first year.

Lynn Briggs, MS, PT
University of Rochester Medical Center
Physical Therapy Department