What’s Going on in There?

Outline

What’s Going on in There? (1999) explains how a child’s brain and mind develop from before birth through the first five years of life. Lise Eliot describes how each sense, movement skill, emotion, and language ability grows, and shows how genes and everyday experiences work together. The book gives parents a clear, science-based picture of early development and practical ways to support it.

• A child's brain and mind begin developing before birth and keep growing through the first five years of life.
• Each sense, movement skill, emotion, and language ability develops in its own way, and the book explains how.
• Genes and everyday experiences work together to shape how a child develops; neither acts alone.
• Ordinary daily interactions with a child can strengthen thinking, emotional health, and learning.
• The book gives parents a clear, science-based picture of early development along with practical ways to support it.

Lise Eliot is an American neuroscientist and professor at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in Chicago. Her research and writing focus on brain development in children and how it is shaped by experience. Her books include What’s Going on in There? and Pink Brain, Blue Brain.