As a new parent, I was really interested in reading this book and excited to have the change at an ARC. This book is filled with lots of great information about brain development and how caregivers can best engage their baby's brains. The science aspects are interesting and the tone of the book is friendly and casual making everything easy to understand. I really appreciated that this wasn't just a book sharing information about brain development but also shared HOW caregivers can help with that brain development.

BUT most importantly, I really loved how the author laid out the challenges facing parents and caregivers these days and how our country NEEDS to invest in supporting families and young children in their growth and development. It is critical and so many people (adults and children) fall through the cracks.

"Parent Nation" is an informative and important book about the need for American society, employers, government entities, etc. to prioritize early childhood education and care, and to provide parents with the resources and support they need to give their children the best possible start in life. The author discusses the importance of parents spending time with and interacting with their children in the first three years of life, when brain development is at its most critical stage. She also discusses the various barriers that many parents face, especially lower income and minority parents (because of the disproportionate percentage of minority parents who are in the lower income bracket), but also middle class or upper-class families, in providing the necessary time, care, and interaction with their young children -- inability to afford to be a stay-at-home parent if one so desires; low-paying jobs and/or the need to work multiple jobs to make ends meet; lack of paid parental leave or inadequate paid leave; inadequate childcare options; pricey childcare; and an insufficient social safety net when illness, injury, or crisis strikes. The author gives examples of policies and programs in the US and in other countries that seek to provide the necessary support, and the significant benefits that some of these programs bring. The book identifies resources for readers who want more information, as well as avenues for advocacy to help bring about the recommended changes.

I received a copy of the e-book via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

Absolutely love this book! My baby is 2 (so, not really a baby anymore) and I have no prior experience with kids. I thought this was accessible and forward thinking, and at the same time encouraging. Would love to give this book to all parents!

I wish I had this book 20 years ago when I was a new mother! Dr. Suskind's meticulously researched and highly informative book reframes the myth of parents needing to be able to figure it out on their own (and as we know there has not been a blueprint on how to ensure we are doing all we can to nurture brain development in early childhood). Fortunately Dr. Suskind has finally provided a blueprint for all of us to create what she calls a "Parent Nation" - the recognition that we can't parent alone - but we all need a web of support with early child care, education, social service, medical professionals and other parents. She also shares stories of parents and children throughout that add living examples (including her own family and tragic story).

At the end of the book she shares an action guide and discussion guide. This book is a call to action for all of us and has tangible, practical solutions that we can implement in our own homes and communities.
Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Group Dutton for providing me with an advanced copy. My review is my own opinion.

As a new mom, most of my waking hours (and probably a lot of my sleeping ones too) are spent on how to help my daughter become a mature, compassionate, self-sufficient adult who's set up for success. So I find myself gravitating more towards parenting advice books than I ever have before in my life. Dana Suskind's new book tackles the question of not just what parents can do to better prepare their children for a rewarding life as a member of society but what societies need to do to better support parents in that goal.

There are a lot of good points raised in this book, and many are very intuitive to follow. I have a background in education, so there wasn't much new ground covered here that I hadn't read or thought about previously. But it's a great reference to some of the major ideas of whole child development. I wished the writing style was a little more engaging. There are a lot of sections that are heavy in facts and figures, so narratives and cohesive tying-together sections would have been helpful.

This was interesting and intriguing. As a parent I am always curious to see others perspectives. I feel like I definitely took some things away from this book!

At once heartbreaking and inspiring, Parent Nation by Dana Suskind is a call to action to protect and nurture future generations. Social supports in the United States make it impossible for many parents to provide kids with the level of interaction they need in the first few years of life to support healthy brain development. This, coupled with the fact that the majority of parents don't receive any guidance about how to nurture brain development in their kids, leads to startling inequities between socioeconomic classes, and a terrible loss of talent and brilliance. Anyone who cares about children, which should be all of us since this is the same as caring about the future of humanity, needs to read and act on the information on this book.

Thank you do Dana Suskind, Penguin Group, and NetGalley for access to this free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.