A good age to teach your child to write her name? Age 4. When does your baby start to recognize a favorite tune? Three months. At what point does he decide to no longer like peas? Two years. This new book, produced by the American Academy of Pediatrics, explores the developmental and behavioral milestones of your child's first five years. From that first glint of recognizing her name to dressing, drawing, sharing, and toilet training, this colorful and easy-to-understand guide helps parents navigate a child's developmental stages.

Recently, there's been much public debate about innate gender differences. Sax wades through popular arguments and suggests that educators are "stuck in a mentality that refuses to recognize intrinsic, biologically programmed differences between girls and boys." While he is a proponent of single-sex education, he eschews stereotypes (for example, that boys are better at math and girls are more emotional) with an examination of scientific research about the distinct ways girls and boys think, feel, and act, and suggests ways for parents and educators to optimize these differences.

Bedtime battles, titanic tantrums, and imaginary friends who spill stuff—why do preschoolers act this way? This book provides practical ways to deal with misbehavior throughout the natural developmental phases. These nonpunitive techniques emphasize teaching rather than obedience to help kids learn self-discipline and self-confidence. For example, the authors suggest changing a "time-out," which normally focuses on the crimes of the past, to a "cool-off," to calm down and prevent from acting out later.

There are plenty of crises in the world, and we try to shield our little ones from these disasters. But for some kids, even day-to-day events—a fall off the bed, or a trip to the doctor—can cause lingering stress. And on the other end of the scale, a death in the family or a car accident can cause longer-lasting trauma. This book explores the entire spectrum of perils and offers techniques for helping kids cope.

If you've ever wanted to get inside your kid's head, this is the book to help you do it. Healy explains what science has discovered about the development of children's brains and how it applies to real-world behavior. She posits that conduct often blamed on emotional problems may instead be attributable to neural systems developing on their own timetable. For example, if your child isn't paying attention, there may not be cause for alarm—the brain's prefrontal cortex, which controls reasoning, self-control, and attention, is one of the last areas to develop.