I recently wrote an email to Dr. Michael Thompson praising him on his book, It’s a Boy.
The book talks about child development with regard to boys specifically.

I really enjoyed his book and admire Dr. Thompson as writer and clinician. So I decided to tell him all of this in an email. I sent him a short note stating how much I liked his book (It’s a Boy) and how it inspired me to write a blog about developmental milestones.

To my surprise and delight he wrote back:

Dear Sarah,
Thanks for sending me the link to your blog. I very much enjoyed your piece on developmental milestones and competitiveness.
Warmly,
Michael

I wrote back to him asking if I might include his response in my blog. He responded almost immediately back stating:

Dear Sarah,
Yes, you may post my comments on your blog, but let me add a couple of sentences:
“Thanks for sending me the link to your blog. I very much enjoyed your piece on developmental milestones and competitiveness. What you say about moms and dads subtly competing about their children’s milestones is so true…and more than a bit sad. It suggests that the children of “good parents” reach their developmental milestones faster and the less rapid developers are slow because their parents aren’t doing something right. These assumptions are almost always wrong, but the real problem is that this kind of competition is demoralizing and alienating. It leaves parents lonely at a time when they need friends the most, i.e. when they have needy, tiring young children. The hard thing for parents to accept is that DEVELOPMENT is in charge of development, not parents.

May I just say that any admiration that I had for Dr. Thompson has now been exponentially multiplied.

So please check out Dr. Thompson’s book if you have a son. It will shed some light on key developmental issues and help you to become a better more understanding parent.