If you wanted to design a way of life that was exactly counter to the needs of developing brains, you would invent something like modern childhood.\We strap newborns into bouncy seats in front of television sets and enroll them in early learning centers. During toddlerhood, we give them learning laptops, battery-powered toys, and educational DVDs. As they get older, we ferry them from dance classes to violin lessons to soccer practices. We push them to do the sorts of things we see more mature brains doing, believing that brain development is a race—the faster our children's brains finish, the better.\\But to capitalize on the way the human brain was built to grow, we have to redesign children's environments—their homes, schools, toys, and pastimes. In Your Brain on Childhood, developmental psychologist Gabrielle Principe uses scientific evidence to explain the disconnect between the brain's evolutionary history and our children's technology-centered present—and suggests ways for us to naturalize childhood again.

Old brain, new world -- Supersized childhood -- The twenty year science project -- The hurry syndrome -- The worst seat in the house -- Toying with children -- Wii little children -- Organized crime -- An inside job -- Old school -- Evolutionary baggage -- Thinking outside of the sandbox.