Why Youth is Not Wasted on the Young examines the nature of childhood through an evolutionary lens and argues that childhood is an essential stage of development with its own unique purposes, separate from those of adulthood; a time of growth and discovery that should not be rushed. Written by a renowned developmental psychologist Examines the role that our period of immaturity plays on the social, emotional, and educational needs of today s children Challenges common perceptions of children as simply "e;adults in training"e;

Why Youth is Not Wasted on the Young examines the nature of childhood through an evolutionary lens and argues that childhood is an essential stage of development with its own unique purposes, separate from those of adulthood; a time of growth and discovery that should not be rushed.* Written by a renowned developmental psychologist* Examines the role that our period of immaturity plays on the social, emotional, and educational needs of today's children* Challenges common perceptions of children as simply "adults in training"

Preface viiAcknowledgments xi1 The Benefits of Youth 1Rushing through Childhood 3Views of Development 5A Darwinian Perspective 14I Come Not to Praise Immaturity 202 The Youngest Species 21A Brief Look at Human Evolution 23The Evolution of Childhood 36Timing is Everything 44The Youngest Species 523 The Slow Rate of Growing Up 55The Gamble of Delayed Development 56Big Brains, Social Complexity, and Slow Development 58Cooperating and Competing 62Family Matters 63Slow Growth and Brain Plasticity 65Developmental Plasticity and Evolution 83When Slow is Fast Enough 844 Adapting to the Niche of Childhood 87The Benefits of Limitations 89See Things My Way 93Learning Language 101How Do Adults View Children's Immature Thinking? 106Adapting to Childhood 1095 The Advantages of Thinking You're Better than You Are111The Development of Metacognition - Knowing What We Know113Some Benefits of Less-Than-Perfect Metacognition 128When We Deal with Children 135Know Thyself, But Not Too Well 1366 Play: The Royal Road through Childhood 139What is Play? 142The Adaptive Value of Play 144Children Playing, Children Learning 147Play it Again, Kid 1617 The Most Educable of Animals 163The Myth of "Earlier is Better" 169Prenatal Learning 172Early (Postnatal) Learning 176Developmentally Appropriate Practices in Early Education 182Stress in the Schoolhouse 189Old Brain, New Curriculum 1978 The Changing Face of Childhood 199Pushing Children through Childhood 201A Brief History of Childhood 204The Costs of Ignoring Immaturity: The Well-being ofAmerica's Children 211The Independent Human Juvenile: A New View of Childhood? 216Racing to Adulthood, Prolonging Adolescence 218Epilogue: Homo Juvenalis 221Revisiting Childhood 222Visiting Adulthood 223Notes 227References 239Index 267