FAMILY : Getting in Touch With Kids’ Stages

In Dr. T. Berry Brazelton’s book “Touchpoints,” the well-known pediatrician answers parents’ questions about their child’s feelings, development and behavior, from birth through age 6.

The word touchpoints refers to universal and predictable times just before a surge of rapid growth of any kind of development--motor, cognitive or emotional--when, for a short time, a child regresses.

“If parents understood that children may steal, wet the bed or experience other ‘problem’ behavior when they are entering a new developmental stage, then they would put less pressure on their child,” Brazelton said in an interview. “And if these ‘touchpoints’ are used as windows, then future problems could be prevented.”

The 512-page reference book (Addison-Wesley, $22.95) is divided into three sections. Part one begins with pregnancy and ends with age 3. Part two covers the first six years and presents the most common developmental challenges to this age group. Part three looks at all the important people in the child’s life.

“I want to make parenting a lot more fun,” Brazelton said. “If I can give parents the right questions, then they feel backed up.”