Emma Byrne

Surrounded on all sides by water, Ireland and its people have long been shaped by the sea. Ireland has a rich history of famous – and infamous – mariners: from our earliest navigators, who may have reached North America – by currach – a thousand years before Columbus, to daring polar explorers Ernest Shackleton and Tom Crean. Read the stirring adventures of Ireland’s seafaring women, from Granuaile to Kate Tyrrell, and naval leaders such as John Barry, who fought sea battles in the Americas. Irish people have helped to shape marine science, including Francis Beaufort, who devised the scale by which we measure wind speeds, marine biologist Maude Delap and John Holland, inventor of the submarine.

Looking after children can be overwhelming, especially when a lot of people say they have the 'right' answer. But what if, instead of following instructions, you parented like a scientist? What if you took the available evidence-based information, and then really looked at how it relates to the unique child in front of you? This is what scientist Emma Byrne decided to do when she became a mother. This book will tell you what is probably happening neurologically and physiologically in your child. It will talk about how they might develop. It will challenge the perceived wisdom, not by claiming that the studies are wrong, but by focusing on the variance, as well as the mean. Your child is an individual, not an average. Like all good scientists, you're going to screw up along the way. You'll reach dead ends, you'll need to wrack your brain for new approaches. But by staying curious, creative, and paying attention to what's really happening with your family, Emma Byrne will help you figure it out. Just in time for everything to change once again.