Laurie Hollman, Ph.D.

Book Description

Babies are amazing! From the moment they open their eyes, they are learning and developing at an astonishing rate.

Parents naturally want to engage with infants as they learn and grow, but what if we could optimize the way we play with babies? Backed by the latest research and years of observation, Playing with Baby distills the experts’ findings for new parents, giving them a guide to the first year of a baby’s life and the growth of his or her individual mind. Through specific month-by-month play options and the research behind them, psychoanalyst Laurie Hollman helps us understand how to create secure attachments between baby and mother even before they can communicate with language. While aiding natural development is a big plus, the real payoff for parents comes from the baby’s reaction: when we play on the baby’s level, we engage and connect more deeply—and we have more fun!

Reviews

Laurie Hollman, PhD, knows very well parents and babies, and the intensity of their relationships; She captures the essence of the complex and stimulating playfulness that is essential for a good connection with a very young child.

She restores the play to a central position and offers rich examples and guidance on pleasurable communication with an infant, now that neuroscience and research on infants demonstrated how interactions in an emotional attunement are essential for a good development.

This is a brilliant book, exciting and very accessible: a good combination of education, emotional support, and psychoanalytic thinking.

-Christine Anzieu-Premmereur. PhD, MD adult and child psychiatrist and psychoanalyst in New York; Member of the Société Psychanalytique de Paris; Faculty, Columbia Psychoanalytic Center and Director, Parent-Infant Psychotherapy Training; Assistant Clinical Professor in Psychiatry at Columbia University;  Member, New York Psychoanalytic Institute.

 

Laurie Hollman captures the magic of play for both parents and babies during the first year of life.

In this original book, specific month-by-month play suggestions are linked to validating state-of-the-art research. Understanding the science behind parent-baby play enriches parent’s experience of the baby’s developing brain and the deepening parent-baby relationship.

A baby’s contagious joy while playing peek-a-boo, sense of wonder shaking a rattle and making it jingle, and power to knock down a tower of blocks and rebuild it together delight parents and babies and evoke parents’ embodied memories. All this and more to be discovered in Play with Baby!

-Ilene S. Lefcourt, author Parenting and Childhood Memories: A Psychoanalytic Approach to Reverberating Ghosts and Magic, Faculty Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research Parent-Infant Program

 

Dr. Hollman has done it again – written an invaluable book for parents and caregivers, this time of babies. How does one have a “play date” with a one-month-old or five-month-old? Here you have it. Dr. Hollman distils decades of research and hands-on experience into month-by-month insights, knowledge, and play time, designed to strengthen your bonds with baby in the first year.”

– Marcelle Soviero, Director, Marcelle Ink, classes and community for women who write;Author, An Iridescent Life, Essays on Motherhood; Former Editor-in-Chief and publisher of Brain Child and Teen Magazines

 

Laurie Hollman’s high regard for her audience, parents of babies, is demonstrated by how clearly she communicates useful information previously only accessible to developmental psychologists and infancy researchers.  She illustrates in her book how helpful it is to parents and caregivers of babies to be informed of all the wonderful information revealed by years of research.  It is implied over and over that the emotional and physical well-being of infants is enhanced by knowing in a thorough way what is going on developmentally in a growing infant’s life, step by step, month by month.  Furthermore, she provides all sorts of practical ways to implement and further strengthen baby’s development through play and care.  I would recommend this book to any young parent embarking on the great adventure of being with baby.  With Laurie Hollman’s book as a guide the journey will be that much more fulfilling and secure.

-Andrea Remez,PhD, Clinical Psychologist, Parent-Infant therapist, Faculty, National Institute of Psychoanalysis, New York.

 

An excellent resource for new parents to create a loving relationship while examining their baby’s charming personality during the first year of life. Dr. Laurie Hollman effectively presents how to intensify your baby’s social and cognitive development through knowledge-based play techniques. Common questions such as bonding, emotional response, and communication are addressed, providing peace of mind that what you are doing for your baby bestows long term benefits. Many parents come to the clinic feeling awkward not knowing what to do

with their baby. Reading this book and following Dr. Hollman’s advice will give parents direction and a feeling of contentment. 

 

Playing with Baby provides a clear message: engaging with your baby may just be your most fulfilling job.

 

-Lisa Lewis, MD, pediatrician, author of Feed the Baby Hummus, Pediatrician-Backed Secrets from Cultures Around the World

Articles, Interviews, and Reviews

Review by Carla Marie Manley, Ph.D., August 11, 2021, Goodreads

“Playing with Baby: Research-Based Play to Bond with Your Baby Birth to One Year is a fabulous read for parents and caregivers! Dr. Hollman offers guidance on using attuned interactions with your baby to create a strong parent-child bond. The research and insights provided are truly powerful! Thank you for this much-needed book!” Read

“Interview with Mom’s Choice Award-Winner Laurie Hollman, PhD,” July 30, 2021, Read

“12 Best Tips and Tricks to Build Confidence in Children” by Marcus Constales, Tricopolis Records,July 8, 2021 https://www.tricopolisrecords.com/build-confidence-in-children/

“Your Four-Month-Old: Optimizing Play Activities for Mental and Physical Milestones” Upjourney, July 9, 2021 Read

“How to Play with Babies: Newborn to One Year” Upjourney, June 9, 2021 Read

“Meghan Markle, Prince Harry Prep for Second Baby: Experts Say How You Welcome New Siblings,” by Courtney Moore, Fox News, May 26, 2012 Read

“How to Deal with Getting Back to Normal Post-COVID,” Fatherly Newsletter, May 14, 2021 Read

“Why Toddlers Act Like Babies from Time to Time” Romper, by Jennifer Parris, May 22,2021 Read

Upjourney: New Book from Our Contributor: Laurie Hollman, Sept. 29, 2021 Playing with Baby: Research Based Play to Bond with Your Baby Birth to One Year Read

“Four Best Parenting Books for Baby’s First Year” Sept.29, by Laurie Hollman, read

“The Wonder of Secure Attachments with Babies: What Happens When Connection Go Awry and How to Remedy Insecure Bonds”, Sept. 27 Read