Sleep Well, Take Risks, Squish the Peas: Secrets from the Science of Toddlers for a Happier, More Successful Way of Life

Harvard-trained doctor and associate professor Merali (pediatrics, McMasters’s Children’s Hospital, Hamilton, ON) combines his specialty of pediatric medicine and experience as a parent to create a novel method for people to relax and enjoy more of life: think like a toddler. In 10 chapters, he presents an issue and then describes how toddlers would react and why. Themes include sleep, kindness, play, teamwork, taking risks, mentorship, self-talk, saying no, laughter, and reading. Merali makes the case that adults constrict themselves from experience and appearances. In contrast, toddlers make friends naturally, care less about presentation, and are ready to help others. By encouraging readers to be more spontaneous and adventurous, Merali frees them to be better and more authentic human beings. This enables them to overlook slights, make better decisions, and learn to enjoy life as toddlers with the spirit of wonderment.