The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind

This book has changed the way I parent. I have two daughters, 1 and 6 years old. The oldest struggles with elevated levels of anxiety to the point where we decided to have her start chatting with a pediatric therapist to help her (and us) better navigate the tough moments. Her therapist recommends that all parents read this book. I am so thankful that I did. I not only understand more about my daughter’s brain and thought process and emotions, but I also understand more about myself, and how my handling of situations has projected my own anxiety onto her. The good news is that we can actually change our brains by forming new neural pathways, and it’s never too late to start. So you can take situations that normally upset your child (anxiety, fear, anger, violence, hyersilliness, nervousness, inability to focus – truly anything) and use these occurrences to help them form new neural pathways that in turn allow them to better cope with challenges. And it’s helped me in the same way. I’ve noticed I am better able to manage high-anxiety situations in general. This book does an amazing job at explaining just enough of the science to help the concepts make logical sense. For me, this makes them easier to remember and implement. After reading this book, I *get* it. And that makes all the difference in the world when you are in an emotional moment, struggling to best navigate not only your little one’s feelings but also your own. Beyond the concepts, this book provides practical, easy to understand techniques. And darn it if they don’t work. I noticed such a rapid response with my 6-year-old that I started using some of the approaches with my 1-year-old, and there was an immediate response with her as well. Getting such quick and positive feedback makes you excited to keep using the approaches. And it’s really set up to be as easy as possible. There is a helpful “HOW TO USE THIS BOOK” section at the beginning, I’ve included some snippets in my photos. I think this book is a game changer for parenting, and I wish I had read it earlier. I recommend this to any parent, new or veteran.

As a father of three sons and a daughter and one of the grandfathers of their ten children, I can certainly understand what Daniel Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson have in mind while discussing moments of extreme stress for parents when their children become infuriating and intolerable. That is why I was intrigued by their explanation of the power of the "whole-brain approach" during all manner of touchpoints in parent-child relationships. That power is especially helpful in "the moments you are just trying to survive" because it creates "opportunities to help your child to thrive." In fact, the 12 strategies that Siegal and Bryson recommend can be effective for almost [begin italics] anyone [end italics] who has direct and frequent contact with children, including teachers, coaches, and clergy as well as parents and other relatives. In fact, with only minor modification, I think they can be beneficial to interactive relationships between and among adults, especially to those within a workplace. "What's great about this survive-and-thrive approach is that you don't have to try to carve out special time to help your children thrive. You can use [begin italics] all [end italics] of the interactions you share - the stressful, angry ones as well as the miraculous, adorable ones - as opportunities to help them become the responsible, caring, capable people you want them to be. That's what this book is about: using those everyday moments with your kids to help them reach their true potential." These are among the passages that caught my eye: o Integration of Various Mental Domains (Pages 6-10) o Get in the Flow: Navigating the Waters Between Chaos and Rigidity (10-13) o Left Brain, Right Brain: An Introduction (15-16) o Two Halves Make a Whole: Combining the Left and the Right (18-22) o The Mental Staircase: Integrating the Upstairs and Downstairs Brain (38-41) o Integrating Ourselves: Using Our Own Mental Staircase (64-65) o Integrating Implicit and Explicit: Assembling the Puzzle Pieces of the Mind (76-86) o Mindsight and the Wheel of Awareness (93-97) o Integrating Ourselves: Looking at Our Own Wheel of Awareness (117-118) o Laying the Groundwork for Connection: Creating Positive Mental Models (125-127) o Cultivating a "Yes" State of Mind: Helping Kids Be Receptive to Relationships (129-133) o Integrating Ourselves: Making Sense of Our Own Story (143-144) Note: I urge you to check out another of Siegal's books, Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation, in which Mindsight and the Wheel of Awareness are among the subjects discussed. Readers will appreciate Siegal and Bryson's skillful use of "What You Can Do" sections throughout their narrative that serve several purposes, notably focusing on key points while suggesting specific initiatives to apply what has been learned from the given material. For example, "What You Can Do: Helping Your Child Work from Both Sides of the Brain" (Pages 22-33). Dozens of eminently appropriate illustrations were created by Tuesday Mourning. However, no brief commentary such as mine could possibly do full justice to the scope and depth of what Siegal and Bryson cover, with eloquence as well as rigor. I have elected not to list the twelve (12) strategies because I think they are best revealed in context, within the narrative. I do presume to suggest that those who are about to read this book begin and then frequently review later the "Whole-Brain Ages and Stages" material (on Pages 154-168) because it creates a wide and deep context, a frame of reference, for the abundance of information, insights, and recommendations in the six preceding chapters and Conclusion, "Bringing It All Together. " This book need not be read straight through (although I prefer that approach) but it should certainly be consulted frequently, hence the importance of "Whole-Brain Ages and Stages" and the Index as well as (I hope) passages of special importance that have been highlighted. I also presume to suggest that Daniel Siegal and Tina Payne Bryson's brilliant book will be most valuable to whole-brain readers. In it, they provide what they characterize in the Introduction as "an antidote to parenting and academic approaches that overemphasize achievement and perfection at any cost." It is imperative that everyone involved directly (and even indirectly) with the development if children "understand some basics about the young brain that [they] are helping to grow and develop."

This book was a total eye-opener for me as a parent. The Whole-Brain Child breaks down how a child’s brain works in such a simple and relatable way. It helped me understand why my child reacts the way they do—and more importantly, how I can respond in a way that actually helps, instead of escalating things. I really liked that it’s based on neuroscience but doesn’t feel too “science-y.” The strategies are practical and easy to try at home. Things like “name it to tame it” and “connect and redirect” have already made a difference in how I handle meltdowns or tough moments. If you want to build a stronger emotional connection with your child and feel more confident navigating big feelings, this book is a must-read. I wish I had read it sooner!

The book is really good and interesting for everyone especially who wants to learn more about kids and the way of their brains work. Whet it comes to the quality of book is excellent.( words and sentences are published neatly) It came with no damage. I love it. Thank you so much.

Aún que creas no necesitar ayuda en como criar a tu hijo, es muy buena lectura para ver qué hacer para mejorar la relación con tu hijo y entenderlo mejor.

Intelligent, practical, caring, well written, and make sense.

Really Interesting - the book shows a technical view of the brain and its function, full of daily basis examples and at the end has a short summary that can be used during life.

The Whole-Brain Child explains how kids’ brains work in a way that’s easy to understand and incredibly helpful. The tools and strategies are practical and really make a difference in handling emotional moments with more patience and connection. A thoughtful, empowering read—highly recommended for anyone raising or working with children.