Want to learn the ideas in The Whole-Brain Child better than ever? Read the world’s #1 book summary of The Whole-Brain Child by Daniel J. Siegel, Tina Payne Bryson here.
Read a brief 1-Page Summary or watch video summaries curated by our expert team. Note: this book guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher or author, and we always encourage you to purchase and read the full book.
Video Summaries of The Whole-Brain Child
We’ve scoured the Internet for the very best videos on The Whole-Brain Child, from high-quality videos summaries to interviews or commentary by Daniel J. Siegel, Tina Payne Bryson.
1-Page Summary of The Whole-Brain Child
Overview
The Whole-Brain Child by Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson emphasizes the importance of integrating a child’s four quadrants, whether in challenging or joyous moments. It includes 12 strategies for parenting based on current brain research, as well as a breakdown that describes how to apply these strategies at different ages and stages. When children are taught to use their whole brain, they become more balanced and healthy overall with heightened capacity for self-awareness, empathy, and relationship-building.
Most parents want their children to be happy, resilient, and productive. However, parenting a child is difficult because they’re prone to tantrums and other challenging behaviors. In these moments of crisis, it’s helpful to understand the brain so that you can handle the situation effectively by applying basic knowledge about how the brain works in that moment. The whole-brain approach isn’t meant as an avoidance method for dealing with tough situations; rather it’s a way of handling them well so that your child has better social, emotional and mental health in general.
The Whole-Brain Child was published in 2011 and became a bestseller. It has been translated into 22 languages.
Key Takeaways
When children are upset, parents should first connect with the child’s emotional state and then introduce a logical perspective. When children are scared or hurt, encouraging them to tell you what happened can help calm their emotions so that they can think more rationally. The upstairs brain is not fully developed until people are in their twenties, but physical movement can affect its chemistry. Therefore, when a child is emotionally distressed, it’s helpful for him to move around so he feels better physically and mentally. For children who have experienced distressful situations (e.g., car accidents), retelling the story of what happened helps them come to terms with upsetting events because it allows them to integrate explicit memories into implicit ones.
Parents should emphasize that kids’ feelings are temporary and do not define who they are. It can be helpful to ask them questions about their emotions, as well as to point out the benefits of different activities. The neurotransmitter dopamine is released when people enjoy themselves, so it’s important for parents to help children find things that make them happy.
When parents encourage their children to consider other people’s points of view, they can help them use both sides of their brains.
Key Takeaway 1: When children are upset and having a right-brained, emotional reaction, parents should first connect to the child’s emotional state. Once the child has calmed down, the parent should introduce a left-brained, logical perspective.
When parents are upset, children tend to respond emotionally and irrationally. This can cause a disconnect between their right- and left-brains. It’s best for the child to calm down by connecting with his or her emotions.
For example, a young girl might be upset that her favorite aunt has to go home. She may say something like “You didn’t spend any time with me!” The aunt should not start by explaining the facts of why she had to leave, because it’s a rational appeal in response to a left-brain complaint. Instead, she should validate her niece’s feelings and offer a nurturing response such as patting her back and saying how disappointed they both are about having to part ways. Then she can add something along the lines of “Let’s decide on another outing before I go so we have that to look forward too.”
