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

by Daniel J. Siegel

when a child is upset, logic often won’t work until we have responded to the right brain’s emotional needs.

It’s also crucial to keep in mind that no matter how nonsensical and frustrating our child’s feelings may seem to us, they are real and important to our child. It’s vital that we treat them as such in our

She also used nonverbal signals like physical touch, empathetic facial expressions, a nurturing tone of voice, and nonjudgmental listening.

there are times when a child is simply past the point of no return and the emotional waves just need to crash until the storm passes.

Rules about respect and behavior aren’t thrown out the window simply because a child’s left hemisphere is disengaged.

it’s generally a good idea to discuss misbehavior and its consequences after the child has calmed down,

conversations with children take place while something else is happening. Children are much more apt to share and talk while building something,

What kids often need, especially when they experience strong emotions, is to have someone help them use their left brain to make sense of what’s going on—to

To tell a story that makes sense, the left brain must put things in order, using words and logic. The right brain contributes the bodily sensations, raw emotions, and personal memories, so we can see the whole picture and communicate our experience. This

it’s important for kids of all ages to tell their stories,

Actually, telling the story is often exactly what children need, both to make sense of the event and to move on to a place where they can feel better about what happened.

“I know you’ve been having a hard time going to school since you got sick. Let’s try to remember the day you felt sick at school. First, we got ready for school, didn’t we?

When kids can make sound decisions while controlling themselves and working from empathy and self-understanding, they will develop a robust and active sense of morality, a sense of not only right and wrong, but also what is for the greater good beyond their own individual needs.