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

by Daniel J. Siegel

In allowing Marco to repeatedly retell the story, Marianna was helping him understand what had happened so he could begin to deal with it emotionally.

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 response.

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

Neurons that fire together wire together.

“me” discovers meaning and happiness by joining and belonging to a “we.”

The kinds of relationships they experience will lay the groundwork for how they relate to others for the rest of their lives.

It’s really not an exaggeration to say that the kind of relationships you provide for your children will affect generations to come.

After all, just because the mind is equipped and designed to connect with others doesn’t mean that a child is born with relationship skills.

Researchers who study human personality tell us that shyness is to a large extent genetic. It’s actually a part of a person’s core makeup present at birth.

These two different responses—the “no” feelings and the “yes” feelings—demonstrate what we mean when we talk about reactivity versus receptivity. When the nervous system is reactive, it’s actually in a fight-flight-freeze response state,

Recent studies have found that the best predictor for good sibling relationships later in life is how much fun the kids have together when they’re young.

“If it were you and your favorite thing were broken, what would help you feel better?” Each new movement toward considering someone else’s feelings

Too often we forget that “discipline” really means “to teach”—not “to punish.”

You might be tempted to simply parent in a way exactly opposite of how your parents did it. But the idea, instead, is to openly reflect on how your experiences with your parents have affected you.