The Whole-Brain Child

just beginning to develop—so that he could deal with the accident in a way that made sense to him ...

won’t for several years. The rate of brain maturation is largely inɻuenced by the genes we inherit. But the ...

that researchers and therapists around the world are now beginning to use. It’s based on the concept of integr ...

to the banks of chaos or rigidity, we’re farthest from mental and emotional health. The longer we can avoi ...

canoes, and they ɻoat down their own river of well-being. Many of the challenges we face as parents resul ...

been blocked. When we become aware of this idea, we can then create and carry out strategies that pro ...

CHAPTER 2 Two Brains Are Better Than One Integrating the Left and the Right Thomas’s four-year-old daughter, Ka ...

So what happened? How did the simple experience of getting sick create such an extreme and irrational fear ...

Instead of details and order, our right brain cares about the big picture—the meaning and feel of an experience—a ...

likes to know the linear cause-eʃect relationships in the world— and to express that logic with language. TWO ...

In order to live balanced, meaningful, and creative lives full of connected relationships, it’s crucial t ...

desert. We want to allow our nonrational images, autobiographical memories, and vital emotions to play their ...

to pay attention to, and even honor, what was going on in her right brain, since the right brain is more ...

We don’t want our children to hurt. But we also want them to do more than simply get through their ...

When Tina told the baker she wanted the cake to say J.P. on the cupcakes, a literal, left-brain interpr ...

some perspective and handle their emotions in a positive way. Likewise, if they’re denying their emotions ...

Based on our knowledge of the two sides of the brain, we know that Tina’s son was experiencing big waves of ...

behavior. On the contrary, by understanding how your child’s brain works, you can create cooperation much more ...

Step 1: Connect with the Right In our society, we’re trained to work things out using our words and our logi ...

left. She could redirect him by logically explaining how hard she works to be fair, by promising to leav ...