brain, think about your own integration. When it comes to
parenting, are you too right-brain dominant? Do you
frequently get swept up in emotional ɻoods, leaving your
children drenched with your own chaos and fear? Or maybe
your tendency is to live in a left-brain emotional desert, so
you are rigid in your reactions and have a hard time reading
and responding to your children’s emotions and needs?
Here are the words of a mom we know who realized thatshe was primarily interacting with her young son using only
one side of her own brain:
I was brought up in a military family. Needless to say, I
am not very touchy-feely! I’m a veterinarian and a
trained problem solver, which doesn’t help me in the
empathy department.
When my son would cry or become upset, I would try
to get him to settle down so I could help him solve the
problem. This was not helpful and sometimes
exacerbated the crying, so I would walk away and wait
until he calmed down.
Recently, I learned about trying to connect
emotionally ɹrst—right brain to right brain, which was
totally foreign to me. Now I hold my son, listen, and
even try and help him tell his story, using both the left
and right brain together. Then we talk about the
behavior or solve the problem. Now I try to remember to
connect first and solve second.
It took some practice, but when I related to my son
emotionally ɹrst, using my right brain, along with my