This Heart is Alive

"Brainy" Hope for Parents...and the Child in All of Us

Ok all you parents out there.  This first series is for YOU! (And for me!) 

If there's anything I've heard parents express more confusion over, it's how to handle things when their kids have tidal waves of emotion.  Freak out.  Flip their lid.  In a quick hurry, everyone present is on edge and agitated. Things can go wrong so quickly! 

I've been working my way through a REALLY helpful and extremely practical book, called The Whole Brain Child, 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind, by Dan Siegel. 

I'm going to process outloud while sharing his insights with you...

The first nugget I want to plant is this: It is SO VERY HELPFUL to understand a little about your child's brain.  (And yours!) By gaining a simple grasp on a few concepts... and I PROMISE they are SIMPLE, it can revolutionize your parenting.  

It can help you know how to address your child's stress, fears, and anxieties.
(It can help you tell the difference between YOUR stress and theirs!) 
It can help you know how to speak in a way your child can hear. 
It can help you know what your child is capable of, and what they are not.

I'm not a "strategies/steps" kind of person.  Life is usually much more complicated.  But I believe this is really helpful, because it gives us a handle on how we were made.  It works not as an end in itself, but it works because this is how God designed us. 

Ready a little about the brain??