Daniel J. Siegel & Tina Payne Bryson

The author of Mindsight now turns to kids; in The Whole-Brain Child, he shows how to cultivate healthy emotional and intellectual development so that children can lead balanced, meaningful, and connected lives. Complete with clear explanations, age-appropriate strategies for dealing with day-to-day struggles, and illustrations that will help you explain these concepts to your child.

The fundamental issue a child of up to about age 12 has—and that is expressed in ways that confound and aggravate parents—is that his or her left and right brain coordination is still developing, causing him to overreact and to see things in overly dramatic or black and white terms (i.e tantrums, tears, inflexibility). Lucky children have parents who understand this central developmental reality; parents who can “read” their child’s growing mind can help shape it in healthy ways.

Now all of us can be that ideal parent. In The Whole-Brain Child, Daniel Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson—a world-renowned neuropsychiatrist and a parenting expert, respectively—offer twelve key parenting strategies that guide children to optimal left-right brain integration, calming them and helping them become well-rounded thinkers.