'The Whole-Brain Child' Audiobook Review

Audiobook: The Whole Brain Child by Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson
Read by: Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson
Genre: Parenting

As a parent I'm always on the lookout for some advice on how to raise well-adjusted (eg. not live in my basement) adults. My library has a small selection of parenting guides on audiobook and not many of them sound very appealing. This one did, so I nabbed it ... hoping by the end I'd be a better Mama.

I got some good advice for dealing with meltdowns and crisis -- but this book isn't about how to get them to eat their vegetables.

It feels like my kids meltdown more than others. But I'm sure all mothers feel that way. This book explores how to give your child the tools to deal with their "waves of emotion" by understanding the fundamentals on how the brain works.

And, really, that's where the fun of this book lies. You get to go over all the facts you probably forgot from your senior-level biology class. This is your brain. There is a right side and left side. Normally, you're floating down the middle of the two sides of your brain and everything is in harmony. When kid nears tantrum their boat has drifted to the emotional side and is stuck.  This book gives you tips on how to help your little time bomb steer their brain canoe back on course, thereby helping them deal with a lifetime of stressers.

Since the listening to the audiobook, which wasn't hard to follow and had a lot of examples (the authors are parents, too), I've tried the techniques on my own kids. Some days they work, others... not so much. But the logic of the methodology appealed to me, so I'll continue to try. In fact, I purchased the paperback to have something to refer to in the future.

What this book lacks is dealing with non-crisis moments; like how to get them to eat their carrots and mind their manners. Maybe there's a second book coming.

 Grade: Green Light

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