1. Taking parenting from surviving to thriving. THE WHOLE-BRAIN CHILD Please select a topic from the following page. You may click through each section or return to the table of contents to select another section.

2. CLICK TO EXPLORECLICK TO EXPLORE Integrating left and right sides of the brain Integrating upstairs and downstairs parts of the brain Kill the butterflies! Integrating memory The We-Me Connection

3. Two Brains are better than one: Integrating the right and left Learning to integrate the many facets of our brain helps us to respond appropriately to the many different challenges we face Elements of the brain: Left hemisphere: logic Right hemisphere: Emotions, nonverbal cues

4. Two Brains are better than one: Integrating the right and left Navigate the waters between chaos and rigidity Mental health is being able to remain in a “river of well-being” One bank is chaos, where there is no control The other side is rigidity, where there is too much control

5. Two Brains are better than one: Integrating the right and left The left brain loves and desires order. The right brain is holistic and nonverbal. Emotional floods, common in younger children, and emotional deserts, common in adolescents are both issues of an non integrated left and right brain.

6. Two Brains are better than one: Integrating the right and left The left brain loves and desires order. The right brain is holistic and nonverbal. Whole Brain Strategy #1: Connect and redirect, surfing emotional waves. Connect with the right, redirect with the left. Whole Brain Strategy #2: Name it to tame it, telling stories to calm big emotions. Allow children to tell the stories of events that have frightened or hurt them.

7. Building the Staircase of the Mind Integrating the upstairs and downstairs brain The upstairs brain is where thinking, planning, and imagining happen. Unfinished until around age 25. The downstairs brain manages basic impulses and reactions: fear, anger, self-preservation.

8. Building the Staircase of the Mind Whole Brain Strategy #3: Engage, don’t enrage. Acknowledge the emotions your child is feeling, then engage them in a problem solving session. Whole Brain Strategy #4: Use it or lose it, exercising the upstairs brain. Much like a muscle, the more the upstairs brain is used, the stronger it gets. Give your children the opportunity to practice making decisions, self understanding, morality, and empathy.

9. Building the Staircase of the Mind Whole Brain Strategy #5: Move it or Lose it: Move the body to avoid losing the mind. Bodily movement directly affects brain chemistry. Moving the body calms kids down and helps them to integrate their brains.

10. Kill the Butterflies! Integrating Memory for Growth and Healing Different between implicit and explicit memories Integrate implicit and explicit memories Whole Brain Strategy #6: Use the remote of the mind: replaying memories. Whole Brain Strategy #7: Remember to remember: making recollection a part of your family’s daily life.

11. The United States of Me Integrating the many parts of the self Mindsight and the Wheel of Awareness Stuck on the rim: Distinguishing between “feel” and “am” Whole Brain Strategy #8: Let the cloud of emotions roll by: Teaching that feelings come and go. Whole Brain Strategy #9: SIFT: Paying attention to what’s going on inside.

12. The United States of Me Integrating the many parts of the self Whole Brain Strategy #10: Exercise mindsight: Getting back to the hub.

13. The Me-We Connection Integrating Self and Other Insight + Empathy + Mindsight The brain is designed for interpersonal integration. The brain mirrors and absorbs the emotional state of others we are around. Children pick up what we model when we are interacting with them or ignoring them.

14. The Me-We Connection Integrating Self and Other Whole Brain Strategy #11: Increase the family fun factor: Making a point to enjoy each other. Playful parenting is one of the best ways to prepare your children for relationships. Whole Brain Strategy #12: Connection through conflict: Teach kids to argue with a “we” in mind. See through the other person’s eyes. Listen to what’s not being said. Repair relationships.

15. Conclusion Every parent wants their children to grow up and have strong supportive relationships. This book offers very practical tools to give them a very solid start on that road. Parents may also find that they are helped along the way! You can purchase this book at most bookstores or on Amazon. Amazon