Summary of The Whole-Brain Child
There are some books that I recommend year in and year out. One of my favourites is “The Whole-Brain Child” by Dr Daniel Siegel and Dr Tina Payne Bryson.
The scientific parts are easy to digest, provide a scientific base to parent from, and the 12 strategies outlined in the book definitely complement the Montessori approach.
The book is so good but it’s easy to read these books and not put the ideas into practice. So I made an infographic to print out and thought I’d share it here with you.
Summary of The Whole-Brain Child
Here is my summary of “The Whole-Brain Child”. You can also scroll down to download the PDF to save or print!
You can also download a PDF version here or a B&W version here.
Two quick takeaways to remember
If you’ve not read the book yet, these are my two favourite takeaways:
- When your child has flipped their lid, the “upstairs” part of the brain is not available. The upstairs part of the brain is where we can make decisions, show empathy, have self control etc. Therefore, we need to wait until the child calms down or help them calm down, before we start trying to rationalise with them. Watch this short video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gm9CIJ74Oxw
- Similarly, when your child is upset, we should first connect right brain to right brain. Yes, with empathy. Then, once they are more receptive, we are able to redirect with the left brain. Redirect does not mean to distract. It means to involve the child in making amends and finding solutions together.
I hope you find the summary useful and definitely recommend reading the book too. You will find many practical strategies to support your child and the integration of their brain, all the parts of themselves, and even with others.
For more book summaries, click here for a summary of How To Talk So Kids Will Listen and here for a summary of Siblings Without Rivalry.
PS If you wish to purchase the book, feel free to use my affiliate link here (at no cost to you) and a small portion will go towards books for our class. Thanks!
PPS The older version of this infographic was kindly translated by Jennifer Escobar into Spanish. You can download the Spanish version here.
Simone Davies has more than 20 years’ experience as an AMI Montessori educator. Simone is the author of “The Montessori Toddler” and co-author of “The Montessori Baby” and “The Montessori Child” books, comprehensive guides to raising children in a Montessori way. She currently runs parent-child Montessori classes in Amsterdam at her school Jacaranda Tree Montessori. She also has a popular blog, instagram and podcast “The Montessori Notebook” and is mother to two young adults.