Companion Workbook to the Whole-Brain Child

In this companion workbook to his Whole-Brain Child book, Daniel Siegel focuses on the way a parent's mental health affects the child. Children are sensitive to a parent's moods. The way a parent praises, punishes and understands the child can affect both neurological and behavioral development.

I think the workbook can be most helpful if you're already familiar with Siegel's work. However, he includes enough explanation of his principles that the workbook can be used by anyone motivated to use the techniques to understand and help their child mature. The workbook is filled with exercises for the parents aimed at having them understand their motivations. This is an excellent approach because it's not so much the child's behavior as the parent's response that determines how well or poorly the child develops.

The book discusses how the brain works in language that is easily understandable by parents with no formal education in behavioral therapy. It is easy to read and contains amusing cartoons to illustrate some of the principles. There are also exercises to do with your child which are easily understandable by elementary school and older children.

I recommend this workbook and the book for any parent wanting to better understand and help their children mature.

I reviewed this book for PR by the Book.