The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind

A downstairs tantrum is completely different. Here, a child becomes so upset that he’s no longer able to use his upstairs brain.

Simply by drawing your child’s attention to other people’s emotions during everyday encounters, you can open up whole new levels of compassion within them and exercise their upstairs brain.

Whole-Brain Strategy #8: Let the Clouds of Emotions Roll By: Teaching That Feelings Come and Go

Implicit memories are often positive and work in our favor, like when we fully expect to be loved by those around us simply because we’ve always been loved.

The upstairs brain remains under massive construction for the first few years of life, then during the teen years undergoes an extensive remodel that lasts into adulthood.

An upstairs tantrum occurs when a child essentially decides to throw a fit. She makes a conscious choice to act out, to push buttons and terrorize you until she get what she wants.

Whole-Brain Strategy #11: Increase the Family Fun Factor: Making a Point to Enjoy Each Other

For example, children whose parents talk with them about their experiences tend to have better access to the memories of those experiences. Parents who speak with their children about their feelings have children who develop emotional intelligence and can understand their own and other people’s feelings more fully.

Whole-Brain Strategy #5: Move It or Lose It: Moving the Body to Avoid Losing the Mind