The completely updated and expanded version of the 1987 classic hailed by parents and educators everywhere.

Is today's fast-paced media culture creating a toxic environment for our children's brains? In this landmark, bestselling assessment tracing the roots of America's escalating crisis in education, Jane M. Healy, Ph.D., examines how television, video games, and other components of popular culture compromise our children's ability to concentrate and to absorb and analyze information. Drawing on neuropsychological research and an analysis of current educational practices, Healy presents in clear, understandable language: -- How growing brains are physically shaped by experience -- Why television programs -- even supposedly educational shows like Sesame Street -- develop "habits of mind" that place children at a disadvantage in school -- Why increasing numbers of children are diagnosed with attention deficit disorder -- How parents and teachers can make a critical difference by making children good learners from the day they are born

The completely updated and expanded version of the 1987 classic hailed by parents and educators everywhere. "From the Trade Paperback edition.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • More than 1 million copies in print! • The authors of No-Drama Discipline and The Yes Brain explain the new science of how a child’s brain is wired and how it matures in this pioneering, practical book. “Simple, smart, and effective solutions to your child’s struggles.”—Harvey Karp, M.D. In this pioneering, practical book, Daniel J. Siegel, neuropsychiatrist and author of the bestselling Mindsight, and parenting expert Tina Payne Bryson offer a revolutionary approach to child rearing with twelve key strategies that foster healthy brain development, leading to calmer, happier children. The authors explain—and make accessible—the new science of how a child’s brain is wired and how it matures. The “upstairs brain,” which makes decisions and balances emotions, is under construction until the mid-twenties. And especially in young children, the right brain and its emotions tend to rule over the logic of the left brain. No wonder kids throw tantrums, fight, or sulk in silence. By applying these discoveries to everyday parenting, you can turn any outburst, argument, or fear into a chance to integrate your child’s brain and foster vital growth. Complete with age-appropriate strategies for dealing with day-to-day struggles and illustrations that will help you explain these concepts to your child, The Whole-Brain Child shows you how to cultivate healthy emotional and intellectual development so that your children can lead balanced, meaningful, and connected lives. “[A] useful child-rearing resource for the entire family . . . The authors include a fair amount of brain science, but they present it for both adult and child audiences.”—Kirkus Reviews “Strategies for getting a youngster to chill out [with] compassion.”—The Washington Post “This erudite, tender, and funny book is filled with fresh ideas based on the latest neuroscience research. I urge all parents who want kind, happy, and emotionally healthy kids to read The Whole-Brain Child. This is my new baby gift.”—Mary Pipher, Ph.D., author of Reviving Ophelia and The Shelter of Each Other “Gives parents and teachers ideas to get all parts of a healthy child’s brain working together.”—Parent to Parent

Penelope Leach is one of today’s foremost authorities on child care, author of the greatly admired Your Baby & Child: From Birth to Age Five, which Dr. T. Berry Brazelton has called “a wonderful book. Well researched, well written and sensitive to both parents’ and children’s needs in the task of growing up together.” Now, with the same authority and understanding, she discusses parents’ concerns about children of all ages. Your Growing Child is an A-to-Z compendium of vital information and comfort for every mother and father—from new parents bringing home their first infant to parents of adolescents soon to strike out on their own. Whether she is telling you what to do when your child suddenly develops a high fever or earache or rash, or suggesting how you might determine the reason behind your eight-year-old’s unwillingness to go to school, or helping you deal with your adolescent’s developing sexuality, Penelope Leach’s full and specific advice always reflects not only the practice of leading medical authorities but her own immense expertise and experience as a child psychologist, her extraordinary sensitivity to the feelings of both child and parent, and her grasp of the realities—financial, professional, and social—of life today.

Daniel J. Siegel goes beyond the nature and nurture divisions that traditionally have constrained much of our thinking about development, exploring the role of interpersonal relationships in forging key connections in the brain. He presents a groundbreaking new way of thinking about the emergence of the human mind and the process by which each of us becomes a feeling, thinking, remembering individual. Illuminating how and why neurobiology matters. New to This Edition *Incorporates significant scientific and technical advances. *Expanded discussions of cutting-edge topics, including neuroplasticity, epigenetics, mindfulness, and the neural correlates of consciousness. *Useful pedagogical features: pull-outs, diagrams, and a glossary. *Epilogue on domains of integration--specific pathways to well-being and therapeutic change.

A reliable, clearly written guide to learning skills for children. Hailed by parents and educators, Your Child's Growing Mind landed Dr. Healy the 1988 Educator's Award from the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International. 20 drawings.