Article archive / December 2018
Originally published: . Volume 9, No. 12. Source pages: 15.
Drs. Siegel and Bryson have done it again! The Yes Brain is their latest illustration of the exciting applications of the science of “interpersonal neurobiology” to parenting.
And it is another rallying call for a paradigm shift in how parents discipline their children. Siegel’s “interpersonal neurobiology” posits that the human brain is a highly social organ that is neurologically “wired” through everyday parent-child interactions from infancy to react/respond either positively (Yes!) or negatively (No!) in social situations. Unfortunately, traditional parenting practices have placed a heavy emphasis on No! Brain approaches, such as threats and/or external punishments and focusing mainly on extinguishing misbehavior. No! Brain approaches often stimulate anxiety, anger, resistance or passive submission rather than teaching the child self-discipline, which, after all, is the goal of discipline. In contrast, the Yes! Brain approach, based on our growing understanding of how core brain circuits (e.g., limbic system and prefrontal cortex) develop and integrate with repeated parent-child experiences, emphasizes “parenting from the inside out,” and views each disciplinary event is a “teachable moment” for “skill building” that promotes insight, self-regulation, empathy and resilience (the four chapters of the book). A core feature of the positive, Yes! Brain approach is to teach and empower children to operate from their internal zones of emotional regulation (aka underlying autonomic fight-flight-freeze system and pre-frontal executive system). Children are taught strategies that help them to expand and to remain in their green zone (flexible, adaptive), and how to pause, self-calm, and to choose behaviors when they get into their red zone (angry, rigid) using instructional parent-child dialogues rather than “carrots and sticks." This new book will surely be inspiring reading for both parents and professionals working with parents/children. Do I highly recommend it for holiday reading? Well, that’s a No! brainer. Yes!
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.