Skip to main content

The Whole-Brain Child: Developing Cognitive Skills and Decision-Making

 The Whole-Brain Child: Developing Cognitive Skills and Decision-Making

Welcome to the second installment of our six-part series on "The Whole-Brain Child" strategies. In this post, we'll explore two key strategies that focus on developing your child's cognitive skills and decision-making abilities: "Engage, Don't Enrage" and "Use It or Lose It".

Strategy 3: Engage, Don't Enrage

The "Engage, Don't Enrage" strategy is about encouraging your child to think and listen rather than react impulsively. Here's how to implement this approach:

  1. Stay Calm: When your child is upset or misbehaving, remain calm yourself. Your composure can help de-escalate the situation.
  2. Ask Questions: Instead of immediately scolding or punishing, ask questions to engage your child's thinking brain. For example, "What do you think might happen if you continue with this behavior?"
  3. Encourage Problem-Solving: Guide your child to come up with solutions. You might ask, "What could you do differently next time?"
  4. Validate Feelings: While addressing the behavior, acknowledge your child's emotions. "I understand you're angry, but hitting is not okay. Let's think of better ways to express your anger."

By engaging your child's rational thinking rather than escalating emotions, you're helping them develop crucial problem-solving skills and emotional regulation.

Strategy 4: Use It or Lose It

The "Use It or Lose It" strategy focuses on exercising the "upstairs brain" - the part responsible for sound decision-making, self-understanding, and empathy. Here's how to put this strategy into action:

  1. Offer Choices: Regularly present your child with age-appropriate choices. For example, "Would you like to wear the red shirt or the blue one today?"
  2. Encourage Planning: Involve your child in planning activities or solving problems. You might ask, "We're going to the park later. What do you think we should bring?"
  3. Practice Perspective-Taking: Encourage your child to consider others' viewpoints. You could ask, "How do you think your friend felt when that happened?"
  4. Discuss Consequences: Help your child think through the potential outcomes of their actions. "If you stay up late tonight, how do you think you'll feel tomorrow morning?"
  5. Reflect on Experiences: After events or activities, discuss them with your child. Ask what they enjoyed, what they found challenging, and what they learned.

By consistently exercising these "upstairs brain" functions, you're helping your child strengthen their cognitive abilities and decision-making skills.

Implementing these strategies requires patience and consistency. Remember, the goal is not perfection but progress. Every time you engage your child's thinking brain or offer them a chance to make a decision, you're contributing to their cognitive development.

In our next post, we'll explore strategies related to the power of movement and memory in child development. Stay tuned!

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Warrior Guardians: Consistency: Aligning Values On and Off the Mat

  Consistency: Aligning Values On and Off the Mat   In the world of martial arts parenting, consistency is a fundamental principle that underpins the journey of personal growth and character development. By upholding consistent expectations, messaging, and values across both the dojo and home environments, we create a seamless foundation that instills the martial arts way of life into the very fabric of our children's beings. The Importance of Consistency in Martial Arts The martial arts are not merely a physical discipline; they are a comprehensive philosophy that encompasses values such as respect, discipline, perseverance, and integrity. These values, when consistently reinforced and embodied, become ingrained in our children's characters, shaping their attitudes, behaviors, and decision-making processes.   By maintaining consistency in our approach, we ensure that the lessons learned on the mat are not confined to the dojo walls but rather permeate every asp...
Post a Comment
Read more

Martial Arts for Blood Sugar Control: The Role of HIIT in Glucose Regulation

  Martial Arts for Blood Sugar Control: The Role of HIIT in Glucose Regulation In today’s world, managing blood sugar levels is a critical aspect of maintaining long-term health, especially as we age. Uncontrolled blood sugar can lead to a host of issues, including insulin resistance, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes. While diet plays a crucial role in blood sugar management, physical activity is equally essential. One of the most effective forms of exercise for improving insulin sensitivity and glucose regulation is high-intensity interval training (HIIT) . Interestingly, many martial arts disciplines inherently incorporate HIIT principles into their training, making them an excellent tool for blood sugar control. In this post, we will explore the science behind blood sugar control, how martial arts mimic HIIT, and why martial arts training can be a highly effective way to regulate blood sugar and improve overall metabolic health. Understanding Blood Sugar Control and Insulin Sens...
Post a Comment
Read more

Decoding Your Child's Behavior: Part 2: Decoding the Language of the Nervous System: Red, Blue, and Green Pathways

  Blog Series Title: Decoding Your Child's Behavior: A Compassionate Approach to Raising Thriving Kids Part 2: Decoding the Language of the Nervous System: Red, Blue, and Green Pathways Introduction: In Part 1 of our series, we learned that challenging behaviors are often a sign of a child who is struggling, not a child who is trying to be difficult. We explored the "iceberg model," recognizing that the behavior we see is just the tip, with a whole world of emotions, sensations, and unmet needs hidden beneath the surface. We also discussed the concept of the "body budget" and how stress can deplete a child's resources, making it harder for them to regulate their emotions and behaviors. Now, in Part 2, we're going to dive deeper into the fascinating workings of the nervous system. Understanding how your child's nervous system operates is key to understanding their behavior. We'll be exploring Dr. Mona Delahooke's framework of the three pathw...
Post a Comment
Read more