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

Parenting styles were initially categorized by developmental psychologist Diane Baumrind in the 1960s. She identified three primary approaches to parenting: Authoritarian, Authoritative, and Permissive. Authoritarian parenting is characterized by strict rules and punitive discipline designed to modify behavior with little to no acknowledgement of the child’s emotional state. Permissive parenting often ignores behavior with a strong focus on emotions. Authoritative parenting seeks to combine firm boundaries with a gentle, or conscious, approach to discipline. Within each parenting style there are subsets, one of which is known as gentle parenting. The Whole-Brain Child is often associated with gentle parenting techniques.

Siegel and Bryson’s neuroscience-based approach in The Whole-Brain Child integrates the desire to nurture children and avoid harsh punishments with an understanding of mindfulness practices. As a result, it has become a popular recommendation to parents considering or trying to practice gentle parenting. Although Siegel and Bryson never specifically reference or discuss parenting styles, all the strategies in the book avoid punishment, opting for nurturing discipline instead. The Whole-Brain Child avoids any specific discussion of disciplinary tactics, approaching potentially problematic behavior as opportunities for increased understanding and whole-brain integration. 

The popularity of gentle parenting has led to increased scholarly interest. However, as Emily Oster and other researchers note, there isn’t enough clear, controlled data to determine whether gentle parenting is especially effective, or even how to define it (Oster, Emily. “Is Gentle Parenting Best?” Parenting Data.org). Gentle parenting is often criticized for being an off-shoot of permissive parenting, while many gentle parenting practitioners and adherents argue that to ignore behavior or give inconsistently-held boundaries is contrary to the goals of gentle parenting. Many proponents of gentle parenting argue that it embodies the authoritative combination of high warmth or support with high demand or non-punitive discipline. 

The Whole-Brain Child joins books like Emily Oster’s Crib Sheet; Adele Faber’s How to Talk so Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk; and Abby Craden and Pamela Druckerman’s Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting, all of which use scientific research principles and knowledge to offer effective parenting strategies.