Dr. Tina Payne Bryson, an expert in child development and co-author of bestsellers like The Whole Brain Child, delves into the transformative power of play in parenting. She emphasizes how engaging in child-led play fosters emotional regulation, self-confidence, and social skills. During their discussion, they share practical strategies for guiding children's play without taking control and address how play can help manage aggressive behaviors in young kids. Listeners gain insights on integrating meaningful play into daily routines to strengthen bonds and emotional understanding.
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The Power of Play
Use play to connect with your child and understand their world.
See play as a rich way to bond, not just to pass time.
insights INSIGHT
Play as Therapy
Play helps children process emotions and develop self-regulation skills.
Parents can become mini play therapists by engaging in child-led play.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Interpreting Play
Don't overinterpret children's play or assume it reflects their character.
Aggressive play can be a stress release, not necessarily sociopathic behavior.
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In this book, Dr. Cohen demonstrates how play can be the basis for an innovative and rewarding approach to parenting. He explains that play is children's complex and fluid way of exploring the world, communicating hard-to-express feelings, getting close to those they care about, working through stressful situations, and simply blowing off steam. The book provides guidance on how to join children in their world of play, foster connection, aid emotional healing, and build a child's confidence and self-esteem through various playful interactions suitable for children of all ages.
The Whole-Brain Child
12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind
Tina Payne Bryson
Daniel J. Siegel
This book offers 12 revolutionary strategies to help parents nurture their child's developing mind. It introduces the concepts of the 'upstairs brain' (higher-order cognitive functions) and the 'downstairs brain' (more primal emotional responses), emphasizing the importance of integrating these two brain regions for self-regulation and wise decision-making. The authors provide age-appropriate strategies to deal with day-to-day struggles, help children integrate their memories, and build positive, nurturing relationships. The book also highlights the value of viewing mistakes as opportunities for growth and teaching important skills through everyday parenting challenges[2][4][5].
No-Drama Discipline
Tina Payne Bryson
Daniel J. Siegel
In this book, Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson provide an effective and compassionate approach to discipline, focusing on the link between a child’s neurological development and parental reactions to misbehavior. The authors offer strategies to connect with children, redirect emotions, and turn meltdowns into opportunities for growth. Key principles include the 'No-Drama Connection' cycle, which involves communicating comfort, validating feelings, and reflecting what the child has expressed. The book also emphasizes the importance of empathy, insight, and repair in the discipline process[1][3][4].
Janet’s guest is Dr. Tina Payne Bryson. Her new book “The Way of Play” (co-authored with play therapist Georgie Wisen-Vincent) illustrates how playing with our kids in a receptive manner for even just a few minutes each day helps us to better understand them, while also encouraging their development of social skills, emotional regulation, resilience, and self-confidence. The guidelines Tina and Georgie offer in "The Way of Play" help make connecting through play easy, natural, and fun as well as richly effective for learning and bonding. As Tina explains, "The temptation can be to take over the play or be too instructive or didactic, to think we need to teach all kinds of lessons. But what's really powerful, as we follow our child's lead, is to be able to dive into their world." Janet and Tina do their own deep dive into all of these topics and more. Then they both respond to a letter from a parent struggling with her 4-year-old’s aggressive behaviors.
Learn more about Janet's "No Bad Kids Master Course" at: NoBadKidsCourse.com.
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Respectful Parenting: Janet Lansbury Unruffled 
