This book was wonderful. Loved it! It had a great way of changing my thinking on certain situations that could be very useful.

This book is about helping children develop a Yes Brain, which means they’re open to try new things, they have a good sense of self, they can relate to others, and they have an internal compass that leads them to make good choices. We as parents can help them do this by teaching them to be balanced, resilient, insightful, and empathetic. For each attribute, there is a chapter explaining what it means and how parents can help, exercises to help parents teach these skills, a comic version to help explain each idea to kids in a simplified way, and ways for parents to develop these skills themselves. It was very easy to read and understand. I’m excited to try to develop these skills in my children (and myself)! Thanks to NetGalley for the free ebook.

Dan Siegel is a genius. What is even better is that he is one of those geniuses who makes these difficult topics manageable for someone who is not. I am grateful for him. He has made me a better practitioner and a better parent. The books he has written with Tina Payne Bryson, I think are his best works. They are an incredible pair and this book is helpful for any person who engages with children!

What an excellent resource not only for parents, but for teachers, coaches, grandparents and any other that may have regular contact with children.

This book offers practical ways to help encourage your child to use their whole brain right from the start. And I felt it had tips for adults as well.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

great bits of advice for dealing for children (applicable at older ones as well).
I love the idea of the four S's: making your children feel safe, secure, seen and soothed, in order to promote resilience.
a wonderful tool in every conscious parent box!

What the authors cover in this book are:

• the four fundamentals of the Yes Brain—balance, resilience, insight, and empathy—and how to strengthen them in children
• the key to knowing when kids need a gentle push out of a comfort zone versus. needing the cushion of safety and familiarity
• strategies for navigating away from negative behavioral and emotional states (aggression and withdrawal) and expanding a child’s capacity for positivity

The book is easy to understand, the writing is straight forward and it makes sense!

If you've read any number of parenting or brain based research books then you've heard most of the information i this one. It seemed like an article that they tried to make into a full book. The examples did not seem very realistic and while some of the information was good the authors neglected to include the fact that sometimes there needs to be actual consequences for children's actions. This doesn't change discipline into punishment, it just is a natural result when children decide to not follow rules.

As the mother of a 10-year-old who veers toward pessimism, I was curious and hopeful to read The Yes Brain. The authors have a warm, friendly tone and never come across as preachy or condescending. They offer practical, easy to follow advice to steer your child away from negativity and pessimism. I found myself implementing several of the strategies (especially when it comes to my son's anxiety at night) successfully. I do feel that the book is best suited to the younger elementary set. The cartoons didn't land well with my tween, but I imagine younger children would find them quite helpful.

One of the things I think most often about in my parenting is cultivating resilience, compassion, and creativity, as those are the tools I think our children need the most. So, this book is timely and essential for me. There is enough research and theory in this book to make you feel confident in the "yes brain" and plenty of practical activities and scripts to help build these skills at home. I will be recommending this to a lot of my parent friends.

"...[B]ehavior is communication. And problematic behavior is actually a message, where our kids are saying, 'I need help building skills in this certain area. I can't do this well yet.'"
This book is all about positive parenting, which is something that Siegel and Bryson have done a great job promoting. I had a hard time grasping "The Yes Brain" concept, I think it's all about being in the positive part of your mindset but it's not a solid and easily described idea. If you haven't tackled any other positive parenting books, I think this is a good place to start. It has some great tools for parents. It's focused on shaping kids' behavior by promoting good behavior, and by teaching kids how to regulate their own behavior using some conditioning. It's a great resource if you're frustrated as a parent (who isn't?). The structure of the book is based on the "4 fundamentals", which are Balance, Resilience, Insight, and Empathy; so it's not focused on the specific behaviors but on really addressing any behavior by bringing in those fundamentals. This includes discussion of lifestyle (no overscheduling!) and the importance of free play, sleep, and connection. There are specific examples in each section that parents will find helpful, such as a kid who can't deal with losing soccer games and separation anxiety at school drop-off.

"Our kids are precious, but they're not fragile."

Recent research shows that GRIT is the best measure of success in kids, that the kids who are resilient are the most successful. There is no standard way to teach grit, but this book seems like a really good start. Teaching kids how to regulate their responses is really useful as they become adults. I mean, who doesn't feel like they could do better at that? I'm interested in this approach and happy that we don't have to rely on time-outs or strict discipline to "toughen up" our kids. Highly recommended.

If you are parenting a toddler and interested in a similar approach, I also recommend Tova Klein's How Toddlers Thrive.

Five stars!

I asked for this book hoping to garner some techniques I could apply in my classroom, but my students are older than the children in this book. Nonetheless, it seems like a good parenting guide.

The Yes Brain: How to Cultivate Courage, Curiosity, and Resilience in Your Child is an educative book to help adults foster secure, competent and confident kids in the 21st century. Who doesn’t want the best for their children? The best we can give them, the authors postulate, is to instill courage, positivity and resilience to empower them to create a fulfilling life. However, constant digital distractions and hectic schedules may very well be impeding that which we want most for our children….self-regulation, competence and well-being. Useful, practical strategies to help children thrive are provided by the same authors who wrote The Whole-Brain Child and No-Drama Discipline. Bottom line, if you are interesting in helping guide your children to embrace life more fully and become more self-regulated and well-rounded, you’ll want to pick up a copy of this book.

This is obviously part of a series of books about parenting. Maybe you would get more out of it if you had that background to build upon. Everyone wants to raise a great child and help them succeed, and reading this book should give you some ideas to work with. However, there isn't really a lot here and much of it is repetitive. I would have liked a lot more concrete examples. The last page or so is a Refrigerator Sheet that summarizes the whole book. I didn't really feel the book lived up to its title.

Though heavy on brain science, the concepts and explanations are clear and easy to understand. Dan Seigel has made a considerable career writing books for parents and people interested in brain development, and his concept of "nueroplasticity" -- which is basically that new pathways in the brain can be forged and help you to develop new, healthier behavior patterns -- is very encouraging for people who are stuck in negative patterns, or for parents who worry that they might have damaged their kids. The Yes Brain is a continuation of many of the concepts he has already developed in his other work, but with a focus on cultivating confidence and positivity. It's as accessable as all his other books, but unfortunately heavier on the theoretical end than the practical end.

An incredibly helpful, practical book for parents. If you want to help your child succeed, be happy, and have resilience, THE YES BRAIN is for you. I only wish this book had been available when my child was much younger. An invaluable resource.

Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson’s, “The Yes Brain” is simply brilliant. I am convinced that following their principles and shaping a “Yes Brain mindset” not only helps the child and the family but also the world we live in. We need less reactive “No” people and more open, flexible, positive, and curious “Yes” people who excel at relationships. In a round-about way, their book contributes to more love in the world by starting off with sowing seeds to the younger generations. Their principles, skills, practical applications, real-life stories, and down-to-earth liberating ideas will transform your children and ultimately transform the world. I highly recommend it!

I was thrilled when receiving the confirmation of the approved advanced read on this book. Since reading The Whole-Brain Child, I could not wait to dive into this book as well. This is an excellent read for any parent at any age of their child’s development. I would buy both books as a gift to any new parents. I also appreciate the illustrations contained within the book, which offer a better understanding. I highly recommend Daniel Siegel’s parenting books to any parent seeking a better understanding of their child’s development and new approaches to assist in that development.

This book may be interesting to people who enjoy reading about neurobiology. The authors provide an overview of brain function and development. There were four areas of focus: balance, empathy, resilience, insight.
I was hoping for practical application, but this book is more theoretical.

I found this book personally useful, as the mother of a 4.5 year old, and would recommend it to parents who feel caught in the rat race of over-scheduling. It's a quick and engaging read- the cartoons and end of chapter summaries make it accessible and quick to read. I have not read previous works by the authors, but found the introduction to science of the brain and neuroplasticity to be helpful and succinct. Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy!

An insightful book about encouraging positive brain growth to help you child in all areas of life. It is heavy on brain science, but in a readable way.