How to Be a BrainWise Parent

Posted On: March 1, 2023

Parent Kit packaging BW The latest data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) show that mental health issues are continuing to increase in children and youth. “These data echo a cry for help,” said CDC’s Debra Houry, M.D., M.P.H, “but science shows the trend can be reversed by surrounding youth with the proper help and support.” BrainWise instructors are doing this by teaching thousands of children about the brain and how to use thinking skills to prevent and manage problems.  BrainWise Applications – Best Applications for Brain Development

Most BrainWise instructors are educators, but a subgroup of aides, paraprofessionals, mentors, community volunteers, and other childcare providers have demonstrated that they, too, are BrainWise rock stars. Their successful outcomes prove that nonscientists can teach about the brain to young children, help them to recognize problems, and show them how using their Wizard Brains will help them “stop and think.”

The soon-to-be-completed BrainWise for Parents Kit offers parents a mini-classroom to teach the 10 Wise Ways at home. It will include many of the materials and activities teachers use to teach BrainWise in schools, clinics, church groups, social service agencies and counseling practices.

The BrainWise for Parents Kit

The materials will be packaged in a box that contains a copy of the How To Be BrainWise book, a BrainWise for Parents Manual, and a package containing worksheets, activities, and crafts that are used in conjunction with the Manual.

The intent is to make the box a teaching tool as well, so it can be used as a “desk” to store materials, including a drawing of a brain which can be used to show which Wise Ways have been learned. These “hands on” teaching tools will help children practice using the skills.

BrainWise instructors throughout the U.S. and other countries have shown the program’s effectiveness across gender, race, age, income, and developmental abilities. The BrainWise for Parents Kit uses their collective knowledge and experiences to provide parents with the same materials and activities the instructors use.  The BrainWise Program – Research and Results

Please follow and like us:

Navajo Youth Project: Teaching BrainWise and Technology at Window Rock High

Technology leaders and software engineers identify communication as the strongest predictor of software project success.  Studies show that communication breakdowns—not coding errors—cause most IT project failures, reworked cycles, and misaligned expectations. Senior engineers agree communication is the most important survival skill in tech because it requires using multiple cognitive processes at once: clarifying goals, analyzing tradeoffs, […]

Read More »

BrainWise + Community Service: A Double Dose of Doing Good

What happens when a simple idea —“teach thinking by doing”—is put into practice for 20 straight years? BrainWise has long championed community service as a powerful way to reinforce the 10 Wise Ways, giving youth a “double dose” of critical‑thinking practice that strengthens their skills while benefiting the people they serve. Past newsletters have highlighted […]

Read More »

How the Five Senses Prepare Children and Youth to Understand the Brain

Children and youth live in a world filled with constant stimulation, emotional overload, and impulsive decisionmaking. BrainWise CPR’s first‑response skills begin by having children identify problems they and others face, then segue to the five senses to help them connect real‑life experiences with their brain. Learning about the five senses is the brain’s first line […]

Read More »