> [!note] New — 2026-03-18 ![[assets/covers/neuroplasticity.jpg]] The brain's capacity to change its physical structure and functional organisation in response to experience. Far from being fixed at birth or in early childhood, the brain remains malleable; this makes the texture of everyday interactions a genuine developmental force, not mere emotional comfort. ## Everyday moments as developmental architecture Siegel and Bryson's framing of neuroplasticity is resolutely practical. The brain is 'plastic, or moldable',[^wbc-p7] which means that the quality and character of parenting moments leave physical traces. By using everyday moments, a parent can 'influence how well your child's brain grows toward integration'.[^wbc-p10] Ordinary dinners, bedtime conversations, and responses to tantrums are not incidental to development; they are the mechanism of it. The implication is that there is no neutral parenting: every interaction either promotes integration or works against it. ## Selected passages > 'The good news is that by using everyday moments, you can influence how well your child's brain grows toward integration.' > > *The Whole-Brain Child*, p. 10 ## Appearances - *The Whole-Brain Child*, Siegel & Bryson (2011), Ch. 1 'Parenting with the Brain in Mind', pp. 7, 10 ## Related [[Neural Integration]] [^wbc-p7]: [[The Whole-Brain Child (2011)]], p. 7 · 'the brain is actually 'plastic,' or moldable' · [[The Whole-Brain Child - 21.jpg|↗]] [^wbc-p10]: [[The Whole-Brain Child (2011)]], p. 10 · 'The good news is that by using everyday moments, you can influence how well your child's brain grows toward integration' · [[The Whole-Brain Child - 24.jpg|↗]]