The simple way to help your kids face their fears, handle big emotions, and bolster their social skills—from the New York Times bestselling co-author of The Whole-Brain Child and a renowned play therapist
“A parenting guide as useful as it is scientifically sound, The Way of Play is a gift for anyone who cares about human development and the growth-promoting importance of having fun in life!”—Daniel J. Siegel, MD
Most parents understand that free, unstructured playtime is great for children’s development. What they may not know is that playful interaction with parents is also a powerful way for kids to cultivate healthy emotional development and resilience. Kids often want their parents to play with them, but many parents don’t know how to play or see it only as an (often boring) way to kill time.
Playing with your kids doesn’t have to mean enrolling in countless parent-and-me classes or getting on all fours and making toy car sounds; the little daily moments together can make the most impact. In The Way of Play, world-renowned pediatric therapists and play experts Tina Payne Bryson and Georgie Wisen-Vincent break down seven simple, playful techniques that harness this caregiving magic in only a few minutes each day:
• Leaning in to emotions helps children let go of anxieties, drama, and chaotic behavior.
• Tuning in to the body teaches children to practice the art of surfing sensory waves.
• Storytelling promotes better problem-solving.
• Thinking out loud fosters calmer thinking and stronger communication with parents, siblings, and everyone else.
Full of science-backed research, real-life stories, and charming line illustrations to bring this novel advice to life, The Way of Play will help you nurture your kids and encourage them to become calm listeners, cooperative problem solvers, and respectful communicators. Just as important, it will help your whole family have more fun together and build stronger relationships.
Dr. Tina Payne Bryson (she/her) is the co-author (with Dan Siegel) of two New York Times bestsellers - The Whole-Brain Child selling over a million copies. Dr. Bryson is also the author of The Bottom Line for Baby (Random House 2020) and co-author (with Dan Siegel) of The Power of Showing Up (Random House 2020) and The Yes Brain (Random House 2018). Her upcoming book, The Way of Play (Random House 2025), co-authored with Georgie Wisen-Vincent, will be released January 2025.
Tina is an LCSW, and the founder/executive director of The Center for Connection (“CFC”), a multidisciplinary clinical practice with an interpersonal neurobiology lens; of the Play Strong Institute, a center devoted to the study, research, and practice of play therapy through a neurodevelopment lens; and The Center for Connection and Neurodiversity, a wing of the CFC devoted to celebrating neurodifferences and providing brain-based occupational therapy, and interdisciplinary clinical work across the lifespan.
Tina keynotes conferences and conducts workshops for kids, parents, educators, clinicians, and industry leaders all over the world, and she makes frequent media appearances (for example, in TIME Magazine, Good Morning America, Huffington Post, Redbook, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Real Simple). When she isn’t teaching, she consults with various companies and organizations, including the Nike Sport Research Lab (NSRL) where she was project director for mental or emotional performance, offering direct support to athletes and supporting research. She also works as a child development specialist at St. Mark’s School in Pasadena, CA. A graduate of Baylor University, Tina earned her LCSW and PhD from the University of Southern California, where her research explored attachment science, childrearing theory, and the emerging field of interpersonal neurobiology.
Tina emphasizes that before she’s a parenting educator, or a researcher, she’s a mom. She limits her clinical practice and speaking engagements so that she can spend time with her family. Alongside her husband of 30 years, parenting her three boys is what makes her happiest.
Tina’s professional life now focuses on taking research and theory from various fields of science, and offering it in a way that is clear, realistic, humorous, and immediately helpful. As she puts it, “For parents, clinicians, and teachers, learning about how kids’ (and their own) brains work is surprisingly practical, informing how they approach discipline, how they help kids deal with everyday struggles, and ultimately how they connect with the children they care about.”
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Tina Payne Bryson is the Founder and Executive Director of The Center for Connection and The Play Strong Institute and has an employment relationship with Saint Mark's Episcopal School. She receives royalties as a published author. Tina Payne Bryson receives a speaking honorarium, book and recording royalties from Сòòò½ÊÓƵ. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Tina Payne Bryson serves on the advisory board for Austin Interpersonal Neurobiology and Fuel Ed. She is a member of the National Association of Social Workers, is a distinguished member of the San Gabriel Valley Psychology Association, and a member of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute.
Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT, RPT-S™, ECMHS is a nationally recognized play therapy expert and co-author (with Dr. Tina Payne Bryson) of the new book – The Way of Play (Penguin Random House, January, 2025).
Georgie is the founder/director of The Play Strong Institute, a center devoted to the study, research, and practice of play therapy through a neurodevelopment lens, along with Dr. Bryson, the founder/director of The Center for Connection, a multidisciplinary clinical practice in Southern California. Georgie is also a child, adolescent, and family psychotherapist and maintains a private practice at The Center for Connection.
The Play Strong Institute offers the Certificate in Play Therapy with a Neurorelational Emphasis, an educational pathway toward becoming a credentialed play therapist. Through the institute, the Play Strong approach was developed using child-led, adult scaffolded connection and play to help parents, therapists, educators, and care providers augment intervention aimed at the social, emotional, developmental, and learning needs of children from infancy to early adolescence. Play Strong Parenting (a component of Neurofilial Therapy) has been validated by empirical research and is currently being studied with non-parental caregivers and early childhood educators, among other research investigations currently underway.
Neurofilial Therapy (NFT) is a more recent expansion on the well-established research behind Filial Therapy, a model that nurtures the parent-child relationship and places parents and caregivers in the role of therapeutic changemaker for their children. Georgie has gathered an advisory group of clinicians, knowledgeable in dyadic practice, to further develop the model and advance training in family therapy informed by Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB).
A graduate professor at Santa Clara University and active researcher in childhood play, attachment science, and mental health, Georgie has been commissioned as a consultant, program designer, and lead trainer for several major organizations and frequently presents to educators, parents, and clinical professionals on play therapy, trauma resilience, and the power of play-driven learning. She completed advanced study in play therapy at the University of Roehampton, London. Georgie gained specialist endorsement in early childhood mental health after completing the UC Davis Napa Infant Mental Health Fellowship. She is currently in the final phase of her doctoral program, a PhD in Infant and Early Child Development, focused on neurodiversity and parent-child attachment relationships.
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Georgeanne Wisen maintains a private practice and has an employment relationship with Loma Linda University. She receives a speaking honorarium from Сòòò½ÊÓƵ. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Georgeanne Wisen is a member of the Association for Play Therapy, the British Association of Play Therapists, and the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists.
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