Conscious Parenting
Conscious Parenting by Dr. Mike Dahlstrom is a powerful guide to understanding how a child’s brain is formed and how parents can intentionally shape their child's mental, emotional, and neurological foundation for life. Drawing from over 30 years of clinical work in chiropractic, kinesiology, and holistic healing, Dr. Dahlstrom blends scientific research, real-life stories, and practical advice to offer a deeply human and eye-opening resource for any adult who works with or loves children.
The book begins with a deeply personal note, Dr. Mike’s journey through professional reinvention, hardship during the COVID pandemic, and how his work on adult healing ultimately led him to write this book about preventing trauma in the first place.
Structured in 12 key chapters (plus a quiz and practical exercises), Conscious Parenting breaks down complex neuroscience into accessible, meaningful ideas.
- You’ll learn how your child’s brain grows through stages of development, from Delta and Theta brainwave states in early years (where everything is absorbed without filter), to Alpha and Beta stages as they grow.
- You’ll discover the difference between left- and right-brain processing and why integration between both is essential for emotional regulation, creativity, and resilience.
- The book explores how subconscious patterns are formed during early life through words, reactions, energy, and even stress levels, often without parents even realizing it.
- Dr. Dahlstrom dives into real scenarios, like a child absorbing emotional tension during a fight or interpreting a harmless adult comment as a core belief of unworthiness. He shows how these early programs become “truths” the child lives by for decades.
This isn’t a book about perfect parenting. It’s about aware parenting. Dahlstrom isn’t here to judge or prescribe a rigid method. Instead, he provides a roadmap of how patterns are created, beliefs are installed, and emotional safety is either nurtured or unintentionally undermined.
Key chapters include:
- What is Conscious Parenting (and why it matters)
- The Basics of Brain Development
- Brainwave States and Absorption
- How Beliefs Are Formed in Children
- The Impact of Parental Stress
- Recognizing Learning Styles
- Communication Between Brain Hemispheres
- Real-Life Stories of Pattern Formation
One central message runs through the book: You can’t control everything, but you can control the seeds you plant. Small, seemingly insignificant moments shape lifelong beliefs, the way we respond to a tantrum, a question, or a moment of fear. These moments either program trust and safety or create confusion and emotional blocks.
The book also includes reflective tools, a quiz to help you assess your parenting style, and simple brain-based exercises to do with your child. It helps readers shift from a reactive to a responsive mindset, from unconscious to conscious. You don’t need to be perfect; you need to be present, intentional, and willing to grow.
Whether you’re a new parent, a step-parent, a teacher, or someone who grew up with unresolved wounds of your own, Conscious Parenting offers a way forward. It’s an invitation to raise your child not just with love, but with awareness.
Because conscious parenting isn’t about controlling your child. It’s about guiding them with clarity and care, understanding how your actions today shape who they’ll become tomorrow.