Alison Wood Brooks

I understand that you came back to this incident some years later, Alison. Can you tell me what happened?

That's right. It became infamous in our family, the nose-breaking incident with toddler Kevin. And so over time, he heard me and my husband talk about this moment. We told it to him as a story. And, you know, he learned to talk. He learned to regulate his emotions. And he sort of came to find this story intriguing. Like he couldn't believe that he would have behaved that way.

That's right. It became infamous in our family, the nose-breaking incident with toddler Kevin. And so over time, he heard me and my husband talk about this moment. We told it to him as a story. And, you know, he learned to talk. He learned to regulate his emotions. And he sort of came to find this story intriguing. Like he couldn't believe that he would have behaved that way.

That's right. It became infamous in our family, the nose-breaking incident with toddler Kevin. And so over time, he heard me and my husband talk about this moment. We told it to him as a story. And, you know, he learned to talk. He learned to regulate his emotions. And he sort of came to find this story intriguing. Like he couldn't believe that he would have behaved that way.

And one night, he was probably seven or eight years old, and we were reading together, and he was reading one of his favorite books at the time, you know, Diary of a Wimpy Kid. A lot of kids love this series. And the main character in the story...

And one night, he was probably seven or eight years old, and we were reading together, and he was reading one of his favorite books at the time, you know, Diary of a Wimpy Kid. A lot of kids love this series. And the main character in the story...

And one night, he was probably seven or eight years old, and we were reading together, and he was reading one of his favorite books at the time, you know, Diary of a Wimpy Kid. A lot of kids love this series. And the main character in the story...

typically can be sort of uh thoughtless and can be kind of cruel to his best friend but there was a part of the book where greg apologized to his best friend and it was a rare moment it was a very sort of kind moment for the character in the book and in that moment kevin stopped reading and he looked up at me and he said mom he said yeah and he said do you

typically can be sort of uh thoughtless and can be kind of cruel to his best friend but there was a part of the book where greg apologized to his best friend and it was a rare moment it was a very sort of kind moment for the character in the book and in that moment kevin stopped reading and he looked up at me and he said mom he said yeah and he said do you

typically can be sort of uh thoughtless and can be kind of cruel to his best friend but there was a part of the book where greg apologized to his best friend and it was a rare moment it was a very sort of kind moment for the character in the book and in that moment kevin stopped reading and he looked up at me and he said mom he said yeah and he said do you

Remember when I broke your nose when I was a toddler? And I said, oh, yes, I do remember, Kevin. I don't think I'll ever forget. And he looked at me right in the eyes and he said, Mommy, I'm so sorry. So sorry that I did that to you. And my heart just sort of burst in the way that I had cried so much when he first had broken my nose. Now I was crying again, but this time out of pride.

Remember when I broke your nose when I was a toddler? And I said, oh, yes, I do remember, Kevin. I don't think I'll ever forget. And he looked at me right in the eyes and he said, Mommy, I'm so sorry. So sorry that I did that to you. And my heart just sort of burst in the way that I had cried so much when he first had broken my nose. Now I was crying again, but this time out of pride.

Remember when I broke your nose when I was a toddler? And I said, oh, yes, I do remember, Kevin. I don't think I'll ever forget. And he looked at me right in the eyes and he said, Mommy, I'm so sorry. So sorry that I did that to you. And my heart just sort of burst in the way that I had cried so much when he first had broken my nose. Now I was crying again, but this time out of pride.

It was such a meaningful moment to see how he had grown from being this toddler struggling so much with language and his emotions. And in such a short time, maybe five years later, was in this place where he was able to own that and apologize and empathize and recognize my pain was just incredible.

It was such a meaningful moment to see how he had grown from being this toddler struggling so much with language and his emotions. And in such a short time, maybe five years later, was in this place where he was able to own that and apologize and empathize and recognize my pain was just incredible.

It was such a meaningful moment to see how he had grown from being this toddler struggling so much with language and his emotions. And in such a short time, maybe five years later, was in this place where he was able to own that and apologize and empathize and recognize my pain was just incredible.

Alison Woodbrooks is a behavioral scientist at Harvard Business School. She's the author of Talk, The Science of Conversation, and The Art of Being Ourselves. Alison, thank you so much for joining me today on Hidden Brain.

Alison Woodbrooks is a behavioral scientist at Harvard Business School. She's the author of Talk, The Science of Conversation, and The Art of Being Ourselves. Alison, thank you so much for joining me today on Hidden Brain.

Alison Woodbrooks is a behavioral scientist at Harvard Business School. She's the author of Talk, The Science of Conversation, and The Art of Being Ourselves. Alison, thank you so much for joining me today on Hidden Brain.

Thank you so much for having me.