By Tamara Eslich

When most of us think of brain growth, we think of the two sides of the brain growing in unison, when in fact it does not grow in a balanced way. 

In the womb and during the first few years of life, brain growth is focused almost exclusively in the right hemisphere— the big picture to the world. The right brain drives big muscle tasks; it allows the baby to move arms and legs and turn their head. 

The left brain is less active at this time. This is a crucial time in brain development and is the foundation on which all future skills will be built. This is why we need to remove children from the TV’s and computers during the early ages and get them moving! The brain will only grow with movement and stimulation from the environment. This is why it is normal for a 0-2 year-old to put everything in their mouth, throw things and dump things out. They are exploring their world, stimulating their brain and it is necessary.

Around age two, growth switches mostly to the left brain, the center of small picture thinking.  This is where their first words come from. From then on, development switches back and forth between left and right hemispheres until about the age of 10, when the brain reaches full adult size.

This may help explain why a child’s hand writing was looking beautiful and then declines for a little while, or they may start to stutter for a period of time.  While one side is really active the other side is essentially ignored and actions they used to be able to control, they can no longer.

If during development one side of the brain develops faster and stronger and the two sides do not start working together, a “disconnect” can occur. This can result in imbalances in behavior, academics and socialization.

The left side is known as the IQ (intelligence quotient) and the right side is known as the EQ (emotional quotient). Therefore what can happen is someone with a very strong left brain can be phenomenal with numbers such as calculations, be an early reader but struggle with comprehension (understanding the big picture) as well as struggle with social skills and communication.

This is what we see with Autism, Asperger’s and ADHD. Those who have a stronger right brain (EQ) make friends easily, have great social skills, can be the best athlete on the field but are not the strongest in classroom. This is what we tend to see in children with dyslexia, learning disorders and processing concerns. 

The brain in a human being is very complex and we are the only species on the planet that is born with an undeveloped brain.  When an infant is born, there is just enough power for the lungs, the bowels and other necessities that support life— but not for long. The sensory overload starts as soon as we are out of the womb and we rely entirely on movement and stimulation from our environment to grow a brain. So get your kids out there, moving and exploring!

   This article was written by Dr. Tamara Eslich of the Brain Balance Center of Golden in conjunction with Dr. Robert Melillo, the founder of the Brain Balance Centers™ and author of the book, “Disconnected Kids”.