Can Your Child's Brain Develop Too Fast?

As a parent, you want nothing but the best for your kids. With the ever-increasing pace of modern life it seems like if you aren’t pushing your kids to be the best, then you’re ten steps behind everyone else. Unfortunately, research shows that adding pressure to our kids' lives may result in reduced neuroplasticity, which directly impacts their ability to learn new things. As a result, the more pressure you put on your kids, the faster their brain develops, and the less neurologically-flexible they’ll be.

It's commonly assumed that faster brain development will lead to smarter, more capable children. For this reason, parents are pushing their kids harder than ever before to excel in all areas of life – with a strong emphasis on scholastic goals. 

On the surface, this may seem like it makes good sense; a more developed brain would certainly lead to higher intelligence and capabilities, right?

Well, as it turns out, things aren't so simple. When we pressure our children to excel beyond their natural rhythms, it can actually have a reverse effect. In fact, research shows that allowing our children to mature and learn at a steady pace while enjoying their younger years is far more ideal for brain development than trying to force progress.

What Happens When A Child's Brain Develops Too Fast?

With the advent of social media, the concept of keeping up with the Joneses has taken on a whole new meaning. You're no longer just comparing your life to the neighbors or close family friends; you now have the ability to review all of your accomplishments (and your children's) against every person you've met in the last 10, 20, or even 30 years. 

With each generation, we see more and more pressure to join sports teams, get involved in social and scholastic clubs, play an instrument, and fill the days with opportunities to excel. 

While from a logical standpoint, it may seem as though we're just giving our children a multitude of opportunities to explore what life has to offer. However, the reality is that most of the activities are chosen for children by their parents, schools, or from an internal pressure to keep up with their classmates. 

As a result, instead of feeling accomplished and confident many children end up feeling low-level chronic stress for the majority of their precious childhood.

But let's put emotions aside for a moment. Does pushing our children's brain development effectively increase cognition and mental capacity?

The research shows  that the answer to that question is a resounding "no." 

Why?

When a child's brain develops too fast, it decreases something called neuroplasticity. The more neuroplastic your brain, the more adaptable it is to new information. Higher levels of neuroplasticity help children learn new things and take away information from new experiences. In other words, neuroplasticity is vitally important to the growth and development of the brain. 

The most poignant example of how stress impacts a growing brain comes from children that have had adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). ACEs typically fall under the category of abuse, violence, growing up with a mentally ill family member, or any other traumatic event in childhood.

Research shows that the more ACEs a child experiences, the more likely they are to suffer from issues like heart disease, diabetes, depression, learning challenges, and substance abuse later in life. This is due, at least in part, to the effect that trauma has on the central nervous system. 

While ACEs may show us an extreme example of how childhood stress can impact development, it's vital that parents not underestimate the burden that pressure can put on their little ones. 

How To Keep The Brain Balanced and Learning

If forcing development doesn't do the trick for enhancing cognitive skills, what does?

Research shows that children's neurological development requires variety, play, and a sense of safety and calm. 

Variety is the spice of life, and for children, it's the exact spice they need for optimal neurological development. Going back to the concept of neuroplasticity, when a child has new experiences, it gives their brain an opportunity to create new connections – opening them to even more learning. 

If a child is on a 24-hour regimented schedule, for instance: wake up, go to school, go to sports practices, have piano lessons, come home and do homework, go to bed, repeat, it leaves very little space of spontaneous development, variety, and even time to be bored. While activities are important for development, making sure that there's variety in their life will be much more impactful. 

But here's the important piece – it's not just about variety, but the type of variety. More specifically, making sure your child has opportunities for fun and play is absolutely vital. 

Research shows that play enhances a protein in the brain called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). BDNF increases brain plasticity and is highly involved in memory and learning. This means that the more space your child has to play and enjoy life, the more primed they will be for learning when they go back to their schoolwork. 

Last but certainly not least, is that children need to feel safe and calm in order for their brains to develop optimally. When a child is under stress or feels unsafe in their environment, it is a strong inhibitor of learning. 

From an ancestral perspective, this makes perfect sense. If your ancestors living in the wild were faced with a threat in their environment, it would be no time to learn something new. When we are faced with threats, our nervous system goes into "fight or flight" (sympathetic mode) in an attempt to help us survive. For a child, a threat could be something as significant as an abusive parent (such as the case in ACEs) or as unassuming as a looming algebra test. 

If your child intrinsically knows that they are loved and accepted, regardless of the score they get on their test or whether or not their team wins the championship, it will signal to their nervous system that they are safe, which in turn primes their brain for learning. 

While stress puts you into sympathetic mode, feeling safe activates parasympathetic mode. When your parasympathetic response dominates your nervous system, it enhances neuroplasticity, which means higher cognitive functions like learning and memory.

How Brain Harmony Can Help

At Brain Harmony, we work with a variety of individuals managing everything from autism to dyslexia and everything in between. One thing that we find universally true is that before big changes can take place in learning, the nervous system must be calm.

That's why the first phase of our program always includes enhancing parasympathetic tone and providing our friends with a sense of calm and safety. When your child feels safe, their brain becomes calm, open, and much more neuroplastic. This is as true for someone with neurological challenges as it is for a perfectly healthy brain. 

At the end of the day, your child's happiness is much more important than the grade they get on a test, and the paradox is that as you allow your child more time for variety and play, they will do better scholastically. It's truly a win-win. 

If you've noticed that your child has serious learning issues, such as hyperactivity, or an inability to focus, they likely need a little more support with their neurological wiring. It's not uncommon for children who feel overwhelmed due to pressures at school to find it challenging to keep up. 

At Brain Harmony, we work with your loved ones to create neurological organization so they can perform tasks with more confidence and focus while enhancing their innate motivation. 

Working with your child and moving at their pace is crucial. That's why we treat every individual as a unique case and make tailor-made suggestions for their needs. 

As a result, we see significant improvements in learning, memory, performance, and motivation across the board.

This Week’s Favorites

We are often asked about therapies, tools, services, and other support items to help families find their best neurological health. Our focus this week is PLAY! We usually just feature one favorite per blog, but this week we have multiple recs! All four give kids the chance to just be themselves, get exercise, get away from screens, and pass the time mixing things up and having fun. Click on each to learn more!

Success Story

Emery’s anxiety levels preventing him from participating in normal activity. Once he started our listening and occupational program and started to feel better, he started excelling in sports, learning, and PLAY! Read more and watch his mom’s full interview here!

Takeaway 

As a parent, you only want the best for your child. But in a society that seems to only move forward by sheer force and pressure, is it essential that you nurture your child's innate talents without overwhelming them into a state of stress. 

Begin by adding more variety to their lives. If they are stuck in a strict regimen of school, sports, and clubs, add in some surprises or unique experiences. Keeping things exciting and interesting will allow them to stay engaged with life. 

Furthermore, if you find that their life seems to be all work and no play, make a strategic choice to include more playtime. What "play" looks like for each child will differ, so ask them what lights them up. If you see smiles and laughter, you know you got it right. 

And finally, be sure to take the stress off. Kids aren't always the best at expressing themselves when they feel overwhelmed, so check in and ask. If there are any academic struggles, the number one thing you can do to help out is provide a sense of safety and calm.

For more information on how Brain Harmony can help with your child's scholastic goals, well-being, and overall sense of confidence, reach out today for a Free Consultation.