Preparing Your Child's Brain For School
It’s that time of year when parents start thinking about back-to-school shopping and fall schedules. While many of us are either waiting to hear from the school district to see what school will look like in the fall, or making our own plans for distance learning or homeschooling, there are a handful of things you can do now to help prepare your child’s brain for learning.
Make Sleep a Priority – The quality and quantity of sleep greatly influences brain power, so make sleep a priority in your house! When your children are sleeping, their brains are busy processing and organizing all of the information they were exposed to during the day, like a neurological Dewey decimal system. Thanks to the fact that children usually sleep for longer time periods and also sleep more soundly, their brains have ample time to file everything away efficiently to access later.
Move – Physical activity builds more than just muscles- it sharpens the brain. Movement matters! Stimulation via experience and movement, increases dendrite branching and myelination allowing faster thought processing and reaction time. Movement also releases Dopamine, which induces elation, excitement and orchestrates further nerve net development and alignment all over the brain. Movement throughout the day will help your child stay alert while learning.
Modern Adaptations – Posture and ergonomics are more important than ever! Children are constantly looking down at homework and electronics, creating poor posture. Forward head carriage and poor posture can increase risk for early spinal degeneration. Find a desk and chair that are the right size for your child. Children are not all built the same, so why should their work station be a one-size-fits-all solution?
Get Checked, Get Adjusted – The nervous system is the master control system of the body, through everyday stressors our body becomes subluxated causing a disturbance in the neurological communication from the brain to the body. Chiropractic helps your body better navigate the environment and helps you achieve the best version of yourself. With a clear flowing nervous system, our bodies can adapt better to the stresses of the environment
Multi-sensory Learning – Multi-sensory learning is a powerful tool. Engaging multiple senses in the learning process engages multiple areas of the brain. And, the more areas of the brain that are actively working, the better. When multiple senses work or “learn” simultaneously, your children will retain more and for longer periods of time. Your kids will also make more connections between previous studies and current lessons. They will make connections between information in books they’ve been reading, scenes in movies they’ve watched, discussions they’ve had, and so much more!
At Mindset Chiropractic we specialize in nervous system-based chiropractic care that is effective for improving the health of your whole family. We provide specific and gentle chiropractic adjustments to restore proper brain to body communication, bringing your health back to life and getting you back out on the lake.
If there is any way I can help you, help the learners in your family get their brains ready to go back to school, I’m happy to help. Please feel free to contact me at your leisure!