Confidence Is Key to Learning

School is back! Much to the relief of many parents out there. But wait, now that the early morning rush of delivering kids with packed lunches to school has settled into something like a routine, parents are faced with a new concern: will their child(ren) be able to cope well with the higher level of education in store for them this year? And if not, how will this impact on the next year, and the year after that and, ultimately, their future? (At this point stress hormones can start to surge in the parent, potentially causing a cascade of health concerns… but that’s another article!)

Success at anything starts with confidence. Are your children feeling confident about their academic ability? Do they dread maths, English or science classes because they are aware that they just don’t ‘get it’ like other smarties in the class, and they feel it’s a struggle to, firstly, keep up and secondly, to keep up the façade that they are ‘getting it’, lest they be labeled as dumb? This dread, or perception that they may not be as smart as others, can in itself set off a stress response which leads to poorer brain integration, which leads to poorer ability to learn, which leads to poorer self-esteem, which leads to …. a very vicious circle!

Poor brain integration occurs when stress, caused by emotional, chemical, mental and/or physical factors, prevents a person from being able to fully use their intelligence from both hemispheres of their brain to work together to solve the task at hand. Instead, they’ll only be able to access limited resources from one dominant brain hemisphere and this dysfunction will make it much harder, sometimes impossible, to succeed at the task. This, sadly, can become a repetitive cycle, that can severely undermine self esteem.

For such people, starting a new, previously untried task brings such a sense of uncertainty that it can create fear. If the fear is strong enough, or if it is linked to a past failure, it can generate enough stress to cause a loss of brain integration, which sets up the likelihood of failure again.

If on the other hand, despite the uncertainty, a person is able to maintain their brain integration they will remain functional in both hemispheres of their brain and figure out how to solve the task. With this success comes reward: natural opiates called endorphins are released in their brain, creating a sense of pleasure and well-being. Praise from parents, teachers and peers adds more reward as it causes the release of even more pleasurable endorphins.

This reward not only makes them feel good, but it makes their brain integration more robust and resilient. After a series of successes they can even allow themselves to make an error and not lose brain integration. Instead they can see where they went wrong, what they need to learn from the mistake, then try again and succeed. Challenges are no longer seen as problems but rather as opportunities to learn. People who are successful tend to continue being successful.

In contrast, people who have experienced repeated failures (or worse, have been told that they are failures by their parents or teachers) tend to lack confidence in their abilities, and are ultimately less likely to try new things (because if they don’t try, they can’t fail!) or reach for their goals, now and in the future.

We all want confident, successful kids. We want them to reach for their own unique goals, and create a better world in doing so. Success comes from confidence. Make the time to instill confidence in your children. Parental love and praise is, of course, far and beyond the most essential element, and literally works magic on children!

However, if your child is already caught up in that vicious circle that causes them to lose brain integration, then please know that Kinesiology can help. Kinesiology works to defuse the emotional, mental, chemical and/or physical stress that causes a lack of brain integration. It can reveal which pathways in the brain are not functioning to their fullest under stress and, using acupressure points, can de-stress these areas, bringing back function, thus making it easier for your child to think, learn and ultimately reach their full potential. A series of Brain Integration techniques can not only improve movement, coordination, balance, memory, concentration, speech, reading, writing, mathematics and more, but in doing so also improves self-esteem and confidence! If you are concerned about your child’s academic or social ability at school, then please give me, Sally, a call on 0434 215 948 to arrange a programme of Brain Integration. The sooner we break the vicious circle, the better for your child’s self-esteem, and future!

Kinesiology
is beneficial for:

Anxiety & Depression
Fatigue & Tiredness
Fears & Phobias
Coordination & Balance
Stress Management
Emotional Trauma
Sleeping Issues
Relationship Issues
Learning Disorders
Learning Enhancement
Digestive Disorders
Nutritional Enhancement
Allergies
Hormonal Imbalance
All types of Pain
Sport Performance
Goal Development
Personal Development

Friday, March 29, 2024