The Right Hemisphere Of The Brain Develops First, And Serve As The Basis For Intellectual Development Through “Play”

Did you know that the right side of your brain grows before the left side? The left side of the brain, on the other hand, doesn’t become completely functional in children until they are around seven years old; this is one of the reasons why the first seven years of a kid’s life are considered to be such an important phase in the development of the child.

The left hemisphere of the brain is responsible for functions such as language, mathematics, literacy, analysis, and telling time. The part of us that is rational, calculative, and plans ahead. It's what keeps us rooted in the real world and in both the past and the future.

Empathy, intuition, imagination, and creative thinking are all functions associated with the right hemisphere of the brain. It is the place where we get lost in thought, dream, make connections, and feel most alive. By using the functions of the right hemisphere of the brain, we are able to enter a state of being in which time and place are rendered irrelevant.

The left hemisphere of the brain is more concerned with the results or product, while the right hemisphere is much more concerned with the process; for the right brain, the journey rather than the goal is what is most important.

However, there is one more component that is very important to grasp: the right hemisphere of our brain provides the connection to our limitless sense of being. Meanwhile, the left hemisphere of the brain is mostly concerned with action. This is why, young toddlers who are dominant in their right hemisphere are happy to just be.

When we know this, we can better understand why play is so important for children's learning and development, as well as why we need to be careful about the amount and timing of academic plans for children and how much we focus on what they've done at school instead of who they're becoming and how they feel as they learn about the world. It is important knowledge for anyone working in education, as well as parents, to know that the right side of the brain develops first. This is because it relates to what is considered to be developmentally appropriate.

Literacy and numeracy instructions given to youngsters less than seven years old may actually be detrimental to the children’s still-evolving brains. Children might develop what is known as “learned stupidity” if they are unable to utilize their academic brains in the ways that are being requested of them. They come to the conclusion that they are unable to learn, which causes them to abandon their natural drive to do so.

The constant pressure on kids to do well in school is a sign that our culture is dominated by the left brain or that we have forgotten what a great place the right brain is for play. It shows that we feel safer in the left brain's literalness, control, and certainty than in the right brain's vagueness and mystery.

You can't put a number on the qualities of creativity, empathy, or intuition, but you can put a number on activities that involve the left brain and are focused on practical details. But the more we teach kids to care about things that can be measured, the more likely it is that they will grow up thinking they don't live up to expectations.

Let us not forget that life isn't only about the accomplishments we make. Instead, living is about being present and connecting with the people you care about, as well as those you don’t even know, in the same carefree way that children do.

While the left brain divides up existence into its component parts, the right brain brings people together. Because of this, infants do not have the ability to differentiate between themselves and their surroundings. There is just one!

These sage little instructors remind us, courtesy of their right brain, that life is about enjoying the little things, about enchantment and surprise; that it’s about being present with another, offering them your gentle ear, and hearing between the lines rather than just what is being said, which is what logic grasps. With the help of the right brain, we can see the unseen parts of our own hearts and the hearts of others. We can also see the hidden parts of life that give it meaning.

The right hemisphere of the brain is, in a sense, the playground, or at the very least, it links us to the playground. Let kids spend as much time as they want in this most natural state by letting them do things like doodling, being curious, being amazed, and using their imaginations. People who have a healthy right brain are better able to employ the resources that their left brain provides in a constructive manner.

Being supports doing. If we want to be happy and make a real difference in the world, we must first take care of ourselves, as we are the ground from which our ideas, details, and actions will grow.

For more information, check out the following references:

Schore, Allan N. “Attachment and the Regulation of the Right Brain.” Attachment & Human Development, vol. 2, no. 1, Informa UK Limited, Apr. 2000, pp. 23–47. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.1080/146167300361309.

Chiron, C. “The Right Brain Hemisphere Is Dominant in Human Infants.” Brain, vol. 120, no. 6, Oxford UP (OUP), June 1997, pp. 1057–65. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/120.6.1057.

peabrandswan. “Right Vs. Left Brain Children - Pea and the Pod Chiropractic.” Pea And the Pod Chiropractic, 29 Dec. 2016, peaandthepodchiropractic.com/right-vs-left-brain-children.

Lipoff, Sarah. “Right Brain or Left Brain: Children and Creativity | Funderstanding: Education, Curriculum and Learning Resources.” Right Brain or Left Brain: Children and Creativity | Funderstanding: Education, Curriculum and Learning Resources, 26 Apr. 2011, www.funderstanding.com/theory/child-development/right-brain-vs-left-brain-children-and-creativity.

Siegel, Daniel J., and Tina Payne Bryson. “The Whole-Brain Child.” 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind, Delacorte Press, 2011.

qdeesworldwide, View all posts by. “Left-Brain and Right-Brain: How to Help Children Develop Both Sides of Their Brain - Q-dees Blog.” Q-dees Blog, 26 Jan. 2021, www.q-dees.com/blog/child-brain-development.