Knowledge is power. When kids understand what’s going on in their brains, it can be the first step in making good decisions. Knowledge can be just as powerful for parents as it is for children. Knowing how the brain works means we can understand how to respond to our children when they need our help.
Sometimes our brain can become overwhelmed by feeling emotions like fear, sadness or anger… when this happens it is confusing, especially for children. That is why it is necessary to give children strategies to make sense of what is happening to their brain. It is also useful for children to learn to put words to their emotional experiences that others can understand. Think about it like a foreign language, if other people in your family speak that language, it’s easier to communicate with them.
But how do you start these conversations with your kids so they’re playful enough to keep them motivated and can you understand it? Don’t miss out on the best way to understand the brain below.
The house of the brain
The house of the brain: the upper part and the lower part. For children to better understand their brain, it can be explained by saying that the brain is like a two-story house, it has an upper part and a lower part. It’s a simple way to help kids think about what’s going on inside their heads. But to make him understand it even better, when he knows how to differentiate that his brain is like a house, you can explain who lives in it.
One way to do this is by telling stories about those who live upstairs and those who live below. on the ground floor. Actually, you will be talking about the functions of the neocortex -the brain’s thinking and upper part-, and the limbic system -the feelings and lower part-.
Who lives above and who lives downstairs
In general,those who live upstairs are thinkers, problem solvers, planners, They can do things, regulate their emotions, are creative, flexible and have empathy. You can give the characters names such as: ‘Carl the thinker, Peter the problem solver, Pol the creative and Felix the flexible’.
The people at the bottom are the ones in charge of keeping everything safe and making sure that basic needs are met. The survival instinct is found in the lower part of the house. If these characters see themselves in danger, they sound the alarm and make sure everyone is ready to fight, run, or hide when faced with a threat. On this floor are Alan the Alerter, Scared Fred, and Big Boss Barry.
The names can be whatever you like best, but you need to point out what you’re talking about.
When those below are in charge
The brain works best when the plant above and below work together. Imagine some stairs connecting the floors and the characters are busy sending messages up and down all day. This helps us make good decisions, make friends, and get along with others. We can also calm down and understand emotions better.
When the big boss Barry – who is a bit bossy – wants to dominate the situation by sounding the alarm of possible threat, the stairs stop working and only the ground floor dominates the situation. Normally this happens when we feel fear, sadness or anger and act without thinking.
But if only those below are in charge, we will not make good decisions, that is why we must reconnect the stairs and make the house come together again. For this to happen, we must find a way to relax, such as: taking breaths, listening to soft music, painting, drawing, etc.