What’s so Right About Right Brain Development?

What’s so Right About the Right Brain Development?

What can be more mind boggling that the brain itself?!

Well, strike a conversation with a child and you would know what I mean.

When I hear my kids talk in length, I believe more in this- in the power of mind, imagination & thinking. Sometimes they come up with incredible observations and thought-provokers that may never occur to an adult mind. Ever wondered how twigs & sticks can become swords or magic wands and pebbles can double up as mountains?

Indeed the imagination of a little child is an amazing wonder-house of unlimited creativity and beauty.

But as all good things usually do, this lovely phase also comes to an end. They are trained to think more practically and logically. Numbers, papers and written assessments are coerced into their mode of thought and action. For some reason, this way of thinking has come to be believed as the norm and the accepted standard.

But is this “standardised way of learning and growing” enough for the kids of 21st century? Are we raising our children to be future ready?

When as Parents we are talking about preparing our children for the 21st century, you can’t help but find every possible way to ensure that you raise well-rounded, excelled, happy, self-assured and confident kids. While there are varying schools of thought about how this can be achieved, through Life Skill and Social skill development etc, there’s one prevalent since 1975, when brain specialists discovered the workings of our ‘cerebral cortex’.

Well, if the term used did sound ‘bombastic’ to you, let me introduce you to some interesting but seldom discussed facts about the cerebral matter a.k.a your Brain.

First, meet the Left Side of the brain-

• It controls analytic thought, logic, language, reasoning, science, math, literature, mathematics, and right hand control.
• The left brain is the more systematic one. It is known as the ‘reasoning’ brain, and controls the conscious mind, helping us to process information systematically.
• The left lobe of the brain is associated with rational thinking, and objective, analytic views of the world. It helps children excel in subjects such as math and science. It also encourages excellent organisational skills.
• Left Brain instills practical thinking and encourages children to come up with solutions for a multitude of challenging situations.
• Resilience, flexibility and back-up planning are a few traits of children with dominant left brain.

As a Parent falling in the “millennial” category, I am sure you would be able to relate this side of the brain with repetitive exercises, periodical examinations and linear and systematic methods used in classrooms.

Now let’s meet the Right Side of the brain-

• It is said to control awareness, intuition, insight, holistic thought, music awareness, 3D forms, and left-handed control.
• Also known as the ‘creative’ brain, it’s here where our imagination and visualisation skills are housed.
• A well developed right hemisphere means strong imagination, better concentration and heightened awareness of the environment.
• It also has the ability to process large amount of information.
• A person with well developed right brain encompasses capabilities that help them master new languages, expand their reasoning skills and enhance their ability to express themselves.

A simple example to understand the difference of thinking with respect to the Right & Left Hemisphere of brain could be – for a Right-brained person, the view about weather outside would be, “The skies are grey and menacing; I wonder if it’s going to rain?” . While for a Left-brained person, their view would more likely be, “The forecast said there was only a 30% chance of rain but those cumulonimbus clouds will probably bring thunder as well as rain.” 

But why are we giving so much importance to Right Brain Development?

As we explore what it takes to thrive in the 21st century, it is hard to ignore the traction Right Brain development is gaining worldwide amongst parents. It’s like this side of the brain is needed more than ever!

Perhaps the Right-brain abilities – artistry, empathy, design, big-picture thinking, creating something that the world didn’t know was missing- are hard to outsource or automate and in high demand in workplace and community settings. Left-brain abilities- the logical, linear, analytical, spreadsheet kind of skills- are important but not sufficient for success.

While Left Brain works with language and processes information sequentially, the Right Brain works with images allowing processing of wider information and hence is much faster.

What’s missing with Left brain approach of Learning?

Well, we certainly can not claim that there is no place for left-brain thinking, only that it is no longer enough for success and development. You need to develop a whole new mind: Left- and right-brain thinking.

No longer is it just enough to have traditional left-brain qualities such as sequential, logical, analytical and process-oriented thinking, as typified in the study and practice of science, engineering and accountancy. In a world where computers can perform complex tasks more efficiently than humans, where companies can outsource many of these left-brain tasks to large nations with an abundance of talented workers, right-brain thinking will be the difference between success and failure.

Right-brain thinkers with their emphasis on empathy, artistry, creativity and ability to see the big picture will dominate the future.

You would agree that the brain is like a muscle and the more you exercise, the stronger it gets. The reason it’s important to tap on right brain training at an early age of your child is that majority of our brain develops by the age of 6 and brain’s absorption potential is miraculous during these early years. Stimuli provided during this phase, can lead to exponential impact on a child’s development, as compared to, stimuli provided at the later stages. And the key to access the humongous potential that prevails at this early age, is through right brain abilities.

Kids who are exposed to Right Brain Training in an early age have been observed to be developing-

• Photographic & Linking memory
• Speed reading capability
• High creativity and imagination
• Improved thinking skills.
• Three-dimensional visualisation perspective.
• Superior intellect
• Multiple languages mastery
• Perfect pitch
• Heightened intuitiveness
• Exceptional sporting skills
• Rapid Mathematical calculations
• Music brilliance
• Empathy
• Charming & confident personality

Right brain development encourages children to learn in a new way by activating both the right and left lobes of the brain. The end result is confident, healthy, happy and successful children- and hey, isn’t that what we parents wish for?

Where our traditional education system focuses only on developing left brain functions such as Logic and Language, the unique education program, provided by Think Right – India’s first Right Brain Education Program- focuses on developing Whole (Left and Right) Brain functions of kids. These enhanced functions are then used to absorb vast amount of information at a very high speed. This helps a child to develop vast vocabulary, speed in reading & calculations, linguistic/music brilliance and a great personality.

Think Right’s Right Brain Education Program comprises games, exercises and activities that stimulate right brain functions of kids. Besides these exercises, these sessions also involve speedy inflow of information to build a strong knowledge base.

Remember, any activity we engage in wires our brain in a certain way. For children, creating new connections in their brains is a crucial process for their development and acquired skills to help them throughout their lives! So if you are still thinking about it, I would say, just ‘Think Right’!

Go Mommy!