Oct 21, 2025
The brain is one of the most intricate things God ever designed. No human being will ever be able to fully grasp the magnitude of the intricacy of the brain due to its ability to constantly create new neurons, increase its plasticity, and adapt to the never-ending stresses we encounter on a daily basis.
The brain develops in stages-from bottom to top, back to front, and for the first 2 years of life, from right to left. The right side of the brain has a very different function than the left side of the brain-emotions, feelings, and sense of security. The left side of the brain is the region that houses movement, actions, and more intensity. You might not be surprised when I note that females tend to be more right-sided dominant, compared to males who tend to be more left-sided dominant. The right side of the brain creates the ‘big picture’. It draws the sky and the grass and the larger images we immediately notice. The left side of the brain fills in the details. It draws the birds in the air, the individual flower stalks, and even the wind patterns we might not see. If the right brain never creates the big picture, the left side of the brain tends to create a false sense of reality, interpreting what the big picture should be that has never been clearly defined. This is the beginning stage of anxiety-and why it is so important to feed the right brain. We’ll circle back to this in a few minutes…
God designed the male and female brains to be different for a reason. And it’s why research indicates that by age 6, the female brain is 1.5-2 years more mature in regards to speech formation and verbal communication than the male brain. By American standards, we place boys and girls in school at the same age and hold them to the exact same learning standards. Yet boys struggle to meet these expectations because the brain literally holds them back. And when they fail to meet these standards, teachers want to diagnose boys with a slew of neurocognitive disorders and learning disorders. So what can we do about this?
We first have to understand that females and males are different. It’s why we respond to stressors differently and it’s why we need to constantly look at the brain as to the reason why behaviors and actions reflect the gender of the brain. The next thing we need to do is feed the brain correctly-and I don’t mean with food!
Teach kids new skills and create learning experiences
Something as simple as instructing a child how to make banana pancakes increases serotonin levels, reduces anxiety levels, and creates a sense of certainty and accomplishment in kids of all ages. This creates the ‘big picture’ the right brain needs so anxiety cannot creep in and create a false sense of reality. Not to mention, it is a great way to be intentional and spend time with your kids.
Learn something new.
Not only should we teach others, but we as individuals should learn new skills because it keeps us from escaping into the uncertainty part of the brain.
Get out and move!
The body was designed to be in motion. Constantly. Walking is the most complex motion we were designed to do because it involves both hemispheres of the brain. Throwing a ball outside with your kids, especially when throwing the ball out to the side, requiring them to reach out with both arms to get the ball, feeds the different hemispheres of the brain. Teaching your kids how to balance, whether by playing hopscotch, hopping on one leg, or walking on an imaginary beam can help improve brain development.
The brain deserves to be treated well, because the health of our body depends on it!
Dr. Kaytlynn
