Balanced behavior is the ability to respond and act appropriately in any given situation. It means a child’s brain must have the flexibility to jump back and forth between negative and positive emotions and behaviors. A child must be able to comprehend what behavior is appropriate in order to behave properly.
When a brain imbalance it present, it means behavior is out of balance too. Behaviors get stuck because one hemisphere is electrically under-powered. Your child isn’t acing out to get back at you; he’s acting out because this is what his brain is telling him to do. Out-of-balance-behavior can be displayed as temper tantrums, meltdowns, obstinacy, and disobedience, as is often the case in a right brain deficiency. Or it can be seen as withdrawal, shyness, compulsivity, and oppressiveness, as is usually seen in a left brain deficiency.
There is nothing abnormal about any of these behaviors, if they are occurring at the appropriate time in brain development. At each stage of development, there are positive and negative emotions and behaviors that are not only normal but are critical to normal emotional and behavioral development. They become abnormal only when they hang around too long and occur at the wrong age.
There are also positive and negative behaviors that are normal, typical and an essential part of brain development. But how do you know when a behavior is normal and when it is not? I include an at-home behavioral assessment chart in chapter six of my book “Reconnected Kids” based on the comprehensive “Physical, Cognitive and SocialEmotional Developmental Manual” that we use in our Brain Balance Achievement Centers. From the very first day of life, there are milestones that a child should achieve at or near a certain age in behavior/emotional, motor, cognitive, and sensory development. Parents should be familiar with these milestones and know the progression of behaviors so they can spot a potential problem as early as possible and work on correcting the imbalance for improved behavior and family life.
