“Young children feel emotions in their bodies and don’t have the adequate language to share how they feel”
Young children are not able to self-regulate because their nervous system has not developed yet to allow them to be able to do so.
The part of the brain responsible for self control, the pre frontal cortex only develops in early adulthood.
So the meltdowns and emotional outbursts we experience are a direct reflection of the emotions young children feel in their bodies and often not able to put into words to express what they are actually feeling.
This is why young children rely on the adults around them to help them co-regulate and through connection and modelling of healthy ways to express their feelings, it teaches them to find healthy ways to express their emotions.
One of the most fascinating and rewarding aspects of the Osteopathic treatment of children is it’s impact on their behaviour and their ability to regulate their emotions.
The brain and it’s connections to the nervous system is what enables us to perceive and interact with our environment. The brain regulates voluntary and involuntary function and enables us to respond physically and emotionally to the world.
Who we are is determined by our brain function and by influencing the pathways that connect the brain and the body, osteopathic treatment has the potential to impact movement, sensation and the body’s awareness of itself.
The more awareness of self we have, the more connected and aware of our environment we are and the better we can adapt and function within it and regulate our emotions.
In the first few years of life the growing brain develops through movement, social connection and sensory input. It is in these early years we can have the most influence on a developing nervous system and it’s ability to regulate in particular.
As Osteopaths we work work with the whole body, including the vascular, musculoskeletal and nervous system to encourage optimal movement but also emotional health for all ages.
A balanced system in a baby or child is more likely to grow into a balanced – healthy – happy adult!
