We’re firm believers in “knowing your child.” What we mean by that: knowing what makes him/her tick, what their gifts are (spiritual and natural talents), what their temperament is, their love language, their birth order, preferences, all of it. Parents—by virtue of time spent with our children and because they are in some sense versions of ourselves—know our children better than anyone.
This isn’t something to obsess over or for pigeon-holing or labeling our kids (you’re a gold temperament, so of course you’re acting that way…. Or you’re the youngest so you’re probably entitled…)! Some people can get REALLY into navel gazing and taking ALL the personality quizzes or intelligence tests when, when it boils down to it, life really isn’t about US in the first place. Knowing ourselves actually in some sense helps us to love OTHERS better, not gaze lovingly into our own mirrors.
That said, I stumbled on another area the other day which was new, and that’s DOMINANCE. This is from Dr. Carla Hannaford’s book The Dominance Factor. She’s a biologist and award winning educator with 30+ yrs of teaching experience.
We’re familiar with being right or left handed and we can pretty quickly identify what we are there, even at a young age. Many of us have heard the widespread notion that people tend to have a way of doing things that is either right-brained or left-brained. We also have a dominant FOOT, EYE, and EAR.
BRAIN DOMINANCE
We all use all areas of our brains, and both sides (right/left) work together under normal circumstances, taking in sensory information.
Those who are right-brained dominant are supposed to be intuitive and creative free thinkers. Kinesthetic, emotional, intuitive. They are “qualitative,” big-picture thinkers who experience the world in terms that are descriptive or subjective. For example, “The skies are gray and menacing; I wonder if it’s going to rain?” (Our traditional educational system in the US does not favor this sort of learning/perceiving.)
Meanwhile, left-brained people tend to be more quantitative and analytical. They pay attention to details and are ruled by logic. Their view of the weather is more likely, “The forecast said there was only a 30% chance of rain, but those clouds will probably bring thunder as well as rain.” (In the US students labeled gifted/talented most often—up to 90%–exhibit this linear type of thinking/perceiving.) We’re leaning toward this younger & younger, too…. By asking kids to read/write before school even begins when their eyes & hands aren’t developed to that point yet.
There’s research that debates this notion (but absence of proof is not proof against), & we do know that different areas of the brain affect certain functions. For example, when a person has a stroke on the left side of the brain, her language may be affected. We know that as we grow, the communication between the 2 sides increases. We know that women seem to have more connectivity between the two sides and can access it more readily than men. (multi-tasking, observation, communication/emotion)
Here’s what we know about how the brain develops: the right side is first. From in utero to about age 7/8 (THIRD GRADE), we’re taking in global aspects of our world, analyzing space, detecting and responding to unexpected stimuli. Our first need is survival—it’s the first responder when we perceive danger. Curiosity, new learning. Memories are stored & recalled as overall patterns (facial recognition, emotional expressions); non verbal, emphasizing ideas, senses. So PRE-SCHOOL AGE, we need to be in nature observing.
Left side really starts to come online next (ages 8-21). Quick integrated processing. Get more self-motivated behaviors (mirroring family & cultural behaviors, set up linear routines). Language (alphabet, words, spelling), data/details. The left side controls the dexterity of the right hand; numbers, math, step-by-step learning of skills, learning to read…. Having been in NATURE earlier gives you global perspective of these things early on.
Brain has a crossover pattern…each side of the body communicates with the opposite brain side. Almost all sensory motor functions on right side of the body are controlled by left hemisphere & vice versa.. So, right ear communicates with the left side of brain; left ear communicates with right side of brain.
**We tend to prefer the sensory/motor functions that are controlled by our OPPOSITE BRAIN DOMINANCE. This is especially true in times of STRESS or NEW LEARNING. And this is why I thought this information was especially interesting…because our CHILDREN are almost constantly learning, AND—we know, in today’s world of unprecedented change & uncertainty, are under lots of stress!
Under stress or new learning, the non-dominant brain tends to radically decrease its function—like up to 85% shutting down, leaving the dominant side of brain to carry on.
HOW TO DETERMINE DOMINANCE
Hand—obv which one you write with. For a child, hand them something at their midline (waist level) and see which hand they reach for it with.
Eye—Make a window by overlapping your hands, making an opening btwn thumb and forefinger of both hands. Hold window at arm’s length. With both eyes, look thru the window at an object and without moving your window or head, close one eye & then the other; Whichever eye holds the image is dominant one. Hand a child a tube of paper like a telescope and ask them to look thru.
Ear—Pretend there are ppl on the other side of a wall talking about you. Imagine walking to the wall and put your ear close to hear what they’re saying. Which ear goes against the wall? Babies laid on the floor will naturally turn dom ear up (to be alert and able to hear danger); Hand a child a cup or shell and ask them to listen to it.
Foot—Which do you use to go up steps first? Feet together, lean forward until you have to catch yourself—which foot goes out first?
If you’re left brain dominant and your dominant eye is on the right, you can take in visual information at any time, even in a stressful situation. If the dominant brain side is same as dominant eye (LEFT BRAIN, LEFT EYE), visual access is decreased during stress.
What this might look like: a student in class with head turned or eyes closed (to better focus), but the teacher interprets it as inattention or daydreaming.
This is where different types of teaching methods are helpful. People with their dominant EYE opposite their dominant brain have strong VISUAL intake, so charts, diagrams, pictures are helpful. Also can affect your driving. Where you sit in classroom may make a difference—if right eye dominant, sit on right side of theater or classroom.
Normally, the dominant eye controls the tracking of both eyes. Right eye naturally tracks from left to right, while left eye naturally tracks right to left. If you have a left eye dominant pattern, you’ll initially tend to look at the right side of the page first and move left…. How do you think this might affect learning to read??! If you’re learning English, it can cause some stumbling. If you’re reading Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese, you’re good. If you’re LEFT eye dom and struggling with reading, try turning book upside down (they can usually read pretty well that way.) 81% of students in remedial reading are left-eye dominant!
The EAR includes our understanding of meaning/tone behind the words, and fast sound features (like sh, th, ch, etc)… One of the factors of dyslexia is the inability to decipher fast sound components—so improvement of auditory functioning may help dyslexic issues. (Over ½ of all learners are auditory limited—but most teaching is verbal.)
HANDS human communication (both verbal and bodily expression). Left brain/right handed are verbally expressive; they talk thru what they’re learning, talk under stress. If your dominant hand is on your dominant brain side, you may be limited in verbal expression under stress—freeze up, can’t come up with the words, etc.
1/10 of the population is left handed. The left hand is correlated with gesturing & physical expressiveness (artists, composers, thinkers). Right handedness is correlated with development from gesture to more verbal.
FEET Provide info about the environment & balance. Going barefoot is great for kids & the elderly! If your dom foot is opposite the LEFT brain, you’ll be good at planned movements & following step by step instructions in sports, dance, etc. If dominant foot is opposite RIGHT brain, movement will be more spontaneous and free form, guided by rhythm.
Hannaford used her classrooms full of elementary/middle school students in special ed as ready made labs. Over 90% of the kids in these classes were right brain dominant. They were ALSO right handed, right eyed, right eared and right foot. All one-sided. So under stress, those dominant things (seeing, hearing, communication, movement) were all blocked. So they shout/yell (emotion) instead of using their words, they need to move (hyperactive,), try to give instruction and they won’t “get it” or see what we’re trying to show them. ….. so they end up in special ed.
Interesting that Hannaford HERSELF has this profile (all right side dominant, but she was born in the 40’s and when she started going to school, they didn’t HAVE special ed. And she didn’t have to start reading until about 7-8.
PARENTING & RELATING
If we understand these preferences, we can communicate better with one another… If one spouse is left brain dominant & wants details but the other is right brain dominant and (under stress) can’t focus on that, conflict arises.
Or…parent with auditory preference may characterize a child (whose ear is NOT dominant) by saying “That kid just never listens!”
So in Hannaford’s book, she lays out the different types of dominance….and there are 32 profiles. You can figure out your dominant eye, ear, hand, foot. Determining your dominant brain is a little trickier but most of us (adults) can guess that pretty well by the way we prefer to approach things. It’s a little harder to find in children.
BUILDING CROSS CONNECTIONS
Want to become more CROSS-LATERAL. How? MOVING OUR BODIES, playing outside
There are exercises in the book & ideas thru-out to get cross lateral connections going. Strategies for destressing & strengthening our non dominant side. Take a couple minutes before heading into a stressful/learning situation to stimulate both sides of the body/brain & get connections going…
Walking is a good way to do it—swinging arms, moving legs. (walk when you have difficult conversations….)
Knitting/crocheting — great for activating both hemispheres, using both hands. In Denmark, all school children learn to knit (of course, they have cold winters & need lots of cozy hats & mittens)
We don’t learn by sitting still & being quiet. We learn by moving, growing more neurons, activating more mitochondria & getting us more energy. Check out Hannaford’s other book SMART MOVES, Why Learning Is Not All in Our Head.
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS— On our kids & music episode, we learned all the many ways music benefits kids. But THIS book talks about WHY that might be. An instrument like a woodwind that sits against the teeth or brass that’s held on the lips, or violin that rests against the jaw/cheek: this vibrates the head & stimulates both hemispheres.
Singing also does this—vocal chords vibrate the whole head/bone structure. This ties into the brain’s vestibular system/balance/ear.
The Dominance Factor: Know ourselves & others to support one another better. Also ways to be more cross lateral. One of the best things you can do is unstructured, imaginative, open ended play.