How the Brain Builds Itself: A Parent's Guide to Developmental Milestones and Neurological Growth
When a baby is born, their brain isn’t fully developed—it’s wired for survival, not for complex tasks like reading, regulating emotions, or solving problems. But inside that tiny body is a powerful blueprint, and over time, the brain grows, adapts, and wires itself based on experience, environment, and movement.
🧠 What Are Babies Born With?
Your child is born with all the raw material—the brain cells (neurons) needed for life. What they aren’t born with is the circuitry. Those brain cells are not yet connected. In fact, at birth, the brain’s wiring is sparse and primitive, focused primarily on keeping the body alive—breathing, crying, feeding, and sleeping.
But as your baby begins to move, feel, interact, and explore, those neurons begin to wire together into circuits. This process is called neurodevelopment, and it’s shaped by movement, sensory input, attachment, and environment.
"Neurons that fire together, wire together."
Every time your child kicks their legs, rolls over, babbles, or looks into your eyes—they're wiring and refining their nervous system.
🏙 The Brain is Like a City Under Construction
Think of your child’s brain like a rapidly growing city.
The brainstem is the city’s plumbing and electrical system—basic survival.
The limbic system is the emotional district—relationships, bonding, and feelings.
The prefrontal cortex is City Hall—decision-making, focus, regulation, problem-solving.
In the early years, the city is still building roads. The first roads are built from the bottom-up—starting with primitive reflexes and brainstem control. These early roads lay the foundation for more advanced highways of emotional intelligence, social interaction, and executive function.
But if the foundational roads are blocked (by stress, trauma, or underdevelopment), traffic can’t move efficiently to the higher areas of the brain.
🧠 Right vs. Left Brain Development: Why It Matters
Another important layer is how the brain’s right and left hemispheres develop and communicate:
The right hemisphere is dominant in the early years and is responsible for sensory processing, emotional regulation, spatial awareness, and whole-body movement. It's the “feeling” brain.
The left hemisphere develops later and is responsible for language, logic, fine motor coordination, and analytical tasks. It’s the “thinking” brain.
Healthy neurological development requires that both hemispheres communicate efficiently through the corpus callosum—a highway of nerve fibers connecting both sides.
When early movement patterns like crawling, cross-pattern walking, or midline activities are skipped or delayed, this communication becomes imbalanced. That can show up later as:
Speech delays
Difficulty with reading or comprehension
Trouble switching tasks or following directions
Emotional dysregulation (overreaction to small stressors)
Clumsiness or trouble with coordination
🧠 Research by Dr. Heidi Haavik has shown that chiropractic adjustments help synchronize the right and left prefrontal cortex, increasing connectivity and improving motor planning, emotional regulation, and focus.
📈 Key Milestones & What the Brain is Doing at Each Stage
0–2 Years: Brainstem Development & Survival Mode
What’s developing: Reflex integration, basic regulation of sleep, digestion, temperature, breathing
Motor milestones that drive development:
Tummy time
Rolling over
Sitting up
Crawling
Standing & cruising
Why it matters: These movements wire the sensory-motor system, helping the brain learn where the body is in space (proprioception) and begin self-regulation.
2–5 Years: Limbic System & Emotional Brain
What’s developing: Emotional processing, attachment, imagination, and social play
Motor milestones:
Jumping, climbing, skipping
Early drawing/writing skills
Coordinated gross and fine motor tasks
Why it matters: These activities help the right and left brain hemispheres connect, allowing emotions and logic to work together.
5–10 Years: Prefrontal Cortex & Executive Function
What’s developing: Planning, decision-making, regulation of thoughts and emotions
Motor milestones:
Team sports, musical instruments, writing fluency
Balancing dynamic movement with fine motor precision
Why it matters: Strong brain-body coordination and bilateral movement patterns continue to strengthen executive function and whole-brain integration.
🚨 What Happens When Development Gets Interrupted?
Stressors like birth trauma, frequent illnesses, chronic inflammation, or even excessive screen time can interrupt development and cause the nervous system to remain stuck in survival mode.
Instead of regulating from the prefrontal cortex (City Hall), the brain stays reactive—stuck in fight, flight, or freeze.
This dysregulation may look like:
Constant motion or fidgeting
Inability to sit still or follow directions
Emotional meltdowns and poor frustration tolerance
Sleep challenges
Food sensitivities and gut issues
🌱 How Chiropractic Supports Development
When subluxation (nervous system stress and interference) is present, it disrupts brain-body communication. Chiropractic adjustments help restore this communication by improving proprioception, balance, and bilateral integration.
Our neurological Insight scans measure this interference and track your child’s progress over time:
sEMG: Measures how efficiently the motor system is functioning
Thermal: Detects regulation challenges in the autonomic nervous system
HRV: Shows how well your child is adapting to stress
Adjustments aren't about bones—they're about helping the nervous system organize, regulate, and adapt so development can continue in the right direction.
📅 Ready to See How Your Nervous System Is Functioning?
Whether you’re looking for answers about your child’s development or your own energy, focus, and resilience, an Insight sEMG scan is the place to start.
📞 Call us to schedule your scan and get real answers—so you can move forward with confidence and clarity.
