HOW DISCIPLINING CHILDREN DESTROYS THEIR BRAINS

Tina Bryson is not alone on the path toward changing educational and teaching approaches. Her goal is to redefine the concept of ‘discipline’ which would concurrently change our views on the whole education system. The attitude adults have towards children is one of the underlying aspects that would have to undergo change, along with changes in the fundamental thought process of adults (who have chosen to be parents, teachers and educators or have any interest in working with children).

We must begin by ridding ourselves of our existing opinions about ‘’discipline strategies’’. No more ‘’disciplining’’ children by making them sit quietly on a chair, sending them to their rooms, instructing them to calm down, giving them ‘’a few harmless smacks’’ or letting them cry themselves to sleep. These and other similar strategies are outdated, therefore we should leave them in the past, and in spite of that our children will still develop in a healthy manner – probably more so than if they were subjected to the aforementioned approaches. New discipline strategies must be created, which take into account the findings of scientific research about how we form relationships and thought process development. Not only will we change how our children grow up, but we’ll also fundamentally change the world.

During the 1980’s a group of Italian scientists started to research how children’s brains function and came to some shocking discoveries in the beginning of the 90’s. The neurologist Giacomo Rizzolatti and his colleagues from Parma University uncovered connections between intention and motor function. How does our intention become an action? The group of scientists conducted a series of experiments on monkeys and almost coincidently made discoveries. It turns out that our brains process an action in the same way regardless of whether we do the action ourselves or merely obverse someone else complete the action. The same neurons responded in the monkey’s brains when the monkey reached for the peanut and when it watched the scientist reach for the peanut.

The discovery that our brains experience doing an action in the same way as seeing an action being done was revolutionary. It also questions everything we though we knew about behavioural theories and living beings in general. Rizzolatti and his colleagues, who had become famous because of their research, called the newly discovered neurological phenomenon ‘’mirror neurons’’. The theory was subjected to a lot of sceptical criticism, but the theory endured. Since the discovery of mirror neurons, numerous experiments have been carried out and new research has shown that mirror neurons are connected to empathy in humans (and in animals) and the ability to love adopted children. The understanding of mirror neurons has also shown potential for further research into the area of autism. A relatively new branch of science called ‘’interpersonal neurobiology’’ was formed in the 90’s on the basis of Rizzolatti’s research. Tina Bryson and numerous other experts in the fields of education and family dynamics have founded their approaches and research on this new branch of science.

Interpersonal neurobiology views the brain as a social organ. If we wish to fully understand its functions, we must accept the brain as a complex system of many parts, that exceed the purely physical. These parts include emotions, which cannot be explained through biology alone. What happens in the brain that makes our emotions just as real to us as something we perceive through sight?

Tina Bryson and other experts in the field of education and brain development have come to link these aforementioned approaches with the ‘’triune brain’’ theory, that divides the brain into three parts: the cerebellum, the limbic system and the cerebral neocortex. The neocortex represents our rational human intellect; the cerebellum or brainstem is known as the reptilian complex and keeps us alive when we are in danger; and the limbic system acts as the link between the other two parts. Its functioning is still somewhat primitive as it sends information directly to the reptilian complex, while bypassing the neocortex which would otherwise process the information and create a more rational response. 

Emotional responses, which form in the limbic system, are a frequent reaction among children to discipline and punishment, though more aggressive responses are formed in the ‘’reptilian brain’’, such as biting, shouting, flailing, kicking and attacking. On these occasions, the adult’s inner reptile awakens to subdue the smaller one and commonly responds by raising their voice or their hand. It isn’t difficult to guess the outcome of the dispute. The only thing a child learns from an altercation like this, is that he must become bigger, stronger and bite harder if he ever stands a chance of winning.

What must a responsible adult do if he wishes to placate the child’s inner reptile, that’s in charge of the child’s survival? The child doesn’t benefit from a mirror reptile, but instead needs an individual who respects his behaviour. With this in mind, a parent or teacher can establish a connection with the child and show him that he has nothing to fear, doesn’t need to run and hide or attack in self-defence. This type of mirroring will teach the child how to deal with danger and stress later in life, and more importantly how to override the ‘’reptilian brain’’ and activate the cerebral neocortex for a more rational response, even in unexpected situations. The more we encourage the cerebral neocortex to take part in the process of reacting, the more power it will have in forming the appropriate response. This way, the child will be better adapted to solving distressing situations without conceding to the reptilian response ‘’flight or fight’’.

During this process it is important that the stimulated neurons in our brains connect to the other corresponding stimulated neurons. Whether the groups of neurons are relevantly connected or not makes no difference. For this reason, discipline strategies can create connections in the brain that later manifest as unusual habits, fetishes, dispositions and asocial behaviour, for which there seems to be no logical basis. They can be physical or mental and can vary from trivial to shocking, which goes to show they were formed on an entirely subconscious level, on the level of neurons.

So, if discipline and punishment can simultaneously stimulate different series of neurons, which lead to obscure patterns of behaviour, habits and associations, then a positive attitude towards a child will do the opposite. Neuron stimulation through a positive relation between the adult and child can help create constructive associations along with the feelings of contentedness, confidence and strength. If we help the child link particular behaviour with positive stimulation, then the child will enjoy repeating the actions and the connection will become stronger and more enduring (in the same way that negative associations become more durable if these are often repeated). We mustn’t forget that the basis for a child’s action can be predetermined by connections that in themselves make no sense to the child. The task of the responsible adult is to help the child find meaning and learn how to use these connections to their benefit.

Leja Mahnič