Left brain vs right brain

I was asked during the preview talk of a brain stimulation centre (Little Neuro Tree) whether I thought the right brain or left brain was more important. I muttered “left, because it’s the brain we need for daily life” One second later, I realised I must have just slapped myself in the face for saying that in a preview talk selling the power of the right brain.

According to an article in The Daily Telegraph, the functions of our left and right brain hemisphere are summarised below:

LEFT BRAIN FUNCTIONS uses logic detail oriented facts rule words and language present and past math and science can comprehend knowing acknowledges order/pattern perception knows object name reality based forms strategies practical safe

RIGHT BRAIN FUNCTIONS uses feeling "big picture" oriented imagination rules symbols and images present and future philosophy & religion can "get it" (i.e. meaning) believes appreciates spatial perception knows object function fantasy based presents possibilities impetuous risk taking

Other interesting facts about our brain development. Most of us are left-brain dominant by the age of 6. From birth to the age of 3, we operate in a right-brain environment. From the age of 3 to 6, we gradually shift from being right-brain dominant to left-brain dominant, resulting in the left-brain becoming the ‘conscious’ brain and the right-brain becoming the ‘unconscious’ brain.

Hence, the window of opportunity for most right-brain training techniques is supposedly during the first 6 years of a child’s life. Proponents of these techniques say children whose right brains were stimulated early on will be able to tap into it in future, giving them an edge over those who are not able to.

But is that the case? I know a friend who could remember the telephone numbers of 40 classmates effortlessly back then in secondary school. I doubt she went through any special brain stimulation programme. And for most of us, our right brains mostly developed its ‘power’ in our normal daily stimulation.

Separately, I met some extraordinary people at the Autism Association some years ago. One kid was able to speed read, finishing books at record time. Another kid had super memory and was able to remember TV drama serial scripts, probably from when he started watching them! But the catch here is they are both left-brain damaged people, forcing their right brain to continue being in dominance in their daily operation.

So yes, I still think the left brain is more important! (if I had to choose one)

p/s: find out if we signed up for the programme in my next post

Sleepless in Sentosa

We spent 3D2N at the Siloso Beach Resort early this week. This was our second ‘holiday’ with M. Compared to our first ‘holiday’ at the Marina Mandarin Hotel last December (also 3D2N), this was definitely more enjoyable!

Well, the pool and the beach was enough to keep M happy over those few days. And for me, it meant no cooking and cleaning! The only issue that marred the ‘holiday’ was lack of sleep. We are generally quite happy that M is an independent sleeper except when we’re not at home, because we have to share the same bed!

We considered getting an additional bed but given that it’s a new environment and that it costs $60 per night, we decided to try our luck and put her between us. The result was kinda expected – kicks in our sleep and interrupted sleep.

It makes me wonder how couples survive co-sleeping with their kid/s everyday! Anyway, it’s clear to us that we’ll need an additional bed for our next holiday, which will hopefully be out of the country. My last overseas trip was like three years ago!

Worry wart for the rest of my life?

I used to be quite a happy-go-lucky type of gal. Nothing really worried me excessively throughout my smooth sailing childhood-teens-early adulthood. But motherhood can really change our lives beyond our expectations. The worry wart must have started growing on me the day I found out I was pregnant. And its probably grown quite substantially over the past few years.

From the days of “Is the foetus growing well?” to “Is she eating enough?”, I have come to realise that I may never be able to get rid of the worry wart for the rest of my life. With a young kid, there’re just too many things to worry about!

To start with, M was/is a very small foetus & baby & toddler. At our detailed scan when I was 5 months pregnant, we were informed that M’s growth was behind her peers – her dimensions were actually below the growth chart, meaning she was below the 0 percentile! And with many charts flashing in front of us, we were informed that her laggard development was of a concern. The consultant in charge of the scan even mentioned the equivalent of a ‘vulgarity’ – abortion.

Silly as it sounds, I actually burst into tears there! After consulting my gynae, I went for an amniocentesis for peace of mind. Luckily, the test result came back favourable and she maintained a steady growth rate throughout the rest of her gestation, even though she continued to be small. But the amount of worry I went through during that hoax was unprecedented in my life!

Although that episode is now behind me, I’m still faced with many little worries about M. In any typical day, things I can worry include “Is she going to eat her food”, “Is she going to fuss during her shower?” Will she be cooperative during nap time?”, “If she doesn’t take her nap, is she going to be cranky during class?”, the list continues..

Fortunately, life with a lively and blissfully ignorant toddler can help one forget about the future sometimes and just live in the moment

First performance…

Last Saturday, M and I ‘performed’ for the first time on stage! It was the annual concert at the music school (Seimpi School of Music) where we attend her music class. All we needed to do was tap the wood block to the beat of the Barney theme song. In the same item, older kids played the song on the keyboard.

Because of their young age, parents had to accompany toddlers (1 to 2 years old) on stage. Hence, I was there with M (in purple) for that 3 minute item. I am never comfortable on stage so I looked to her teacher a lot for her cues to make sure I do not embarrass both of us!

And it turned out better than I expected. During the rehearsals in class, M had never allowed me to control the wood block, insisting on tapping at her own pace. During the actual performance, she must be too awed by the audience to even try to tap the wood block. I had full control of the wood block! And even though she can sing the Barney song quite well, she hardly moved her mouth during the performance.

Overall, I would say it was worth the trip. I had initially thought of not participating because the time of the concert coincided with M’s nap time. But thought it’ll be a shame if we couldn’t be there. Surprisingly, she turned out to be very cooperative, falling asleep right after we reached home – without any struggle!

And that was M’s first performance and we sure hope it’ll be her first step out as a musician…