Do You Act Your Age?

It’s obvious that adults and children act very differently, just as babies and children act differently. At different stages of life we have different roles and responsibilities, and therefore need to learn certain skills and tailor our behaviour in order to act appropriately.

But why are children so different from adults?

The answer seems obvious. Children don't know any better, they’re still learning about the world. They're not old enough or big enough or strong enough or intelligent enough to do all the same things adults do.

There’s always exceptions. Some children seem exceptionally talented, wise beyond their years, there’s even TV shows that celebrate and test ‘child geniuses’. But we also all know some adults that don’t quite seem like they've got it all together. I don’t mean those who have certain health conditions that may impact their learning capacity, but otherwise healthy adults that don’t seem to be able to function quite as well as others.

If you read my blog last week, you'll know that the brain can be split into our reptilian functions, our mammalian functions, and our human functions. As discussed, the part that makes us human is our prefrontal cortex. This is the part of the brain that shuts down under high levels or stress or pain. It's also a part of the brain that hasn't fully developed in children. 

Normal resting heart rate for anyone over the age of 10 years old is 60-100 beats per minute, with the lower end generally being healthier. For a newborn baby, normal resting heart rate can be anywhere between 70-190 bpm! A huge variation and much higher than that of an adult. 

Breathing rate is another vital sign that differs between children and adults. For anyone over 12 years old, the normal breathing rate is 12-20 breaths per minute. For a newborn it is 30-60 breaths per minute, 50 for a 1 year old, 40 for a 3 year old, 34 for a 5 year old, and up to 30 breaths per minute between ages 6-12. 

The reason for this is that when we are born, we know almost nothing about the world. We have no understanding about our environment, what is safe or a threat. This means that in our first years of life, we spend a lot of time in our fight or flight state, our stress response. A result of our stress response being triggered is that our heart rate and breathing rate increases to deliver more oxygen to our tissues, so we can run or fight for our lives. 

As we grow and learn about the world, our prefrontal cortex develops. This is responsible for inhibiting the stress response. It allows us to think logically and make rational decisions based on our past experiences, so we can respond appropriately to our environment. This is the human brain, the bit that separates us from other animals, but also adults from children. 

Some adults don't react reasonably to certain situations. You often see news stories or videos of people hugely overreacting to what seems like a mild inconvenience at best. These people are not acting their age, but not by choice (mostly). When we are in pain , or have been under stress for an extended period of time, our prefrontal cortex can't function efficiently. This means it can't do its job of inhibiting the stress response, so we get stuck in a state of fight or flight. We react to the world around us, rather than taking the time to reflect and make an appropriate decision. 

This is why adjustments are not just for adults who are in pain. But also for adults who feel great and want to continue to feel great, and for kids who deserve the best possible start in life. If you want your family to be the healthiest they can possibly be, then get yourselves booked in and we’ll see how we can help you!