Growing Brains Through Routines

Written By Lois Ingber

Welcome to the new school year! It can be a time of anticipation and excitement, or apprehension and anxiety - or a combination. In the Connection Corner we will share information, tips, and tools for social-emotional skills, well-being, and positive mindsets, applicable in the home, classroom and virtual learning environments, to enhance everyone’s educational experience.

Did you know that from birth to age five, a child’s brain develops more than at any other time in life? A baby is born with 100 billion neurons just waiting to connect! Neurons are nerve cells, the building blocks of brain development, and neuronal connections are made through everyday experiences. But don’t worry if your child is older than five - brains have plasticity, and learning continues throughout the lifespan.

Neural pathways used more frequently become stronger, while those not used as often are eventually eliminated. This process makes the brain more efficient. Repetition and routine strengthen the pathways - you become what you think and do.

Routines help children develop the foundational elements of Causal Thinking, Trust, Conscience Development and the Ability to Delay Gratification. Causal Thinking leads to predictability and builds a sense of Trust. The confidence from predictability and Trust enables the Ability to Delay Gratification. Conscience Development is about empathy and develops from knowing others care about, understand and support me. All four of these building blocks set the foundation for higher level skills to develop: motivation, focus, problem solving and positive social interactions – all needed for success in school and in life: Click here


While having routines can’t guarantee your child the best grades, the best friends, or the best mental health, combined with other social-emotional and academic skills they can contribute to your child’s optimum development. Here is a link for creating routines for home-school days.

Building brain connections is like building muscles: use them or lose them. For more Positive Discipline parenting tools, click here:

Lois Ingber

LOIS INGBER, Behavioral Counselor, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Positive Discipline Lead Trainer.  Lois holds a Bachelor Degree in Sociology from UCLA and a Masters in Social Work degree from SDSU where her focus area was Children, Youth, and Families.  Lois has worked in social service, private practice, hospital, clinic, and school settings, most recently for seventeen years at Rady Children’s Outpatient Psychiatry providing school-based counseling services.  Lois was a Community Montessori and Dehesa parent prior to joining the staff in 2016 and brings this perspective to her role.   Lois is responsible for providing education, collaboration, and support implementing the Positive Discipline model and social/emotional competencies in the Learning Center and home learning environments, in line with Element’s philosophy of self-directed learning and the development of mastery, autonomy, and purpose for students and the adults who serve as their guides.

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