Hi Reader

Dad Joke: What do you call a fish with no eyes? Fsh.

One of the easiest mistakes in paediatric practice is to lump all children together. They are all running different versions of the same operating system.

…Same brand. Different software update.

A toddler is 90% engine, with dodgy steering.

They are driven by movement, sensation, impulse, and the urgent need to investigate something completely irrelevant. Their nervous system is under construction. Their body is leading the conversation. So treatment often works best when it is simple, rhythmic, playful, and safe. Less explaining. More experiencing.

The school-age child is usually more organised, but still very much undercooked. They can often follow instructions, hold posture for a bit, and look more put together. Which is helpful, but also misleading. This is often the age where compensation becomes clearer - retained reflexes, postural collapse, sensory overload, clumsy coordination, and “holding it together” strategies that are doing quite a lot of heavy lifting.

Then come the tween years aka…the sweet spot - the most organised version of the child before puberty comes along and starts rearranging the furniture. Coordination, attention, body awareness, and ability to engage are often better here, which can make this a lovely stage clinically. It is often easier to assess clearly, explain things well, and get real buy-in. But it is also a relatively brief window before adolescence arrives withm some fairly dramatic software updates.

And then…the teens. Teenagers are often mistaken for neurologically finished products just because they are tall and can roll their eyes with adult-level precision. But adolescence is a huge phase of brain remodelling. Emotional systems are highly active, executive function is still developing, sleep changes, body awareness fluctuates, and reward systems are turned up louder than most parents would ideally choose. So if the toddler needs play, the teen needs partnership.

So the real skill in paediatric practice is not just knowing what to do, but knowing who is in front of you neurologically…

The toddler needs play. The school-age child needs help making sense of their compensations. The tween gives you a brief and glorious moment of organisation. And the teen needs respect, buy-in, and a very good reason to cooperate.

And the better we understand the changing neural landscape of toddlers, children, tweens, and teens, the better we can adapt what we do so that treatment actually lands.

Same species. Very different wiring.

Chat Soon

Mike

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info@connectedpaediatrics.com
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Connected Paediatrics – Dr Mike Marinus is a registered paediatric chiropractor treating babies and children and helping chiropractors learn effective paediatric techniques that they can use in their practice