This article is the second installment in our What’s Missing From the National Conversation About Children’s Health series, and we’re take a deeper look at one of the most overlooked yet essential elements of children’s health—movement. In the first article, we began the conversation around how movement is the missing link in many modern approaches to child development and well-being. Now, we’re expanding that discussion to explore why movement matters so profoundly for a child’s brain. Movement can help shape learning, emotional regulation, attention, and confidence from the inside out.
The national conversation around children’s health is finally gaining momentum, but it’s still incomplete. We’re talking more about food, screens, stress, and anxiety, but one critical piece continues to be overlooked: movement.
Movement isn’t just about fitness or burning energy. It is one of the most powerful, accessible, and underutilized tools we have to support a child’s brain development, emotional regulation, learning, and confidence.
If we want to improve children’s health outcomes, not just for today but for a lifetime, we need to put movement back at the center of the conversation.
From a neurological standpoint, movement is far more than muscle control. Every twist, jump, and balance challenge strengthens neural pathways that support attention, memory, emotional control, and learning.
Early motor development builds the foundation for how efficiently the brain communicates within itself. When a baby rolls, crawls, or walks, those activities activate and synchronize vast networks across the brain, integrating sensory, motor, and cognitive systems that form the building blocks for future learning and behavior.
Research consistently shows that early motor proficiency predicts later cognitive abilities. When those foundational systems remain immature or underdeveloped, children often struggle with attention, reading, emotional regulation, or executive functioning, not because they’re lazy or unmotivated, but because their brains are working harder to keep up.
Movement is the medium through which the brain grows stronger, more connected, and more efficient.
Movement isn’t just developmental; it’s biochemical. Physical activity can increase neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin, which boost focus, improve mood, and lower anxiety. It also strengthens the body’s stress-regulation system, helping children recover faster from emotional upsets.
Children who move regularly tend to display better emotional regulation, social connection, and confidence. They can focus longer, manage frustration more effectively, and feel more in control of their responses.
Yet despite what we know, modern childhood has become alarmingly sedentary. Recess is shortened, classroom time is extended, and unstructured outdoor play has given way to screens. Many children spend more hours seated in a day than adults do, and their brains are paying the price.
If we want a different outcome, we need a different approach. It starts with acknowledging what’s missing. There are things we know that science has proven—and parents deserve to know them too. Small changes in movement, diet, sensory experiences, and daily routines can make a real difference. These everyday tools are more than tips; they are the guiding principles behind the Brain Balance Program and how we change the brain.
We often view movement as “extra,” something for sports teams or gym class. In reality, it’s a form of preventative medicine for the brain.
Intentional, developmentally appropriate movement improves:
Incorporating daily movement isn’t about achieving athletic milestones; it’s about giving the brain the stimulation it needs to thrive.
At Brain Balance, movement is not an afterthought; it’s a core pillar of our whole-child, brain-first approach.
Our program integrates sensory, motor, and cognitive activities designed to strengthen communication across brain regions. Through structured movement patterns like balancing, rhythm exercises, coordination, and agility, we activate and mature the systems responsible for attention, behavior, and learning.
Families consistently tell us the same story: once their child begins moving in the right ways, everything else begins to shift. Focus improves. Frustrations lessen. Homework time gets easier. Confidence grows.
That’s because movement isn’t just physical progress, it’s brain progress.
If we are serious about addressing the childhood health crisis, we must recognize that movement is not optional — it’s foundational.
Policymakers, educators, and healthcare providers need to treat movement as an essential component of child development, not a privilege or reward. Families need access to environments and information that make daily movement possible. And communities need to champion play and physical activity as vital tools for lifelong brain and body health.
When we strengthen a child’s ability to move, we strengthen their ability to think, feel, and connect.
Movement matters for every child, every classroom, and every community. It’s time to move it back to the center of the conversation — and to the center of how we build healthy, resilient brains for the future.
Learn more about how Brain Balance strengthens brain connectivity through movement, sensory, and cognitive training to help kids improve focus, behavior, mood, and learning.