🌿 Why the Nervous System Needs Love After Reflex Work

So you’ve been working on primitive reflexes—those early brain-body patterns that help babies survive, move, and connect. Maybe you’ve noticed changes in posture, coordination, or emotional regulation. That’s amazing!

But here’s the thing: reflex integration is just the beginning.

Once those automatic patterns calm down, the brain is ready to develop higher-level skills, like attention, self-regulation, and flexible thinking. That means the nervous system needs ongoing support.

When we nurture the nervous system after reflex work, we help kids:

• Feel safe in their bodies

• Transition more smoothly between tasks

• Stay regulated in new or challenging environments

• Build lasting coordination and confidence

Let’s explore the next layers of support—starting with core stability, vision, vestibular input, and the cerebellum.

💪 Core Activation: Locking in the Gains

After reflex integration, your child’s brain is primed to organize movement. Core work helps lock in those gains, giving your child the physical confidence to explore, learn, and regulate.

It’s not about perfection—it’s about helping them feel safe, strong, and in control of their body.

Try This:

• Balance Challenges: Standing on one foot, walking on a line, or playing “statue freeze” → activates deep core muscles and vestibular input

• Crawling Games: Tunnel crawls, obstacle courses, or “follow the leader” on all fours → strengthens the midline and cross-patterning

• Ball Play: Sitting on a therapy ball while reaching, tossing, or bouncing → builds postural control and reflexive core engagement

• Core Breathing: Blow bubbles, use pinwheels, or do “dragon breaths” while sitting tall → encourages diaphragmatic breathing and core activation

👀 Vision: The Eyes Guide the Body

The eyes do more than just help us see. In posturology—the science of how the body holds itself up—experts like Dr. Perry Nickelston and Dr. Bricot show that the visual system is a main control center for posture and brain organization.

How the eyes move, focus, and stay aligned doesn’t just affect reading—it influences how the whole body balances and moves through space. Poor eye tracking sends “fuzzy” information to the brain, leading to wobbly posture and coordination challenges.

After reflex integration, eye work helps kids:
✅ Focus and pay attention
✅ Read more easily
✅ Stand and move with better posture
✅ Coordinate their bodies with confidence
✅ Feel calmer and more regulated

Try This:

• Pencil Push-Ups: Slowly bring a pencil toward the nose

• Eye Tracking Games: Follow a moving toy or light

• Lazy 8s: Draw or trace a sideways figure 8 with the eyes

• Bubble Popping or Flashlight Tag: Build visual focus through play

Think of it this way: The eyes guide the body. The body guides the brain. When we train vision, we upgrade the whole system.

🎢 Vestibular System: The Body’s Internal GPS

Remember when your child spins in circles, jumps off the couch, or rolls across the floor like a burrito? That’s not just play—it’s their vestibular system at work.

The vestibular system, located in the inner ear, helps kids figure out where they are in space—whether they’re upside down, turning, or standing still. It’s essential for:

• Balance

• Coordination

• Attention

• Emotional regulation

When underdeveloped, kids may seem clumsy, anxious, or avoid movement. But intentional vestibular play can be transformative.

Try This:

• Swinging: Therapy swings, hammocks, playground swings (forward/backward & side-to-side)

• Spinning: Swivel chairs, scooter boards, or gentle spinning games

• Rolling: Down a hill, across a mat, or wrapped in a blanket like a sushi roll

• Jumping: Trampolines, hopscotch, or jumping jacks with rhythm

• Inverted Play: Hanging upside down safely or doing downward dog

These activities help the brain organize sensory input, calm the nervous system, and build movement confidence.

🧠 Cerebellum: The Brain’s Rhythm and Regulation Hub

If your child trips over their own feet, struggles with multi-step instructions, or melts down during transitions, the cerebellum might be quietly behind the scenes.

Tucked at the back of the brain, the cerebellum is often associated with balance and coordination—but it also supports:

• Attention

• Emotional control

• Learning

• Task switching

When it isn’t firing efficiently, kids may:

• Struggle with handwriting or tying shoes

• Get overwhelmed by sensory input

• Seem “spacey” or impulsive, even when trying their best

The good news? The cerebellum loves movement—especially rhythmic, patterned, cross-body movement. Through playful, intentional exercises, we can support it while kids feel like they’re just having fun.

Whether your child is neurodivergent, sensitive, or just needs extra support, cerebellum-based movement strengthens the brain-body connection from the ground up.