kids are prone to getting “trapped downstairs,” without the use of
their upstairs brain, which results in them ɻying oʃ the handle,
making poor decisions, and showing a general lack of empathy and
self-understanding.
So that’s the ɹrst reason kids often aren’t very good at using the
higher and lower parts of the brain together: their upstairs brain is
still developing. The other main reason has to do with one
particular part of the downstairs brain, the amygdala.
THE BABY GATE OF THE MIND: MY AMYGDALA MADE ME DO IT
Our amygdala (pronounced uh-MIG-duh-luh) is about the size and
shape of an almond and is part of the limbic area, which resides in
the downstairs brain. The amygdala’s job is to quickly process and
express emotions, especially anger and fear. This little mass of gray
matter is the watchdog of the brain, remaining always alert for
times we might be threatened. When it does sense danger, it can
completely take over, or hijack, the upstairs brain. That’s what
allows us to act before we think. It’s the part of the brain that
instructs your arm to stretch out to protect your passenger when
you’re driving and have to stop short. It’s the part of the brain that
encourages you to scream “Stop!” as was the case when Dan was
hiking with his young son, even before he was consciously aware
that there was a rattlesnake a few feet up the trail.
Of course, there are deɹnitely times when it’s good to act before
thinking. In this situation, the last thing Dan needed was to have
his upstairs brain go through a series of higher-order maneuvers or
perform some sort of cost-beneɹt analysis: Oh no! There’s a snake
up ahead of my son. Now would be a good time to warn him. I wish I
had warned him a couple of seconds ago, rather than going through this
series of cogitations that led me to the decision to warn him. Instead, he