If you’re reading this and nodding along, it’s probably because you’ve been here.
The place where your child is surviving but isn’t quite thriving, maybe it’s their sleep, their digestion, their emotions, their behaviour, or their ability to cope and you’ve done everything within your power that you thought would help.
The diets.
The supplements.
The therapies.
The appointments.
But, your mum gut is still telling you: something feels off.
I see this often, and if this is you, I want you to know you’re not alone.
So what is the piece most parents are never told:
What if the issue isn’t that your child needs more, it’s that you’re doing everything right, but in the wrong order?
Which is exactly why we look at your child’s nervous system.
The nervous system: Controls the volume dial for the whole body
Think of your child’s nervous system like the volume dial for their entire body.
When the dial is set just right, everything feels manageable. But when it’s turned way up, your child may be:
- easily overwhelmed
- reactive or emotional
- sensitive to noise, touch, food, or change
- struggling to sleep or settle
When it’s turned way down, they may be:
- disconnected or flat
- hard to engage
- low energy or motivation
- delayed movement or development
The nervous system is the first system to develop during pregnancy, and it controls everything:
- digestion and immune responses
- nervous system dysregulation
- sensory processing and speech
- movement and coordination
- emotional regulation and behaviour
- focus, learning, and resilience
If the volume dial is stuck too high or too low, no amount of “all the right therapies” will fix the underlying issue. You might see small improvements, but they won’t last, because the system underneath is still dysregulated.
How the volume dial gets knocked out of balance
In practice, I often see a combination of factors that turn that dial up or down early on, including:
- stress during pregnancy – lets be honest who has a fully stress free pregnancy
- birth interventions such as C-sections, forceps, vacuum extraction, or very fast or long labours
- early exposures like antibiotics, infections, or environmental stressors
None of these are about playing the blame game. They’re common, and they can quietly overload a developing nervous system.
Why so many approaches fall short
When we try to support behaviour, learning, gut health, or immunity without first regulating the nervous system, we’re asking a dysregulated system to self-correct.
The body actually heals in a sequence:
- Nervous system regulation
- Movement and motor patterns
- Gut and immune function
- Higher brain function
If the volume dial never settles, the body stays in survival mode, dysregulation, tense, reactive, inflamed and healing feels like a constant uphill battle.
A Settled Start
This is where neurologically-focused chiropractic care fits in.
Not as a cure-all.
Not as a replacement for other support.
But as a way to help the nervous system feel safe enough to regulate.
Neurologically focused chiropractic care looks like this:
- How your child’s nervous system is functioning, not just their symptoms
- Uses specialised neurological scans to identify patterns of stress and imbalance
- Applies gentle, specific adjustments to help regulate the nervous system
- Supports the body so other therapies can work more effectively
If you’re tired, I get it
If you’ve been told to “wait and see” while your gut says otherwise.
If you’re exhausted from carrying the mental load of your child’s health.
If you feel like there has to be something more underneath it all.
You’re not imagining it.
At Kindred Chiropractic, we start by listening and by using INSiGHT Nervous System Scans to understand how your child’s nervous system is coping. From there, we create a plan that supports regulation first, so everything else has a chance to follow.
Where to begin
- Get assessed to understand your child’s nervous system
- Start with regulation, not symptom-chasing
- Build gradually, alongside the care your child already has
- Hold onto hope, because change is possible
Sometimes the biggest shift happens when we stop turning the volume up on interventions, and instead help the nervous system turn the volume down.
If this resonates, reach out. You’re not alone.