_ Kids are doing the best they can with the brain they have. Brain research can help parents understand what’s happening in their brain, leading to more effective interactions.  
 
Over millions of years of evolution, the human brain has developed a “negativity bias.” It acts like Velcro for negative experiences and Teflon for positive ones. That means that looking for what’s wrong, worrying about dangers, and being anxious about threats comes naturally. It helped humans survive saber-tooth tiger threats, but now gets in the way of happiness. Realizing the negative trance that’s affecting us, we can learn to level the playing field by tilting toward the positive experiences and facts.  
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© 2011 Louise Hart, Ed.D.