Right-Brain Learning Beyond Age 6 

As parents, we naturally want to make the best choices for our children’s education. When time, money, and energy are limited, we sometimes face hard decisions—like whether to continue right-brain training when our child is already struggling with basics like reading or math. This article explores why right-brain learning can still be valuable after age 6—and even more so because your child is facing challenges.

Right-Brain Learning Is Still Beneficial Beyond Age 6

It’s a common misconception that right-brain training is only effective during the early years (ages 0–6), when the brain is said to be most absorbent. While it’s true that younger children absorb information differently, the brain remains flexible (thanks to neuroplasticity) well into adulthood.

Even after age 6, children can benefit from right-brain activities like visualization, photographic memory games, linking memory, and pattern recognition. These exercises help strengthen core cognitive skills such as:

• Focus and attention

• Mental imagery and retention

• Speed reading and comprehension

• Creative problem solving

These are not just “extras.” They’re the foundation for better academic performance.

💡What If My Child Is Struggling With Basic Skills Like Phonics or Arithmetic?

If your child is having difficulty with phonemic awareness or number sense, right-brain training shouldn’t be viewed as something to replace or delay those skills. Instead, it can serve as a powerful support system.

Let’s look at why:

• 🧠 Right-brain training enhances memory, auditory processing, and visualization—all of which are needed for decoding sounds and retaining math facts.
  
  

• 📚 Children who struggle with phonics may benefit from image-based memory, word linking games, and listening practice—tools often used in right-brain education.
  
  

• 🔢 Those with arithmetic difficulties can benefit from dot cards, visualized number patterns, and other holistic ways of understanding quantity and relationships—not just drill and practice.
  
  

Rather than abandoning right-brain activities, this may be exactly when your child needs them most—to re-engage their natural learning instincts, boost their confidence, and make learning feel joyful again. 

Even just 10–15 minutes, 2 to 3 times a week of focused right-brain training can make a positive difference. These short, consistent sessions support memory, visualization, and emotional connection to learning—laying a foundation that strengthens traditional skills like phonics and arithmetic.

Right-brain learning doesn't compete with academic classes—it enhances them.

💡 The Goal: Whole-Brain Learning

No single method works in isolation. Ideally, right-brain and left-brain approaches should complement each other. While structured reading and math lessons build academic skill, right-brain training strengthens the underlying mental muscles that make learning easier.

In fact, many parents notice that once their child starts visualizing better, focusing longer, and remembering more, traditional academic tasks become less of a struggle.

💡 What You Can Do at Home

If you’re worried about your child’s learning, consider integrating short right-brain activities into your daily routine:

• 5-minute visualization scripts before homework
  
  

• Flash image memory games to build mental focus
  
  

• Use audio recordings for reading passages with a story-based rhythm
  
  

• Try speed reading and comprehension tasks that train whole-sentence recognition
  
  

These are not time-consuming—and they often bring more joy to learning than traditional worksheets.

Final Thoughts

Right-brain learning isn't a luxury—it's a lifeline for many children. Especially for those struggling, it offers a new way in. Rather than giving up on it, consider right-brain training as a support system that helps your child reconnect with learning in a creative, empowering way.