Primitive Reflexes Explained: What Parents Need to Know
Primitive reflexes are something many parents hear about for the first time after a Google search, a school conversation, or another practitioner mentioning it in passing. Often without much explanation.
Let’s talk about what they actually are.
Primitive reflexes are automatic movement patterns that babies are born with. They are designed to support survival, early movement, and the development of the nervous system. Examples include the moro reflex, palmer grasp reflex, and rooting reflex.
These reflexes are meant to be present early in life and then gradually integrate as the cerebral cortex (brain) matures. Integration does not mean the reflex disappears. It means the nervous system no longer relies on it automatically.
As reflexes integrate (disappear), children gain more voluntary control over their movement, posture, attention, and emotional regulation.
When parents start hearing about primitive reflexes
Most parents do not go looking for this information. They stumble across it because something feels hard.
It might be learning challenges, big emotional reactions, constant movement, fatigue, or difficulty sitting still. Sometimes it is just a sense that their child is working harder than others to do everyday things.
This is where primitive reflexes often enter the conversation.
If a reflex has not fully integrated, the nervous system has not managed to fully mature and is still relying on early patterns to feel safe and organised. The nervous system is doing its best with the information it has.
Retained reflexes are not a diagnosis
Retained or unintegrated primitive reflexes are not a diagnosis. They are not a label. They are one piece of information about how a child’s nervous system is functioning at that point in time.
Many children with retained reflexes are bright, capable, creative, and doing well in many areas. They just need a little more support with regulation, coordination, or endurance.
Why reflexes can affect behaviour and learning
Behaviour is often the outward expression of a nervous system trying to cope.
If a child’s body is constantly reacting to sensory input, posture demands, or internal stress, behaviour can look impulsive, emotional, or restless. This is not willful misbehaviour. It is regulation.
Similarly, learning is not just about the brain. Sitting upright, focusing, writing, reading, and filtering noise all require a well-organised nervous system. When early reflexes are still active, these tasks can require significantly more effort.
What support actually looks like
Supporting primitive reflex integration is not about fixing a child or forcing exercises.
Effective support focuses on:
Nervous system regulation
Postural and movement organisation
Feeling safe in the body
Consistency over intensity
A whole-child, whole-family approach
This support often works best when chiropractic care, psychology, exercise and diet are aligned rather than fragmented.
The most important takeaway for parents
Primitive reflexes are normal.
Development is not linear.
Understanding reflexes is about compassion, and gentle corrections.
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