The Science Behind Grow Free

 

Grow Free is built on solid research in psychology, neuroscience, education, and youth wellbeing.
Every practice we teach is either:

• Backed directly by peer-reviewed studies.
• Or clearly framed as Grow Free’s philosophy, built upon established science.

Below you’ll find the evidence supporting each of our Core Modules, along with additional foundations that run throughout our teaching.

 

1) Feelings Are Magnets (emotion → attention/behaviour)

Emotions shape how children focus, remember, and act. Positive emotions also spread through peer groups.

• The Influences of Emotion on Learning and Memory – Frontiers in Psychology
• Empathy and Prosocial Behavior in Adolescence
• Self-compassion and psychological distress in adolescents — a meta-analysis

Use in Grow Free: emotional labelling + imagery exercises to steer attention and action towards constructive choices.

 

2) Awareness & Attention (focus is trainable)

Mindfulness and attention training improve focus and classroom behaviour—even for children with ADHD.

• School-based mindfulness programmes improve attention/executive function
• Mindfulness in early childhood supports self-regulation
• Mindfulness reduces ADHD symptoms (meta-analysis)

Use in Grow Free: short daily attention drills, breath-anchored focus, mindful transitions.

 

3) Calm & Self-Regulation (breath, body, brain)

Breathwork and heart-rate variability (HRV) training help children calm stress and improve memory.

• Slow breathing increases HRV and reduces anxiety
• Emotional Self-Regulation in Primary Education
• Breathing rhythms linked to memory and cognition

Use in Grow Free: guided 5–10 minute breath sessions, calm-down routines before learning.

 

4) Gratitude & Kindness (prosocial science)

Practising gratitude and kindness boosts optimism, wellbeing, and even academic results.

• Gratitude practices improve mood and prosocial behaviour
• Youth gratitude interventions improve wellbeing
• SEL programmes build empathy and social skills
• SEL linked with academic improvement

Use in Grow Free: daily gratitude journalling, helping habits, kindness challenges.

 

5) Nature Connection (green time → brain/mental health)

Time in nature protects mental health and strengthens focus.

• Natural environments protect mental health
• Nature boosts working memory and attention
• Reviews highlight brain benefits of nature

Use in Grow Free: outdoor lessons, “micro-green breaks”, sensory nature walks.

 

6) Energy Basics (physics — factual foundation)

Energy, vibration, and frequency are real, measurable phenomena.

• Light is energy: Planck–Einstein relation
• Electromagnetic spectrum explained (NASA)
• Sound is vibration: physics of sound
• Solids vibrate: phonons in physics

Use in Grow Free: simple experiments with sound, colour, and frequency.
(Grow Free extends this into helping children become aware of their own “energy” and choices — our philosophy built on these physics facts.)

 

7) Friendships & Boundaries (skills that protect)

Healthy social skills and boundary-setting protect children from bullying and harm.

• Social skills training reduces victimisation
• Anti-bullying programmes reduce victimisation
• Abuse/consent education shows benefits
• Effective social-skills programmes use modelling and practice

Use in Grow Free: role-plays, consent language, bystander skills, boundary scripts.

 

8) Confidence & Creativity (create → believe)

Creativity training helps children solve problems and build confidence.

• Divergent-thinking training enhances creativity
• Creativity grows with practice and feedback

Use in Grow Free: idea sprints, “many-ways” challenges, critique-free creation time.

 

9) Resilience & Growth Mindset (nuanced, honest)

Resilience training works; growth mindset helps when paired with skills.

• SEL improves coping and resilience
• Growth mindset effects are mixed; context matters

Use in Grow Free: normalise setbacks, give process praise, link mindset to skills coaching.

 

10) Imagination & Vision (imagery trains brain)

Mental imagery is powerful for motivation and therapy.

• Guided Imagery as a Treatment Option for Fatigue
• A Perception Theory in Mind–Body Medicine: Guided Imagery and Mindful Meditation

Use in Grow Free: future-self visualisations, picture-to-practice bridges.

 

11) Connection & Community (belonging, service)

Belonging and service to others build health and purpose.

• Volunteering linked with better youth wellbeing
• Prosocial programmes improve acceptance
• Service recommended for youth development

Use in Grow Free: family service projects, peer-helping, community ripple challenges.

 

12) Purpose & Meaning (north star for youth)

A strong sense of purpose protects against stress and depression.

• Purpose predicts higher wellbeing and lower depression
• Purposeful daily experiences linked with lower stress
• Policy briefs recommend cultivating purpose

Use in Grow Free: guiding children to define and live their personal “north star.”

Additional Foundations (woven into every module)

Self-Talk & Self-Love

Positive self-talk and self-compassion boost resilience, wellbeing, and performance.

• Positive self-talk improves sports performance in children
• Self-compassion reduces depression and anxiety in youth
• A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Health Behaviour Habit Formation and Its Determinants

Use in Grow Free: teaching children inner kindness, affirmations, and compassionate language.

 

Focus & Habits

Habits shape children’s daily lives; science shows how they form and stick.

• Repetition and context cues drive habit formation
• The Psychology of Habit
• Habit-building predicts long-term success in adolescents

Use in Grow Free: daily rituals, focus anchors, and playful habit-tracking.

 

Bridging the Universal Laws (Grow Free Philosophy)

There is no single “manifestation study,” but science shows how attention, emotion, and visualisation shape reality.

• Attention bias directs perception
• Emotional states shape memory and behaviour
• Visualisation improves motivation and performance
• Observation influences quantum systems (observer effect)

Use in Grow Free: children learn that what they focus on, imagine, and practise grows in their life.
(This is Grow Free’s philosophy, built upon psychology, neuroscience, and physics.)

 

Conclusion

Science is clear: the practices inside Grow Free support healthier, calmer, more creative and resilient children. Where science ends, Grow Free extends through philosophy — always transparent, always grounded.

 

Now give your child the tools to thrive.
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