10/11/2025
Co-regulation is a constant balancing act. ⚖️ We adjust our emotions and behaviours according to our environments. Sometimes our behaviours are seen by others as ‘inappropriate’, sometimes we need support through human connection to ‘react appropriately’. The thing is…. we as parents often feel judged by others, we ARE judged by others! We feel like we NEED to react to our children’s behaviour (adding stress to the situation). When really what our kids need most is for us to just be with them. To be patient. To SEE and LOVE them when they are ‘acting out’, when they are feeling unbalanced! 💞 So what does that look like in practice? 🤔 My son was throwing books yesterday off his shelf. I knew the reason why (change to usual routine, exhausted). I could have yelled. I could have demanded he stop and say something like ‘we don’t throw books’! ✋ Instead I sat in his room with him, started to read a book (one he had thrown on the floor), whilst he continued throwing books and I waited. It took less than 3 minutes for him to look briefly at me, to see that I was with him, to see that I was waiting patiently. Neither of us said a word.🤫 He started putting the books back on the shelf. When he got half way and they started to fall I helped pick them up. We put the books back on the shelf together. 📚 He then said ‘thanks for helping me’ and asked if we could read a book together. ❤️ Sometimes saying and doing nothing is what your child needs. Staying near them, no matter how ‘ugly’ their behaviour might be proves that you will show up when life gets hard! Life is a balancing act, let’s help our kids find balance. ⚖️ ~ Personal opinion piece by OT Rachael.
