Some of the little people in our lives struggle more than others to develop self-regulation skills. They need us to be their co-regulators in their moments of big feelings. Having a consistent adult that can be an effective co-regulator builds a sense of safety in a child that will give them the foundation to develop self-regulation skills.

Co-regulation is warm and responsive interactions that provide the support, coaching, and modeling children need to understand, express, and modulate their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. How can we be co-regulators when children are experiencing big feelings? *Check yourself – relax your body, remain calm and collected. *Come alongside – get down to the child’s level and acknowledge their feelings and the event that led to them. *Mirror their feelings – subtly mimic their facial expressions and name the emotion they might be feeling.