Together We Thrive – At Home

Teaching your child to self-regulate through their senses is giving them a skill that will support them throughout their life, from smoothing transitions between activities, improving social interactions, through to increasing their ability to focus, learn and to see projects through to completion. Not only will they be fluent in identifying how their body is feeling and give it what it needs to be functioning at its optimal level at any given moment, they will also learn to recognise signs from others engine levels and make allowances for their being in a dysregulated state or to assist them where appropriate to shift their nervous system into the just right level for the situation.

Fiery sibling exchanges can become a thing of the past as each child learns to take responsibility for their arousal level and learns to recognise when other members’ may be heightened or lethargic and appropriately interacts with each other for where their sibling or parent may be at. Frequency of arguments lessen and acceptance of each other’s emotional and physical needs begin to be respected. Co-regulation as a family can be scheduled into the week to create an ambience of peace and calm or an energised feeling of novelty where the creative juices are sparking with enthusiasm and excitement for inspired, inventive projects in the kitchen, garage or at play have the family humming.

As your child learns to regulate their emotions, your family dynamics will begin to change, There will be more calm, more connection and more moments of joy. Improvements may be small initially, but keep at it. Celebrate each win your child has in self-regulating, whether that be asking for gum to calm their motor or a teacher commenting that your child had a more focused morning where they completed all their tasks in the allotted time. You are setting your child up for a lifetime where they are in control of how they feel, rather than having uncomfortable sensations or emotions land on them pushing them into overwhelm.

Perhaps you may like to generate energy and enthusiasm for your family’s shared journey into sensory play with purpose by creating your own family mantra. It could be something as simple as Together We Thrive, Play With Purpose or Teamwork in Action. Make it as fun, silly or motivating as you like, created with meaningfulness for your family.

As you read this 2-part series, I want you to feel a sense of relief, knowing that you’re not alone, your struggle is seen and recognised and that there are small steps you can take to create a more positive dynamic in your family, where you are supported to help your child overcome their challenges and sense their value. If you’re unsure where to start, begin by introducing a calming ritual at night such as dimming the lights an hour before bedtime, turning off screens and encouraging quiet reading, listening to an audio book or perhaps writing in a diary where they unpack their day or write 3 great things that happened to them in their day. Know that every little step you take with self- and co-regulation you are building trust, connection and a lasting bond with your child.

Sensory Tuning, Helping kids sense their value