Self regulation is the ability to monitor and control our feelings, emotions and behaviour in response to the environments and demands. It relies on being able to block out irrelevant information, control impulses and persist in tasks. Co-regulation is an interaction that provides support to your child to help them regulate.
Some children and young people will be better able to self-regulate than others, however, whilst regulation can be seen as a skill that can be taught, it is dependent on the surroundings, including the people present.
Our regulation fluctuates throughout the day, and different levels of alertness will be appropriate for different activities - it is important that our level of arousal/alertness matches the activity that we want to engage in or that is being demanded of us.
Regulation takes place in response to something, and so ways of managing a response or reaction can come from within or from external support.
Before supporting your child to regulate, think about your own regulation. Your emotional state of arousal can also impact on the situation.
Children's Occupational Therapists work with children from birth to 18 (or 19 if attending Complex Need schools). If your child or young person is under the Occupational Therapy teams, you can speak to them about any questions you may have.
If you think your child requires specialist support, please speak to their GP.
If you have any questions about your child or young person's general health or development, you can contact the Healthy Child Programme by calling Just One Number on 0300 300 0123 or texting Parentline on 07520 631590. Our opening hours are 8am-6pm Monday-Friday (excluding bank holidays) and 9am-1pm on Saturdays.
