All Your Child Needs Right Now Is YOU

When the world gets LOUD 🌪️, kids feel it.

I know you may be reeling from the horrific shock of the news cycle right now.

Grief. Horror. Disgust. Rage. Disassociation – it all makes sense.

But when the world feels uncertain, that’s when our children need us the most.

Children RELY ON US for nervous system regulation. They need us to provide stability and calm, to be the eye of the storm. Now more than ever.

I always say “Be the ball pit” – it is our job as the adults, parents and educators, to create the SAFE container in which kids can just BE KIDS 🤗 🤸‍♀️

How do we do that when it feels like the world as we know it is crumbling all around us?

First, we regulate ourselves. Then, we meet the emotional needs of our kids IN REAL TIME.

Because soothing the ecosystem at home 🏡 protects children for life 💗

If you are feeling powerless right now, know that you have more influence than you think.

Regulate your nervous system first (stop consuming content, go outside, cuddle a pet, focus on your exhales), and then:

In Your Own Home

LISTEN TO YOUR CHILD when they share (no matter how small)👂
BELIEVE THEM when they tell their side of a story 🫶
BE IN IT WITH THEM when they are sad, mad, frustrated, angry 😫
TEACH THEM to FULLY EXPRESS 🗣️
SHOW THEM they are not alone when they do 🤗
SHOW THEM their needs get met 🥹
ACKNOWLEDGE their bodily INTUITION 🫀
TEACH THEM TO SAY NO when something doesn’t feel right 🙅‍♀️
LET THEM get loud, angry, and physical (in safe ways) 🥊
GRANT THEM body AUTONOMY 💪
STOP trying to raise good/quiet/perfect children 🤐
START celebrating them USING THEIR VOICE 🥳

Golden words for children, always:

THANK YOU FOR TELLING ME 🫶🥹

(I swear I say this 20 times a day 🤪)

Remember, all your child needs is YOU. Your presence, your attention, your care, your compassion, your understanding. Your time. Your LOVE.

Not a screen. Not a toy. Not a shiny possession. YOU 💗

And that is the most liberating and terrifying thing in all the world

If you need a simple, in-the-moment formula for emotional regulation, try:

The CARA Method 💖

C – Coregulate (Calm Yourself: drop your shoulders, exhale/sigh, speak slowly + quietly)
A – Acknowledge (“I hear you. I see you. That makes sense. Of course you’re feeling that way”)
R – Return to presence (Name what you see in front of you + Movement/play to shake it off “Let’s get your green ball and see if we can toss it 20 times”)
A – Action (Do one small thing – clean up 3 toys, read one sentence, sound out just the first syllable)

C again – CELEBRATE! 🥳 You did it!

Let your heart be cracked all the way open.
It’s a lot right now AND you can do this 🤗

Your child needs you, and your inner child does too 💞

And when all else fails, remember: PLAY IS THE WAY! 🤸‍♀️

Children (and our inner children) are NOT MEANT to have the weight of the world on their shoulders. Feel your feels and then remember, it is SAFE to PLAY 🫶

You’ve got this and I’ve got you!

Xoxo,