How To Change Your Child’s Behavior (And Why You Might Need To Change Your Own), with Sarah Reppenhagen
What is Co-Regulation and How Can I Improve My Baby or Toddler’s Self-Regulation Skills?In this episode of the Learn With Less podcast, Ayelet is joined by Sarah Reppenhagen, a licensed occupational therapist who has worked in a variety of pediatric settings, including Early Intervention, outpatient clinics, and inpatient hospitals. Sarah’s passion lies in supporting young children and families to set the foundation for greater participation in life. She believes that all children have innate capabilities and the desire to engage with the people and environment around them. Supporting children’s emerging skills, as well as bolstering parent understanding during early development, sets the stage for further learning. We discuss Sarah’s background and how she came to do the work she’s doing today, the definition of “self-regulation” and why it’s important to consider ways to support it in both parents and children, how our kids’ regulation and behavior is often a mirror of our internal state, the “stories” we tell ourselves about what our children’s behavior means… actually affects our ability to support them, and, of course, top tips and resources for supporting our children and ourselves through co-regulation.Great resources we mentioned in this podcast episode:Fostering Healthy Social and Emotional Development in Young Children (Tips For Families) Promoting Self-Regulation in the First Five Years (Duke University Center For Child and Family Policy)Pathways.orgStill Face Experiment with Dr. Edward TronickConnect With UsAyelet: Facebook / Instagram / PinterestSarah: Website / Facebook /TEXT TRANSCRIPT OF THIS EPISODEAyelet: Today, I’m speaking with Sarah Reppenhagen, a pediatric occupational therapist and the founder of Gather and Grow, which is a pediatric practice supporting infants through preschool age children and their families, located in Portland, Oregon. Sarah’s passions lie in supporting development from the start, at a time when young brains are growing immensely and adults are evolving in their roles as parents. Sarah believes that children have innate capabilities and the desire to engage with the people and environment around them, while parents have an intrinsic drive to connect with their child and nurture their growth. So, fostering children’s emerging skills as well as bolstering parent understanding during early development sets the stage for further learning and participation in life. And Sarah, as you know, the work that both you and I are doing, it’s so much about, you know, how do we get our children to do these things? How do we boost our children’s development, how do we do this and that… And we also know that so much of it is about educating the parents.