Page 12 - Baby Sleep Miracle (Mary-Ann Schuler) : Flip It & Read It

This is when the child develops insight into his behavior.

Self-calming requires the child to decrease the state of arousal he

experiences related to distress.

An adaptable child learns to recognize the internal state of distress and

hyperarousal, then finds ways to inhibit the arousal through strategies such
as closing his eyes.

A toddler may hold his hands together or put them in his pockets when told

not to touch a fragile object, thus inhibiting himself in an adaptable way.

An adult struggling to master a very difficult task may take a break to

refresh himself mentally and physically, thus avoiding an adult-sized
tantrum.

Self-regulation develops through synchronized, reciprocal, and well-

modulated interactions between parents and their children.

A task of the young infant is to be able to tolerate the intensity of arousal

they feel while interacting with their mom or dad. An infant who is flooded

with too much arousal during interactions will avoid them and shut down.

For a child to experience pleasure from playing or interacting with his

parent(s), he needs to find ways to avoid becoming over-stimulated.

The child has to find an optimal level of internal arousal to remain engaged

in the interaction.

Consequently, the parent acts to help regulate the child’s arousal by timing

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