Co-Regulation Quick Guide

Discover why traditional behaviour strategies often don't work.

Co-Regulation Quick Guide

Support regulation without doing everything for the child.

Co-regulation is more than calming a child down.

It is knowing when to step in, how to support, and when to gradually step back so that support today can build capacity for tomorrow.

This FREE Co-Regulation Quick Guide will help you think more intentionally about the support you provide when a child is overwhelmed, unsettled or not yet ready to manage independently.

Inside the guide, you’ll discover:

• What co-regulation actually means in everyday practice

• Different ways adults can support regulation

• How to consider both the child’s internal environment and external environment

• Why the same strategy won’t work for every child, or every moment

• How to begin matching support to the child’s current regulation capacity

• Why stepping back is just as important as stepping in

Whether you are supporting children at home, preschool, school or in therapy, this guide gives you a practical starting point for thinking beyond behaviour and asking:

What does this child need from me right now?

Co-regulation is not dependence.

The goal isn’t to keep providing more support.

The goal is to provide the right support, at the right time, for the child’s current capacity, and then reduce that support as their capacity grows.

That is how we move from simply managing the moment towards building participation, confidence and increasing independence.

Download your FREE Co-Regulation Quick Guide

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Who is this for?

This guide is particularly useful for:

Parents and carers • Occupational therapists • Allied health professionals • Early childhood educators • Teachers • Support staff

If you work with children who become overwhelmed, shut down, escalate, avoid, refuse or simply seem unable to access skills you know they have, this is a useful place to start.

 Because children don't learn regulation on their own, they learn it with us. Every moment of connection is an opportunity to build their confidence, resilience and capacity to thrive.

A Regulation Hourglass™ Resource

Created by Beryl Smith, Paediatric Occupational Therapist and creator of The Regulation Hourglass™.

Capacity, not behaviour.
Right support. Right time. Right state.

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