Ever wonder why staying calm when your child isn’t feels so hard? Co-regulation, the process of helping a child manage their emotions by managing our own, is one of the most powerful tools adults can use. But it’s also one of the hardest, because it requires our emotional skills to be strong first.

In this episode, I'll break down the three essential skills every adult needs to co-regulate effectively:

• Self-Regulation – Understanding and managing your own emotional state so you can be the calm in the storm.
• Empathy – Connecting to your child’s feelings without getting swept up in them.
• Communication that Builds Connection – Using language and presence that helps kids feel seen, heard, and safe.

You’ll learn the difference between empathy and emotional over-involvement, why “connection before correction” really works, and how small shifts in your own regulation can create big changes in your child’s behavior.

🎧 Tune in to learn how to co-regulate like a boss—with more awareness, compassion, and confidence.

Self-regulation is one of the most talked-about topics in child development today. But too often, it’s treated like a destination: a place we expect kids to arrive at with enough strategies, visuals, or practice. In reality, self-regulation is a lifelong journey that grows through relationships, experiences, and co-regulation with trusted adults.

In this episode, Deb Johnson, pediatric occupational therapist and founder of STEPS for Development, explores why expecting children to “stay in the Green Zone” or “use their strategies” misses the deeper picture of how regulation develops. You’ll learn how to shift your mindset from viewing self-regulation as something obtained through a curriculum, to accepting the ups and downs of regulation as we travel through life and our daily activities.

Whether you’re a parent, educator, or therapist, this episode will help you see self-regulation not as a skill to master, but as a developmental process we grow through together.

Most parents want to know: “What do I do when my child is in the middle of a meltdown?” The truth is, by the time your child reaches that stage, there’s not much you can do except keep everyone safe and let the big emotions run their course. But here’s the good news, you can learn to be proactive with your tools and bring lasting change by influencing behaviors instead of controlling them. Reduce and even eliminate meltdowns by teaching skills before the meltdown ever happens.

In this episode, Debra Johnson, pediatric occupational therapist and founder of STEPS for Development, shares why being proactive is the real key to helping kids build self-regulation. You’ll learn:

• Why children can’t reason or “snap out of it” during a meltdown
• How to step into detective mode and spot patterns behind big emotions
• Practical examples of proactive tools you can use before situations escalate
• Why empathy and perspective-taking are the foundation of skill-building
• How consistent, proactive teaching leads to fewer meltdowns over time

If you’ve been stuck in a cycle of reacting to your child’s behavior, this episode will show you a different path with proactive steps to support changing behaviors, not just stopping them.