Notice your baby’s responses to stressful situations and their ways of seeking comfort and stress. New Jersey Birth to Three Early Learning Standards. (2013). New Jersey Council for Young Children. Murray, Desiree W., Rosanbalm, Katie, Christopoulos, Christina, and Hamoudi, Amar (2015). Self-Regulation and Toxic Stress: Foundations for Understanding Self-Regulation from an Applied Developmental Perspective. OPRE Report #2015-21, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (Level III)
Infants initially learn to regulate themselves by mirroring caregivers’ responses. It is helpful for caregivers to be able to observe and respond to infants’ moods and states and help infants to regain a sense of regulation. Taipale J. (2016). Self-regulation and Beyond: Affect Regulation and the Infant-Caregiver Dyad. Frontiers in psychology, 7, 889. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00889 (Level III) Karreman, A., van Tuijl, C., van Aken, M. A. G., & Dekovic, M. (2006). Parenting and Self-Regulation in Preschoolers: A Meta-Analysis. Infant and Child Development, 15(6), 561–579. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ958131&site=ehost-live (Level I)
Infants require adults to manage a large portion of their regulatory needs, from feeding to temperature control to management of environmental stimuli. Infants react physically to the sensory information around them, with little capacity to change their experience. They need adults who are sensitive to their cues, responsive to their needs, and able to provide a soothing presence in times of distress. This is known as co-regulation.
Caregiver capacity for co-regulation depends on the caregiver’s self-regulation skills. As caregivers play an important role to help babies co-regulate, babies can sense caregivers’ moods and may mirror them. Over time, babies learn to overcome the distress.