How was your morning today? If it was anything like mine, then it was a tad stressful. I was distracted and preoccupied and this impacted those around me. Can anyone relate to this?

Have you noticed that your feelings of overwhelm can impact your kids’ feelings too? I have been interested in this concept for some time and have been taking the time to understand the relationship between a parent of caregiver’s emotional state and that of their children.

Children on the autism spectrum can often pick up on their parent’s emotional state in an almost ‘sixth sense’ kind of way. When we map out a child’s mood and that of their parents or care giver, we can see a clear relationship between the two.

So, what does this mean for you in your role as a parent or care giver? It certainly doesn’t mean that you can never feel emotionally dysregulated, but it does mean that you can predict that when you are feeling in this way then your child may also be more likely to feel dysregulated. You may find that it is harder for them to complete tasks, transition out of the house or listen to you.

What can you do? Try finding a short window of time to ground your own feelings? Things like washing your hands under some cooler water, moving to another room with a drink of cool water, taking some time to look out of your window to visually focus on something to remove the focus on your internal feelings.

I think that you will find when you take some time to feel more grounded then your regulation could impact your child’s regulation and you can then re connect with them and move on with your day.

Let me know if you have any insight into this. Have you experienced this in your home? I would ove to hear your stories.

For the moment, be kinds to yourself.