How can child care educators support self-regulation and sensory needs? (Recap)

In ChildFriendly Pro's September 2025 Lunch & Learn, pediatric occupational therapist Jennifer Collett explained that because children usually cannot self-regulate until around age seven, educators must co-regulate by staying calm and silent during a meltdown, teach breathing such as smell the flower, blow out the candle only when children are calm, and adjust lighting, noise and clutter for sensory needs.

What the session covered

The session, hosted by Krystal Churcher, covered self-regulation and sensory processing in child care. Collett defined regulation as the ability to manage behavior and responses to situations: calming down when upset, focusing when distracted and persisting when frustrated. She said it is not automatic; it is taught from infancy, and children typically begin to self-regulate around age seven, so younger children depend on co-regulation with a calm adult. As Collett described it, sensory processing is how the brain organizes information from the senses, including two less familiar ones: the vestibular sense (where the head is in space) and proprioception (where the body is in space). Some children receive too little input and seek it by touching everything, crashing into furniture, leaning on peers or chewing clothing; others receive too much and are overwhelmed by noise, brightness or mess. A child can be sensitive in one area and under-sensitive in another. Collett said 5 to 16 percent of children experience significant sensory processing difficulties. Churcher framed the topic around educator burnout and rising behavioral needs in centers.

What is co-regulation and what should educators do during a meltdown?

Collett said the first step in teaching regulation is co-regulation: when a child's storm meets an adult's calm, the child can match that calm, so educators must regulate themselves first. During a meltdown, she advised staying calm, breathing and not talking, because a child who has flipped their lid does not process verbal information, so instructions like calm down or stop crying are not taken in. Once the child has calmed somewhat, the educator can validate feelings, for example saying the child really wanted that toy, or using an I wonder statement such as your face is really red, I wonder if you are mad. Validation does not mean giving in. For a child who is hitting or kicking, Collett recommended keeping the child in a safe space and co-regulating from a distance with calm breaths and no words, noting that it can take 5 to 20 minutes. Regulation strategies should be taught when children are calm, such as inhaling to smell a flower and blowing out a candle, repeated once for each year of the child's age.

What sensory tools and calm corners work in a child care classroom?

Collett favored simple calm corners: a small blanket or mat, a couple of fidget toys, books and one breathing visual, because heavily decorated corners become visually overstimulating. The corner must be available to all children, used proactively rather than as a time-out, and can include a visual timer, for example two minutes, when every child wants a turn at first. For noise-sensitive children, noise-reducing headphones muffle background sound while still letting them hear the teacher. Children who seek oral input can use a chewy necklace, ice, something cold or lemon in their water. She recommended calling fidgets sensory tools rather than toys, offering a basket to the whole group so no child is singled out, and returning a tool to the basket if it becomes a distraction; children who fidget are usually still listening. Visual supports include first-then language, picture schedules and visual timers, with a five-minute warning before transitions. Sensory play with shaving cream, water, mud, corn or sand provides input for children who need it.

How should centers adjust the environment and talk to families about sensory needs?

Collett advised reviewing rooms for visual clutter, since a neat room can still overstimulate, monitoring noise and offering a calm corner, headphones or a short walk when the room gets loud, and turning off fluorescent lights in favor of natural light when possible. Churcher noted that hanging fabric or other items from ceilings may breach fire code and should be checked with the fire inspector. Collett also recommended small rotating fine motor centers, such as cutting old calendars, painting water-reveal books with halved cotton swabs and building with interlocking pieces, and movement breaks like animal walks for transitions and movement songs when circle time becomes restless. She told directors to give support staff sensory tools, not just discipline strategies. With families, she suggested sharing specific observations and asking whether the behavior happens at home, for example noticing a child chewing her shirt at the center, without implying something is wrong, then offering access to an occupational therapist, speech-language pathologist or behavior strategist if available. Her advice was to seek supports early, before behaviors feel unmanageable.

Self-regulation and sensory strategies from the session

How ChildFriendly Pro automates this

Collett recommended sharing specific observations with families rather than general behavior reports. ChildFriendly Pro's Classroom & Learning Tools keep observations and portfolios in one place so educators can track patterns and share them with families; no product demo was shown in this session.

Next steps

• Director Lunch & Learns for child care operators
• Free Emotion Regulation Thermometer for calm corners
• Child observations, portfolios and classroom learning tools
• Book a ChildFriendly Pro demo

Official sources

• American Academy of Pediatrics, HealthyChildren.org: Sensory Integration Therapy
• Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists: What is occupational therapy