✍️ Reflections From My Practice - Pause Before You Respond

✍️ Reflections From My Practice - Pause before you respond.

One thing I've noticed throughout my years working with young children is how quickly adults can feel the pressure to do something when behaviour becomes difficult.

We feel we need to stop it. Fix it. Explain it. Teach a lesson.

But sometimes the child isn't ready for any of that. They need an adult who can stay calm enough to help them through the moment.

That doesn't mean ignoring behaviour. It doesn't mean allowing everything.

And it certainly doesn't mean giving in.

It means recognising that connection and regulation can be the first step towards change.

I've learned that sometimes a pause isn't doing nothing.

It's doing something very important.

It's giving the child, and the adult, a chance to come back to a place where thinking is possible.