My son was overtired, and nothing was helping him to regulate. My daughter watched my husband and I trying and failing to calm him down, then sagely commented, "it's a bit like we've been kicking with our laces." I asked what she meant, and she clarified that in PE, they learned that if you kick with the part of your foot that has the laces on it, it's not very effective, and (in her words,) "the ball can get out of control." You will get better results if you use the side of your foot. We talked about how it felt like things were out of control, and we weren't managing to help him calm down properly. Really, the cause of all of the days frustrations was that my son hadn't slept well, so he was overtired. Thankfully, he managed to have a nap soon after that conversation, and woke up much happier. I keep thinking about how Zoe drew that parallel between two ineffective approaches, and cleverly expressed her thoughts through a metaphor. Sometimes I think she might make an excellent therapeutic social worker. ❤️ Illustration from "Room in the Nest," my inclusive children's book about foster care, kinship care and adoption. 🦆 . #socialworkmonth #socialwork #therapeuticparenting #therapeuticsocialwork #fostercare #kinshipcare #adoption #dysregulation #regulation #coregulation #gentleparenting #wisdom #bemorezoe https://www.instagram.com/p/CpTFwN9s04U/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
