Co-regulation between parents and children in response to challenge

What is it about?

Parents play an important role in supporting their children manage their emotions, especially in challenging situations. Through the process of co-regulation, parents and children interact with each other to manage emotions and behaviors. Co-regulation can be measured by the degree of coordination in parents' and children's behaviors, but also by the degree of synchrony in their physiology (such as their heart rhythm). We studied the relation between co-regulation in challenging situations and child outcomes in elementary school-aged children (3-12 years old). We found that adaptive parent-child behavioral co-regulation is related to better self-regulation skills in children. However, a higher degree of physiological synchrony between parents and children during a challenging situation may be harmful in so-called 'at-risk' families (such as families that live in poverty).

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Photo by Thiago Cerqueira on Unsplash

Photo by Thiago Cerqueira on Unsplash

Why is it important?

While it’s clear that co-regulation is important throughout childhood, primarily infants and toddlers are included in studies, while elementary school-aged children are less studied. still have questions about what makes it effective and how different situations affect it. To explore this, we reviewed 14 studies that looked at co-regulation during challenges—like solving a tough task—and how it relates to children’s emotional and social development. The children in these studies were mostly between 3 and 12 years old. Moreover, this review also highlights a need for clearer definitions of co-regulation, as researchers currently use many different terms to describe similar ideas.

Perspectives