Time-outs are often used with the intention of helping children calm down or learn self-control. Many parents rely on them because they want to set boundaries and support their child’s development.

In this episode, we slow the conversation down and explore why time-outs don’t actually teach emotional regulation for young children. We talk about what’s happening in the nervous system during moments of dysregulation, why regulation develops through connection, and what support can look like instead.

This episode offers a developmentally grounded perspective for parents who want to respond to big emotions with clarity, consistency, and care.

A written version of this episode is available on MsArbara.com.

Big emotions in young children are often labeled as bad behavior. Crying, yelling, or melting down can be seen as something that needs to be corrected or stopped as quickly as possible.

In this episode, we slow that assumption down. We explore why big emotions are not a sign of misbehavior, what’s happening developmentally when children feel overwhelmed, and why these moments are actually signals for support rather than discipline.

This conversation is for parents who want to respond to big emotions with understanding, clarity, and appropriate boundaries—without shame or fear that they’re “doing it wrong.”

A written version of this episode is available on the blog.

The idea of self-regulation is often discussed in parenting spaces, but for young children, that expectation can be misleading.

In this episode, Arbara explains why self-regulation doesn’t develop independently in early childhood, what co-regulation really means, and how children build regulation through supportive relationships over time. This episode offers reassurance for caregivers whose children still need help navigating big emotions and reminds us that support is not a setback — it’s part of development.

This episode is a grounding listen for parents who worry they’re “helping too much.”