The Power of Pause

Sheerin was frantic and tried everything she could think of to help the child—putting her down for a nap, changing her diaper, and feeding her. Still, the child wept. [...] We often underestimate the power of our silent presence to help us form a deep connection with a child. [...] An adult’s intentional silence is an intervention strategy during a child’s emotionally loaded moments of distress, helping them to learn the language of co-regulation (Tavares 2022). [...] I’ve come to think of this as “loving silence.” Loving silence speaks to what is underneath the behavior and creates space and time for seemingly uncomfortable emotions to be honored, attended to, and recognized. [...] Yet young children depend on intentional teachers to guide them in learning about and navigating their emotions. Pausing to Support Language Development In my work with infants, I have seen the power of pausing. [...] Pausing gives time for a baby to process the sounds of the words they hear and to respond in the way they want to respond. [...] To try this out, ask an infant one question, then look them in the eyes and pause (try counting silently to three to remind yourself to pause). [...] As an extension of this, think about words and phrases that they hear over and over, which invites very young children to notice patterns in sounds. For example, infants can start to notice patterns in the sounds of familiar songs (Holliday, n.d.). [...] The Importance of Reflection Part of respectful and responsive infant and toddler education is providing the time and space for them to respond. [...] Reflecting on your practice can help us understand and appreciate the role of silence in young children’s development.