Charity Ambassador Kate Silverton talks about emotional regulation for Place2Be’s Children’s Mental Health Week

In a special video for Place2Be to mark Children’s Mental Health Week, best-selling parenting author and qualified child counsellor, Kate Silverton considers the process of emotional regulation, and the roles that caregivers and surrounding adults play, in supporting children to develop this vital skill.

The theme of Place2Be’s Children’s Mental Health Week this year - ‘Know Yourself, Grow Yourself’ - is all about developing self-awareness: our likes and dislikes, our fears and worries, motivations and strengths, and our values, beliefs, and opinions.

It’s all of this, that guides and informs our emotional responses and reactions. And with that, comes the need to understand and regulate those emotions. “However, emotional regulation is not something we’re born with” heeds Kate. “It is something children must actively learn.”

In an accompanying essay published by The Royal Foundation’s Centre for Early Childhood, Kate explains the critical importance of learning this skill: “When children can regulate their emotions, they can focus in school, control impulses, take turns, and engage socially. Emotional literacy helps them manage frustration, build healthy relationships, make wise decisions, and avoid self-destructive behaviours.”  

In this video made exclusively for Place2Be, Kate observes: “When young children are scared or facing challenges, how we as parents and caregivers react, plays a crucial role in helping them to manage their physical and emotional responses to stress.”

Offering gentle encouragement and guidance, Kate says “When we respond kindly, with empathy – when we provide comfort and reassurance that calms and sooths our children from within…  Our loving and dependable presence is starting to programme resilience in our children.”

Reflecting on the role that adults play, Cecilia Corbetta, Head of Parenting at Place2Be, adds: “It’s so important for children to have the space and support to understand their emotions and develop positive ways to cope with challenges. At Place2Be, we’re here to support families and schools in creating environments where children can flourish, so that together, we can ensure every young person has the tools they need to grow and face life’s challenges with confidence.”

Hear more from Kate and watch the full video on how to support children’s emotional regulation in her exclusive video for Place2Be:

Listen to Kate announcing Children’s Mental Health Week and discussing the campaign with Gaby Roslin, on BBC Radio London, Sunday 2 February:

Read Kate’s full essay “Managing our Emotions; A Gift for Life” on the Royal Foundation’s Centre for Early Childhood website.

More about Kate's involvement with Place2Be

Kate is a respected voice on child mental health. Her passion is to support families and carers and to ensure all children feel safe, seen, heard and understood. 

Kate has supported Place2Be activities for many years, contributing to the BBC Lifeline Appeal in 2019; filming with Place2Be partner schools in Scotland for a compelling BBC Panorama report on Scotland’s Violence Reduction Unit, in July 2020; and writing a feature article ‘London’s children are succumbing to toxic stress‘ for the ES Young London SOS appeal in 2021, raising vital funds for Place2Be’s work in the capital.  

In 2022 Kate solidified her support by becoming an Ambassador to the charity, as she helped open the gold-award winning ‘Place2Be Securing Tomorrow’ Garden at RHS Chelsea, with a blog on nurturing children’s emotional growth, and co-hosted the charity’s inaugural ‘Arts & Minds’ fundraising gala.  

For more advice from Kate from her best-selling books; ‘There’s no such thing as Naughty’ and ‘There’s STILL no such thing as naughty’ visit her website.