Wednesday May 13, 2026

NERD 0411 Why Can't Children Self Regulate? with Denita Dinger

Have you heard about the canary in the coal mine? It was an old safety practice with coal miners to protect them from harmful toxins in the air of the mines--a caged canary would be taken into the mine and miners would know if the canary was harmed by the air, it was not safe. 

In this conversation, Denita Dinger and host Heather Bernt-Santy use this as a metaphor for what we can learn about the messages children's behavior may be trying to convey about their experiences in our spaces. 

Find more Denita here: https://listen-to-the-children-academy.teachable.com/

More Denita here: https://www.facebook.com/p/Listen-to-the-Children-100064041760545/

Order Heather’s book, Using Schema Play Theory to Advocate for Free Play in Early Childhood, here: https://www.tcpress.com/products/using-schema-play-theory-to-advocate-for-free-play-in-early-childhood_9780807783177

Join our new Patreon community! For just $5 a month you can support all the Early Childhood Nerdwork podcasts AND join our Discord server to chat with the hosts and others who are working for children, their families, and their teachers: https://www.patreon.com/cw/EarlyChildhoodNerdworkbyThatEarlyChildhoodNerd

Thanks for listening!

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