10/23/2025
This is the Length of time it takes for the body to reset after a traumatic or stressful event. This can even be a good stressor like doing something thrilling. But parents need to know this so they don’t push kids (or themselves) back to upstairs brain too quickly after a meltdown.
It takes the body time to calm — not just a few deep breaths.
When a child is overwhelmed, their nervous system can take 20–60 minutes to fully settle after a surge of stress hormones. That’s why calm can’t be rushed. They need safety, patience and connection — not pressure to “get over it.”
Understanding this is at the heart of brain-based parenting. Regulation isn’t instant; it’s built through co-regulation and trust.
This also demonstrates why a child needs longer than 5 minutes out of class after an incident.
There is a full range of calming strategy prompts in our toolkit below.
NOW AVAILABLE IN THE RESOURCE STORE - to accompany our series on social media.
The Child Brain Explained: How the Upstairs & Downstairs Brain Shape Behaviour, a Toolkit for Parents & Educators - available for only £3.75 until 3 November 2025
Electronic download available at link in comments ⬇️ or via our Linktree Shop in Bio.