The original concept of five senses has been expanded to include proprioception (sense of movement) and the vestibular sense (sense of balance). But there is one more that is recognized that is important to consider in the early years and that is INTEROCEPTION, or a sense of life. This sense refers to our perception of what is going on inside our bodies and includes our sense of well-being. One way to think about it is to consider how we answer the question “Am I okay?” We all know how our physical state is closely woven with our sense of well-being!
In what ways is our life supported by physiological processes? There are many physiological systems that support life, depicted by this illustration from Wikipedia:
When a baby is in utero, its life is dependent on the mother. Once it is born the baby begins to function independently – now it has to breathe, to digest, to sleep, to eliminate etc. The younger the baby the more he or she is dependent on caring adults to assist these bodily processes. When the life sense is out of balance, the baby is “not okay” – maybe she is tired, or hungry, or uncomfortable; that is when we step in to help her regain her sense of well-being, her sense of life. It is a balanced state of being where the body no longer is sensed, it is the absence of thirst, pain, nausea etc.
As the child grows they become more adept at returning themselves to this state of well-being, of comfort. When they are hungry and can eat, they become satisfied. When they are tired and sleep they are rejuvenated – get a renewed “lease on life”. We all have receptors inside our bodies, inside our organs including our skin. Our nervous system carries these signals to the brain where they can rise to consciousness or not – but these signals help regulate our vital functions like body temperature, hunger, thirst, digestion and heart rate.
The main way that a baby reaches a state of well-being is through breastfeeding. The sweet taste of mother’s milk penetrates the baby’s body and soul and comforts and soothes. “As children grow a bit older, the possibility for soothing expands and smell (in addition to taste) becomes a gateway to wellbeing. It is now possible to soothe and calm babies by simply handing them to their mother – with her familiar, distinctive smell” (Adam Blanning, Understanding Developmental Needs, p. 144). The sense of smell could be described as being more internal, less conscious, than taste.
Gradually the baby can be soothed and returned to a sense of well-being through touch. This profound and vital sense is deeply routed in our bodies and we all know how important touch is to the infant: both in forming relationships with others and in forming a happy relationship to themselves. Touch remains an essential means of balancing the sense of life.
Between six and nine months of age the baby becomes restless and may not respond through taste, smell and touch as before. Now the baby is more mobile – rolling, perhaps crawling – and is becoming more independent in his environment. At the same time the child “needs to feel more inwardly grounded and secure…. Children actively strive, step by step, to become more participatory in the process of their own soothing”. (Blanning, p. 146) Now rocking, bouncing can help soothe – stimulating the vestibular system which is nourished also by the child’s self-initiated movements.
At this age having a rhythmic life and allowing the child a chance to practice self-soothing before sleep is advised. Putting the baby to bed awake gives the baby the chance to take up the move towards finding a sense of well being and learning to settle to sleep.
Finally, the sense of movement can help with self-calming and soothing. Many children find movements that can comfort and help them settle into a state of wellbeing that supports going to sleep. In fact, one of the few recommendations for older children who have trouble with interoception, is movement – “heavy work”. When we move our bodies we are supporting the life processes and can gain a balanced sense of life.
To summarize, babies need us when they are young to soothe them and to help them come to a state of wellbeing, where the sense of life is not out of balance. Slowly, slowly the child will begin to be able to soothe themselves and find this balanced state for themselves.
Daniel Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson write about how parents can support self soothing in their book “The Power of Showing Up” (2020). “When a child is in distress ….. the negative state can be shifted by an interaction with a caregiver who shows up for her…. the interpersonal experience of having someone bear witness to her distress, then being comforted and connected, creates a sense of trust that opens the window to many inner mechanisms that heal pain, reduce distress and build resilience. Inter-soothing is the gateway to personal inner soothing.” (p.154)
The more the child experiences a state of physical well-being, where the sense of life is balanced, the more the child will be able to find the way back to that state for himself when he needs to.