The dial on your baby's nervous system

This page is part of a collection of short articles in plain language, which together make up The Possums Baby Sleep Program: a brief & simple summary. For comprehensive information and support, please go to The essentials section of The Possums Sleep Program, and begin to work your way through the online pages and videos there.

I’d like to share an important idea with you. This is the idea of the dial on your baby's sympathetic nervous system, which acts in their brain and body.

• The dial is like the volume control in your baby.

• The sympathetic nervous system is the ‘on button’ in your baby’s brain and body. It switches on when your baby has physical or safety needs.

All the latest brain science tells us that responsive parenting is best for your baby’s development. Your responses help your baby keep the dial turned down on the sympathetic nervous system.

Babies dial up to communicate to us, whether it's because they are hungry, or needing a change of what is around them, or wanting to be held. Babies communicates their needs through signs or cues. This includes their body movements, the expressions on their face or the noises they make. This is how they tell you that they need something.

• When your baby dials up, they might start groaning and grunting and stretching.

• As the dial turns up more, your baby might start grizzling and fussing.

• When your baby cries, the dial on the sympathetic nervous system is turned up quite high.

• When baby is screaming (oh how upsetting that is for parents!) your baby’s dial is turned up as high as it can possibly be!

It is helpful for your baby if you can respond to their communication or cues before they get really dialled up. Responding keeps their sensitive little sympathetic nervous system as dialled down as possible. It’s also true that sometimes babies will cry despite our best efforts, especially when they are very young.

Our aim as parents or carers is to keep the little one as dialled down as much as we can – even though we can’t always respond immediately, especially if we have an older child to care for, and even though responding doesn’t always work to dial the baby down.

Acknowledgements

I'm grateful to Professor Sophie Havighurst, Ros June, and Caroline Ma at Mindful, The University of Melbourne, for their feedback on the articles in the Brief & simple section of The Possums Sleep Program. They helped me keep the language plain and the concepts as accessible as possible.

Recommended resources

What is meant by the dial on your baby's sympathetic nervous system?

Why responding to your baby matters

Selected references

Douglas PS. Pre-emptive intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorder: theoretical foundations and clinical translation. Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience. 2019;13(66):doi.org/10.3389/fnint.2019.00066.

Douglas P, Miller Y, Bucetti A, Hill PS, Creedy D. Preliminary evaluation of a primary care intervention for cry-fuss behaviours in the first three to four months of life ("The Possums Approach"): effects on cry-fuss behaviours and maternal mood. Australian Journal of Primary Health. 2013; 18:332-338.

Douglas P. Diagnosing gastro-oesophageal reflux disease or lactose intolerance in babies who cry alot in the first few months overlooks feeding problems. J Paediatr Child Health. 2013;49(4):e252-e256.

Douglas PS, Hill PS. A neurobiological model for cry-fuss problems in the first three to four months of life. Med Hypotheses. 2013;81:816-822.

Douglas P, Mares R, Hill P. Interdisciplinary perspectives on the management of the unsettled baby: key strategies for improved outcomes. Australian Journal of Primary Health. 2012;18:332-338.

Douglas PS, Hill PS. The crying baby: what approach? Curr Opin Pediatr. 2011;23:523-529.

Douglas P, Hill P. Managing infants who cry excessively in the first few months of life. BMJ. 2011;343:d7772.

Douglas PS, Hill PS, Brodribb W. The unsettled baby: how complexity science helps. Arch Dis Child. 2011;96:793-797.

Douglas P, Hiscock H. The unsettled baby: crying out for an integrated, multidisciplinary, primary care intervention. Med J Aust. 2010;193:533-536.

Douglas PS. Crying Baby. Hecate. 2007;33(2):74-75.

Douglas PS. Excessive crying and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease in infants: misalignment of biology and culture. Med Hypotheses. 2005;64:887-898.