Interoception is the internal sense that refers to the ability to notice body signals, such as hunger, thirst, a full bladder, and fatigue. It plays a crucial role in regulating our emotions, behaviour and overall wellbeing. Interoception is controlled by specialised receptors in our organs and tissues, which send signals to the brain. Our brain then integrates these signals with other sensory information to create a clear representation of our internal state. This is essential for letting us know what our bodies need and helps us to respond. E.g., my stomach is rumbling, it feels empty and a bit sore, I need to eat. 

Studies have found that individuals with higher interoceptive abilities tend to have better emotional regulation, empathy and social cognition. They also exhibit lower levels of anxiety and stress. Interoception difficulties can occur in children when they have trouble recognising, interpreting or responding to the sensations of their internal state. These difficulties may show as a lack of awareness of bodily sensations, such as mood, hunger, thirst, pain, or fatigue. Children with interoception difficulties may have difficulty regulating their emotions and behaviour, leading to challenges in social interaction, academic performance and self-care activities. They may also experience some health problems, like eating and sleep problems. Interventions aimed at improving interoception in children can help them better understand and manage their internal state, leading to improved overall well-being.

Strategies:
What are some things you can do to support interoceptive awareness in children?
-  Ask the child to lay down on the ground outside (or if you work with a group of children, have them pair up and do this). Draw a chalk outline around the child and talk about some of the different sensations they experience everyday. What does your tummy feel? When? What do you do when it feels this way? How does your body feel when you're angry? Talk about some of your own body cues too. The child can label or colour in each part of the body as you go.
-  Ask children to 'check in' or 'body scan' to prompt them to consider how their body is feeling. For example, ask, "Does your bladder feel full or empty?" rather than asking, "Do you need the toilet?"
-  Begin to link together sensations.  Fast heart beat + tense muscles + warm skin = angry. These may be different for everyone.
-  Do some fun 'body experiments' - practice tensing and relaxing muscles; do some dancing, pause the music and freeze, ask the child how fast their heart is beating; on hot or cold days notice how your body responds, do you have goosebumps, is your skin sticky? Try rubbing ice over your arm, how does it respond? 
-  When reading a picture book, talk about the 'clues' a character is showing to figure out what they might be feeling. For example, the boy's tongue is out, he is breathing heavily, I think he is thirsty.
-  Play charades - see how a child might act out 'hungry' or 'cold' or 'I need to wee'. Comment on what their body did to give away the answer. For example, "I can see you're rubbing your stomach and pointing to your mouth... hmmmm are you feeling hungry?"