Friday Fieldwork: Regulate the Room
Lead with Presence (Body → Regulation)
Game night started strong.
Chips on the table.
Rules explained and mostly understood.
Everyone hyped.
We were playing Catan — our new favorite family obsession, where the art of the deal and secret empire building promotes quick feelings of triumph, despair, and full emotional meltdown status.
By round 10, two hours deep, the game had officially outlasted everyone’s patience.
What started as fun was now a diplomatic crisis over wood and wheat.
One kid was gloating.
Another was pouting.
Someone kept trying to trade sheep for sympathy.
And Drew?
Drew was in his own world — slowly removing pieces from the board to build a structure of his own. No idea what game we were playing, just locked in on creating his own settlement… in the middle of the table.
Me?
I had a move. A glorious, three-turns-in-the-making move.
It would’ve crushed the table. Total dad domination. Victory sealed.
But I paused.
Felt the tension rising.
Heard the tone shifting.
Noticed how “fun” was slipping out the back door.
So I took a breath.
Held the move.
Regulated the room instead of the board.
Because sometimes the biggest win isn’t building the longest road—
It’s building something that lasts.
Try This During:
Game night chaos
Competitive sibling energy
Post-bedtime energy spikes
Examples:
Take a breath before responding
Narrate without judgment (“Looks like that turn didn’t go the way you hoped”)
Let the tower happen… within reason
Why it matters:
Your nervous system leads theirs.
Before they can regulate, they borrow your calm.
Fieldwork Prompt:
Next time the energy spikes—don’t rush to fix it.
Feel it. Breathe.
Then lead from presence, not pressure.
