When Your Child’s Body Keeps Secrets: The Eighth Sense
Sep 15, 2025
Dear Parent,
You already know the five senses, right? By the way, we have senses to help keep us safe and alive. Without them, we would likely die. Wow, senses are really important.
Sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch. Easy. Maybe you’ve even heard of the sixth (proprioception, your inner GPS that tells you where your limbs are) and the seventh (vestibular, your balance and motion system).
But here’s something most parents don’t hear until they’re waist-deep in confusion: there’s an eighth sense. It’s called interoception, and it might be the missing puzzle piece in your child’s daily meltdowns, mystery stomachaches, or baffling behaviors.
What is interoception?
Think of it as the body’s dashboard. Hunger, thirst, tiredness, pain, stress, calm—all of these flash little “check engine” lights that are supposed to warn us before things spiral. Operative word here is “supposed” to warn us. Our kids? Often, not so much.
For kids from difficult beginnings, or kids living with ADHD or autism, that dashboard is glitchy. Some lights never turn on. Others flash red when nothing is wrong. The result? You, my dears, are left guessing while your child looks “fine” one moment and melting down on the kitchen floor the next. What the heck?
Let’s put this in everyday parent language. A child with spikey interoception might…
- Raid the pantry right after refusing dinner.
- Hold their bladder until it’s a mad dash to the bathroom.
- Insist they’re not tired while yawning and falling off the couch asleep.
- Shriek over a scratch, then shrug at a broken toe.
- Wear snow boots in May or shorts in a snowstorm.
- Crash asleep on the floor surrounded by Legos.
- Sob without knowing they are crying—or why.
- Say, “I feel weird,” but can’t explain any more than that.
None of this is laziness, manipulation, or defiance. It’s simply their nervous system misfiring the signals most of us take for granted.
“Why?” you ask.
Trauma changes the wiring. When babies or toddlers cry from hunger, pain, or fear and no one consistently responds, their brain learns: no point paying attention to these signals. Later in life, those same kids don’t connect body cues with what they need—because the loop was never closed.
Kids with ADHD or autism often deal with the same challenge, but from a different angle: their brains either over-notice or under-notice what is happening inside. Too much signal or not enough—it all ends in confusion.
What to do?
Here’s what doesn’t work:
- Lectures (“Why didn’t you go before we left the house?”)
- Rewards (“Sticker for drinking your water bottle!”)
- Punishments (“No dessert if you don’t eat dinner now.”)
Because this isn’t about willpower. It’s wiring!
Who can help?
If any of the above made you whisper “yep, that’s my kid,” here’s the lifeline: pediatric occupational therapy.
You can, just like OTs do, help your child tune in to their body signals through play, movement, sensory activities, and simply ask them what they experience on a body level. OTs teach:
- Notice what’s happening inside.
- Name it (“I’m thirsty,” “I’m anxious”).
- Respond before meltdown mode.
It’s not quick magic, but it’s science-backed and life-changing. Over time, you’ll watch your child go from “I don’t know what’s wrong” to “My stomach growled—I need a snack.” That’s interoception in action.
Love Matters,
Ce
For more on this topic, tune into this week’s episode of Unmuted Love with Ce Eshelman where more will be revealed!
🎨 Grab the Infographic for quick reference!
🎧 Listen to today's new Unmuted Love podcast episode!
📺 Watch on YouTube!
Creator of the Love+ Parenting Model found only in the Love Matters Parenting Society Therapeutic Parent Program.
Want to overcome your child's destructive behavior? Follow this link to find out how you can join the Love Matters Parenting Society today: http://start.lovemattersparenting.com/guide
📖 Get your copy of Drowning with My Hair On Fire: Insanity Relief for Adoptive Parents by Ce Eshelman
✨ Hear the Success Stories: LoveMattersParenting.com/testimonials
🎧 Listen to my podcast: Unmuted Love with Ce Eshelman at your favorite place to listen.
🔍 Check out my websites: LoveMattersParenting.com and AttachPlace.com
👉 Check out my Socials:
🔹YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CeEshelman
🔹 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovemattersparenting
Stay connected with news and updates!
Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.
Don't worry, your information will not be shared.