Self-Regulation: The New Education Buzz Word

The term self-regulation is receiving a lot of attention from the educational community.  Self-regulation is the ability for children to calm their emotions once they become angry, aggressive, sad, or overly excited.  As many preschool programs focus more on academic skills, more children seem to be struggling with the ability to calm down after experiencing intense emotional experiences.  When  children are asked to sit still and focus longer than is developmentally appropriate, teachers can see a strong social/emotional response.  Self-regulation is an essential skill for school readiness.  If children are able to exhibit self-control and regulate their own emotions, then they will be more prepared to pay attention to academic curriculum.  Students who come to kindergarten without control of their emotions will have more difficulty learning reading and math curriculum.  They may lose valuable classroom time trying to identify their feelings and calm down after becoming emotional.  These children will also struggle with their own confidence, self-control, and emotional stability.
 
Teachers and parents can easily identify children lacking these skills.  Some of the most common signs include:
 

• Children who are constantly active in the classroom
• Children whose responses do not match the situation (ex. extremely emotional when the situation does not seem to warrant it)
• Children who respond without thinking about possible consequences
• Children who do not know how to handle being frustrated
• Children who appear to become angry or begin crying without an obvious trigger
• Children who can not seem to take turns or wait on others without a strong emotional response

 
Early childhood educators can help children learn to regulate their emotions.  This will help children be more prepared for Kindergarten, and it will also help children feel more confident and secure.  Here are some strategies that can help children develop self-control over their emotions:
 

• Set-up an early childhood classroom that allows children to independently choose an activity and complete the activity independently.   This will allow children to  feel confident and successful.
• Compliment children for attempting new things, even when they are unsuccessful.  Children feel proud to participate in a process, instead of focusing on the end product.
• Give children classroom responsibilities (like the attendance assistant or the classroom botanist) so that they can show pride in their abilities and receive positive attention.  When a child can complete a job independently, he or she can receive intrinsic (internal) motivation.
• Encourage all children in the classroom to play in the dramatic play center.  By acting out pretend situations, children have a safe play to model many different emotions.  Also, cooperative play activities will allow children to learn to negotiate with other children about what should happen next in their pretend story.  Children can learn to take turns and share with one another.
• As a teacher, always model self-control.  Even when you get frustrated, make sure to use a calm voice and to use planned responses, instead of showing an impulsive reaction.
• Find ways to include calming activities in the classroom.  Many preschool classrooms are including yoga into the gross motor curriculum to help children slow down their bodies.  Activities like play dough or the sensory table can help children make repetitive movements and learn to focus on one activity to calm their responses.

 
All early childhood educators need to help young children develop control over their emotions so that they are emotionally prepared for continuing their education.  Social and emotional development is a foundation of the early childhood classroom and should be a top priority for educators as they plan their classroom goals!