
Self-regulation is closely linked to brain development, particularly the development of the prefrontal cortex.
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How to teach early years children self-regulation This helps them to meet behavioural expectations in different situations and to seek support when needed. These are skills your child begins to develop during their first five years and continues to develop throughout their life.Īs your child develops the ability to regulate their emotions, they will also begin to find ways to distract themselves when frustrated, wait for things they really want and stay calm when excited. Being aware of how we are feeling and responding to these emotions is important for our mental health and wellbeing. What are the behavioural benefits of self-regulation in early years children?īeing able to regulate emotions is important for all of us.

This is an example of emotional self-regulation and demonstrates how self-regulation and self-control are linked. Now, they are showing that they can recognise how they feel, regulate this emotion and think about what to do next. However, they can regulate their emotions, and after banging their foot down on the floor once and saying, “Oh no!”, they pick up the blocks and start to build again.Ī few months ago, or on a day when your child is very tired, the tower falling might have led to bricks being thrown or your child crying uncontrollably. Your child feels upset and frustrated, they have spent all this time building and the tower has fallen. They have spent a long time building the tower and as they place the final block the tower falls. Imagine your child is building a tower of blocks. This is something we can all find difficult sometimes and something which is very tricky for our young children. When someone shows self-control, they can stop the intuitive or reflex response to a situation. Self-control is linked to self-regulation but focuses on the response to an event : the ability to control your responses.

Emotional self-regulation is not just linked to negative emotions such as anger or sadness but also emotions such as happiness or excitement. For example, emotional self-regulation involves recognising and regulating emotional states. Self-regulation is linked to what scientists refer to as ‘internal states’. The terms self-regulation and self-control are sometimes used interchangeably, but it can be helpful to think of these as separate -but- linked processes. That’s why we provide information you can trust, backed by years of experience, science and research. At My First Five Years, we know it can be hard to sift through all the information available online and find what you want to know to help you to support your child.
