Self-Regulation and its Significance
The term “self-regulation” is used to refer to a range of characteristics and abilities. A child with self -regulatory skills is able to focus his attention, control his emotions and manage his thinking, behaviour and feelings. Self-regulation is the ability to monitor and manage your energy states, emotions, thoughts, and behaviours in ways that are acceptable and produce positive results such as well-being, loving relationships, and learning. It is one of the big developmental tasks of childhood. It is how we deal with stressors and as such, lays the foundation for all other activity.
Adults are very good at multitasking, but children are not. An adult can be cooking dinner, talking on the phone and thinking about what to make for dessert all at the same time, whereas a child may go upstairs intending to brush his teeth and get distracted as soon as he sees his favourite toy at the top of the stairs. An adult can receive a present they dislike but still smile and thank the gift bearer graciously.
A child will receive a gift they don’t like and state, “I don’t want this!” and start to cry. Young children tend to live “in the moment” and are ruled by their impulses and their immediate desires or feelings, while adults can filter out distractions, exercise control and decide what is an “appropriate” response before we speak or act.
Developing self-regulation requires self-awareness, emotional intelligence, efficient filtering of sensory stimulation, coping effectively with stress, relating well to others, and sustaining focus. Sometimes, kids develop it naturally from being around self-regulating adults, from playing and exercising, from being in nature, eating healthy foods, and getting plenty of sleep. Other times, however, kids are over-stimulated, around adults who are stressed and are not getting enough exercise, time outside in nature, sleep, hydration, and healthy food. These kids struggle with attention, learning, impulse control and relationships.
As children develop motor skills and process sensory information, they start to understand how their body can move slow, fast and all the speeds in between. Over time, children begin to learn to self-regulate and determine their “just right” body state that is ready to learn. It is the ability to control emotions, thinking, behaviour and motor actions in different situations.
Children do develop better self-regulatory skills as they get older, however, some children require more support in these coping skills than others. Children who grow up in loving, stable environments with predictable routines and structure are better at developing these skills than children who grow up in disadvantaged environments where they lack stability and routines and where their families are exposed to high levels of stress. In working with special needs children, we have also noted that children who were born prematurely or who were born drug exposed also show more difficulty with self-regulation.
Children who have difficulty with self-regulation also tend to have trouble with learning and academics and are at risk for problems with aggression, anti-social behaviour and depression. It is important for teachers and caregivers to be aware of this so that they can support the children with self-regulation skills during early years.
Some recent research has also shown that self-regulation is ranked as the most important characteristic necessary for school readiness by kindergarten teachers and that there is evidence that early self-regulation levels have a stronger association with school readiness than IQ or academic readiness.(daytodayparenting.com)