Self-regulation in young children: A skill set for lifetime success.

Abstract

On this, the first snowy day of the school year, Jocelyn's preschool class job was recess bell helper. When her assignment was initially announced at circle time, Jocelyn became exceedingly happy, romping around her area of the carpet and crawling atop the teaching assistant's back in celebration. Her focus then shifted to Miss Maria; Jocelyn played first with her hair and next with her earring, despite being reminded to focus. Jocelyn then spied her slap band bracelet nearby in a cubby. Slapping it noisily onto her wrist once, she found immediate delight in repeatedly slapping it off and on, distracting her classmates.Later, after 30 minutes of recess time on the freshly snow-covered playground, Ms. Watson reviewed Jocelyn's bell-ringing job duty with her. She was to ring the handheld brass school bell loudly six times for her classmates to hear, then promptly join them in line outside the door. Jocelyn rang the bell proudly from the top of the sledding hill, her wide smile indicating her satisfaction with her performance. Classmates began walking and running to the lineup area. Reluctant to return to the classroom, Jocelyn stayed atop the sledding hill while continuing to ring the bell. After three requests from her teacher to join the class, Jocelyn grudgingly moved toward the line, and Ms. Watson reclaimed the (continues) Copyright American Psychological Association. Not for further distribution.132 Dettmer, Clinton, and Mildon school bell. Jocelyn cried and whined as she slowly made her way into the school and down the hallway well behind her peers.Suddenly, Jocelyn realized she had lost a hair bow, which added to the upset.Jocelyn stopped and dropped to the floor calling, "My hair bow! My hair bow!" as the adults helped by backtracking and looking for it without her. Nearby classes sent students to close their doors to buffer Jocelyn's loud wails coming from the hall. Jocelyn remained there, lying in the middle of the hallway floor, refusing to walk toward class, crying, and ignoring adult prompts about choices for quite some time. SELF-REGULATION: SETTING UP CHILDREN FOR SUCCESSAs we saw in Jocelyn's case, lack of self-regulation can be frustrating for teachers, at the least. At the most, it can hinder children's abilities to learn. Self-regulation is defined as the ability to manage one's emotions and behavior in accordance with the demands of the situation (Child Mind Institute, n.d.). In preschool-age children, self-regulation often translates into not having a tantrum when things don't go their way or when unexpected things happen. As children grow, self-regulation enables them to engage in goal-directed behaviors including planning, focusing attention, remembering instructions, and juggling multiple tasks while also controlling impulses. In this way, children's brains act not as the brakes on behavior but as the air traffic control tower (Center on the Developing Child, 2012). In other words, children's brains do not simply stop certain behaviors (e.g., tantrums) from occurring but orchestrate multipl...

Examining Additive and Synergistic Relations Between Preschool Self-Regulation and Executive Function Skills: Predictions to Academic Outcomes

“…However, studies that test different conceptual notions of this dynamic have yet to consider the manifestation of these skills via teacher ratings of self-regulation. This context is critical given the strong relations between self-regulation measured within early learning environments and later life outcomes (e.g., Dettmer et al, 2020). Therefore, the following sections review empirical findings stemming from inquiry that explores independent (e.g., singular), additive (e.g., simultaneous), and synergistic (e.g., interactive) associations between teacher-rated classroom self-regulation and directly assessed executive function skills to highlight the current state of knowledge on their unique and joint implications for academic achievement.…”

Association between physical activity and self‐regulation in early childhood: A systematic review

“…On the other hand, it is possible that PA behaviors also contribute to the development of self‐regulation skills. Evidence suggests that PA promotes morphological changes to significant brain areas (e.g., pre‐frontal cortex and limbic systems) that are fundamental to the development of self‐regulation 25–27 . Long‐term PA also boosts neurogenesis by elevating the levels of neurotropic factors thereby boosting brain development, 28 although evidence for this in young children is unclear.…”

“…Evidence suggests that PA promotes morphological changes to significant brain areas (e.g., pre-frontal cortex and limbic systems) that are fundamental to the development of self-regulation. [25][26][27] Long-term PA also boosts neurogenesis by elevating the levels of neurotropic factors thereby boosting brain development, 28 although evidence for this in young children is unclear. Whether an association exists between self-regulation and PA, and the direction of this potential association, remains unclear in young children and needs further investigation.…”