Self Regulation: An Introduction

Over the past two months, teachers have engaged in an intensive study of self regulation, understanding the latest research, thinking about to help children develop in this area, and incorporating specific teaching of the skills into our daily curriculum.  We began by reading the text Beyond Behavior Management by Jenna Bilmes.  We invite you to join us in this study.  Look for a series of blog posts (marked by the brown life skills logo) on the topic, and come ask us about it.

"One of the most troubling challenges for [parents and] early childhood teachers is the child who lacks emotional self management skills.  These children might hit before they think, can't wait for a turn, or cry and have tantrums easily.  Teachers might observe that these kids seems to be controlled by their emotions, much as newborns are.  When newborns are hungry, they cry.  When they are colicky, they kick their legs and scream.  When they sense a nipple, they root and latch on.  No thought goes into this behavior.  Newborns feels and then do.  Children who lack emotional self management skills appear to behave in a similar way."  Beyond Behavior Management by Jenna Bilmes, page 7.

So what can we do, both at home and at school, to help our children develop self regulation?  Later this week, we'll introduce the building blocks of self regulation, and then we'll focus on specific strategies you can use at home.