Self-Regulation Development Continues...Ages 5-10

Development of Self-Regulation: It doesn’t just “happen” … a lens for understanding self-regulation interventions across development. ….https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/opre/acf_report_4_final_rev_11182016_b5082.pdf

This report is the fourth and final in a series entitled Self-Regulation and Toxic Stress. The first three reports in this series laid out an applied framework for self-regulation development.  This is a 50 page report

“• Self-regulation develops over an extended period from birth through young adulthood (and beyond). Although self-regulation can look very different at different ages, there is a pattern of development across cognitive, emotional, and behavioral domains in which skills build upon each other and become more complex over time as environmental demands and expectations requiring self-regulation increase….”(page 9)

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•” Self-regulation develops in the context of social relationships and is dependent on “coregulation” provided by parents or other caregiving adults. Co-regulation is defined as an interactional process in which a caregiver (i.e., parent, teacher, mentor, or program staff) provides support, coaching, and modeling that facilitates a child’s ability to understand, express, and modulate their feelings, thoughts, and behavior. In co-regulation, caregivers provide the nurturing, instruction, coaching, and support that will promote optimal self-regulation by the child, while simultaneously buffering against environmental stressors that might diminish regulatory capacity….”(Page 9)

“Self-Regulation Development and Co-Regulations for Ages 5-10” [Note the wide age span](Page 30)

Self-Regulation Characteristics

*Use of cognitive strategies and internal speech

*Increased cognitive flexibility, attention control, and more accurate appraisal of situations

*emerging ability to manage emotion “in the moment”

*empathy and concern for others may motivate behavior

*social problem solving emerges

*increased ability to organize behavior in more complex ways to achieve goals

Caregiver Support

*Teach Problem-solving

*Model conflict resolution strategies

*Provide time, space, and support to manage emotion

*Model, prompt and reinforce (“coach”) organization and time management skills

*Monitor task completion while encouraging independence and providing external consequences as needed