Have you ever faced situations that made you control your emotions with a deep breath? Children are also liable to such frustrations. Hence, they will have to develop skills to control their actions. There arises a need for self-regulation.
Self-regulation is an essential principle to behave right in life. Being mindful of one's actions is the first step to self-regulation. It allows a person to think of the consequences and act accordingly. Developing self-regulation at an early age is the key to effective socialization. Therefore, schools in Chennai, like Babaji Vidhyashram school, take steps to create mindfulness and integrate it into the education system.
Ways to Inculcate Self-regulation in Preschoolers
Pre-schooling is the perfect time to make children indulge in self-care activities. Sensory exploration and active play are supportive exercises to develop self-regulation. We all face stress due to various environmental factors and technological advancements. Hence, we have to focus more on relaxation techniques. Doing so will let children concentrate, analyze and reflect.
The simple techniques to promote self-regulation are:
- Organizing a 90-120 minutes session of physical education with more active play.
- Encouraging impulse control and teaching thoughtful behaviour with emotional resilience.
- Reinforcing brain break activities to manage stress.
- Enhancing learning with better focus.
"Name it to tame it" is a three-step recipe for self-regulation. Anybody can teach children self-regulation through this simple technique.
- Step 1: Ask the child to notice the feeling. Interrogate with questions like,
- Do you feel your heart racing?
- Do you want to cry?
- Do you feel something in your throat?
- Step 2: Affirm and name the feeling. For example, you can tell the student that they feel sad as you can see their tears.
- Step 3: Help students respond to the feeling positively. Teach them to analyze their present state of mind and engage in an activity that will create a good mindset. You can lead them through the right path by teaching them how to respond without losing their cool.
Self-Regulation Challenges in Preschoolers
Every child is unique. A few preschoolers have difficulty filtering facts and coping with situations. It is normal behaviour, and such kids are in a critical position to practice self-regulation. It would be best to understand what causes the struggle to address it effectively.
Our mind-body coordination is complex and so it cannot on a particular task. During overwhelming scenarios, we have to shift our focus from the new information. Then we must concentrate on the current things at hand. The lower brain is responsible for reacting to various stimuli. When too many instances approach, kids find it hard to create a connection. Thereby they face a real challenge to self-regulate their thoughts.
To establish a good connection, there must be a sync between the lower, upper, and mid-brain.
- The lower brain responds to changes in the environment, body sensations and memories.
- Mid-brain is the emotional centre to filter and decide how to react to sensory messages.
- The upper brain helps to eliminate distractions and concentrate on a single task. Through practice, it is possible to plan and reflect without diversions.
Implementing self-care with reflecting exercises are the best ways to act mindfully. Doing so will engage the upper brain and shutdown external distractions.
What do children achieve through self-regulation?
As you tune kids' brains to manage their behaviours, feelings and thoughts, they:
- Think before acting
- Focus on their goals
- Adapt to environmental changes
- Wait for their turn
- Stay calm during hardships
- Co-operate with others
- Become attentive
- Avoid distractions
All these become possible with brain developing techniques to manage stress. Eventually, it increases the child's ability to learn and practice.
Effective Activities for Self-Regulation
By now, you would have understood that self-regulation integrates functioning with focus. Let us see the five simple activities suggested by IB board schools in Chennai, like International Village School.
Physical Activities
Include slow and cross-lateral movements like aerobics in schools. Use your creativity to create new movements. You can introduce props along with music or drums and make them move to the beats. Take care to combine fast and slow movements. Doing so will effectively relax and recharge the students. Eventually, this helps reset the child's central nervous system for effective learning.
Mindfulness
Support kids to take things slow. You must understand that it is easy to assess thoughts when things slow down. Be it processing thoughts or speaking, ask students to be mindful and do it in slow motion. Include slow breathing exercises to enhance relaxation further.
Pretend Play
Pretend play will help children to develop friendliness. You can make it more interesting for children by asking them to play the role of their famous book characters. Make students enact scenes to enhance interaction and responses. Doing so will help children explore various strategies and methods. Eventually, they will learn to be kind in numerous ways and handle situations.
Reflective Activities
Set targets and goals for every activity. Doing so will help kids become self-aware with emotional literacy. Provide feedback and nurture their confidence throughout the activity. Frequent questioning and support will help children improve their observation.
Consumption of Water
Drinking water every twenty minutes will offer a small break from routine. It is the best way to destress the mind. This will help children focus better and have good control over challenging circumstances.
Summing It Up
Self-regulation is the key to happiness and success. It helps children perform well without disappointment, frustration and anger. Most importantly, self-regulation develops the brain, benefiting children with ADHD and LD.
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