How to develop self-regulation in your children?

What is self-regulation?

Self-regulation is the practice of understanding and managing your behaviors and reactions to situations.

It includes being able to:

• Manage responses to emotions like frustration, happiness, anger, etc.
• Calm down after some great or worst experiences.
• Stay focused on a task
• Pay attention to the important
• Control instant reactions
• Behave in such a way that helps you connect with other people.
• Try to model self-regulation frameworks for your children.

Why is self-regulation important?

Self-regulation is important for your children because:

• Self-regulation gives your child the ability to learn in the classroom.
• Self-regulation helps them to have control over their emotions
• Self-regulation help children to approach people in a gentle manner which further results in making more friends.
• Self-regulation brings confidence in children and encourages them to make relevant decisions depending upon the situation.

How and when does self-regulation develop?

Self-regulation starts when your kids are babies. Mostly, it starts developing in the preschool years, but kids start understanding it through their school ages.

Preschool kids start understanding how to play with other kids. They figure out how to make friends and even understand how to convince them to play together.

School-age children get better at controlling their wants, thinking about someone’s perspectives, and seeing both sides of a situation.

Preteens and teenagers start getting better at planning, sticking with the tasks, and behaving in socially appropriate ways. They also consider how their behavior may affect other people. Your teenage child might think about your perspective when they discuss their point of view on any topic.

Helping children learn and practice self-regulation

Here are some practical ways you can help your child learn and practice self-regulation:

• You should work on your child’s skills.
• Put your kids into some difficult situations and ask them to come out. Look what ways they find out. Do not overpower anything, but you should do this activity from time to time to develop them.
• Praise your children when they perform self-regulation and manage a tricky situation.
• Try to model self-regulation frameworks for your children. Teach them and make them realize the importance of self-regulation.

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