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Introduction

According to the Massachusetts Early Learning Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers (2010); “healthy social and emotional development refers to a child’s developing capacity to experience, regulate, and express a full range of positive and negative emotions in socially and culturally appropriate ways; to form close and secure adult and peer relationships; and actively explore environments and learn” (p. 16).

As infants emotional responses become refined and manageable, with your support, they can begin to develop self-regulation skills, which are critical to gaining control of bodily functions, managing powerful emotions, and maintaining focus and attention. Because social-emotional development is influenced by biology (temperament and genetic influences), environment, and relationships, we need to consider infant’s temperament and be willing to make accommodations can benefit the child in becoming more self-regulated.

Self-regulation is an essential skill for success in life.  Various components or skills of self-regulation correlate with academic achievement. The self regulations skills of paying attention, controlling impulsive behavior, and staying on task are most important.  One particular aspect of self-regulation, inhibitory control, is used in planning, problem solving, and goal directed activity. The skills listed are essential for executive functioning. Inhibitory control is predictive of all academic outcomes but was particularly associated with early ability in math.

There are developmental trends in self-regulation.  One is that “other” regulation develops BEFORE self-regulation. Other-regulation is being regulated by someone else.  This is distinguished from self-regulation in which one regulates oneself.” (Bodrova and Leong 2007, 81)  Other-regulation is the first step in self-regulation when the adult structures the task and then gradually lets the child take it over. We call this technique scaffolding.

Another developmental characteristic is that children are able to follow instructions to “do” something, before they can follow directions to “stop doing” something.  It is not until the age of about 3 years that a child is able to voluntarily inhibit or stop a response.  This makes it appear that they are finally “remembering” a rule, but it is really more about now being able to stop the behavior.

“Behavioral inhibition is an executive process with a central role in self-regulation,” and “…it is a prerequisite for all other executive functioning.” (Bronson 2000, 151)  Focus on inhibition first then move out to other skills.

Supporting self-regulation in a developmentally appropriate manner

Guidance and activities to support self-regulation must be developmentally appropriate.  Activities must be challenging enough so learning can occur, but not too challenging that they are overly stressful.  Young children begin to construct the executive functions of the prefrontal cortex through their play.  When children play, especially when they play with others, they are creating neural models of what they want to play, usually with words, since language builds models.

Goal directed play is when children:

1. Decide what to do, how to play, and with whom
2. Organize and set it up.
3. Play in a way that supports or fits with the theme or game.
4. Sustain the play in accord with the intent or end the play early due to it not coming together as intended

Remember you are a powerful role model for self-regulation and the executive functions.  How do you model problem solving?  In what types of situations do the infants and toddlers see you exhibit self-control?  Planning?  Setting goals?  How do you model dealing with frustration?  What tips or techniques could you teach toddlers?

Try to be “transparent” when you solve problems- big ones and little ones.  Talk out loud about how you are thinking as you figure it out.  They really ARE listening!

Using preventative techniques to guide behavior

Use positive speech with infants and toddlers, telling them what “to” do, rather than what “not” to do.  For example: “Keep the paint on the paper.”  “Use two hands when you carry your plate to the sink.”   An effective technique is to use redirection, giving the child an acceptable alternative or outlet for the unacceptable behavior.  “Jump over here where there is a big open space.”  Redirection that is followed by a short explanation of “why” gives the child even more information that she can potentially use in a similar situation as she becomes more she becomes more self-regulated.  For example, “Keep the blocks over here by your building so no one will step on them as they walk by.  Sometimes when people step on a block they can fall down and get hurt.”

Teaching ideas

The Massachusetts Early Learning Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers in the area of  social-emotional development for the infants and toddlers are:

• Relates to, trusts and becomes attached to consistent educators.
• Notices and interacts with children of a similar age.
• Acts as a social being by engaging with others and the world around them.
• Experiences and expresses a range of emotions.
• Begins and progresses in regulating own feelings and behavior
• Develops a positive sense of self.

Here are ideas that could promote the social and emotional growth of infants and toddlers you will teach.

Dramatic play is a major support for self-regulation.  When a child is pretending they are a cat, they cannot answer the phone!  You must lap milk from a bowl, not drink it from a glass!  Thus, the child must inhibit doing just anything – and stay within the role.  If a child is playing injured, he must not move until the ambulance comes.  Pretend play has inherent rules in it that must be followed, or you are “not playing right”!

Constructive play (like block building, painting, and drawing) provide scaffolding for self-regulation, especially when done in groups.  Children have a goal, they decide who does what, and then they begin to put their plans to work, and they assess and evaluate their progress in relation to their goal.

Inhibiting movement is another important skill.  For example, the drum game that requires children to move the way the drum tells you to move. Change the beat from very slow to very fast, and change it by pattern or rhythm also model moving to the beat.  This is a terrific game for doing some very active, but controlled movement, and it also supports careful listening and paying attention.

Remind families to eliminate or minimize the amount of time a toddler watches television or other passive media. The American Academy of Pediatrics (2016) recommendations for infant and toddlers are:

• For children younger than 18 months, avoid use of screen media other than video-chatting. Parents of children 18 to 24 months of age who want to introduce digital media should choose high-quality programming, and watch it with their children to help them understand what they’re seeing.
• Designate media-free times together, such as dinner or driving, as well as media-free locations at home, such as bedrooms.
• Have ongoing communication about online citizenship and safety, including treating others with respect online and offline.
• AAP provides a  Family Media Use Plan tool on their website.

Minimizing the amount of times a toddler hears “no” by creating a safe space for successful play and discovery.

Provide enough developmentally appropriate toys and materials for the number and ages of children in the group. Having two or three of items (same books, trucks, balls) promotes parallel play.

 Create an environment that enhances learning, minimizes inappropriate behavior and reinforces a toddler’s need for self-competence through:

•  Appropriate spaces for specific activities. For example: an area that allows for easy cleanup for art, sand or water play, a quiet area for manipulative play, reading and literacy experiences. Active play such as gross motor should not be near the quiet area.
•  Open and usable space for toddlers to move freely about during play.
• Spaces both indoors and outdoors that provides for both active play such as climbing and quiet play.  Use of the outside for activities (art, science, math); physical activities, walks, connecting toddlers to the neighborhood.
•  Spaces including group play areas, as well as semi-private spaces where toddlers can safely play away from the large group.
• Pictures and items from the child’s home and family to maintain a connection to family and reinforce a sense of belonging.
• Organize recyclables, paper and toddler-safe art media (waterproof, non-toxic tempera, washable markers, chunky crayons, playdough) that children can safely take out, use and put back.
•  Encourage toddlers’ growing gender identity by allowing them to take on a variety of roles during imaginative play. Avoid gender-specific toys such as baby dolls only for girls or trucks only for boys, or primary colored toys for boys, pastels for girls, etc. These differences begin to socialize children into stereotypical gender roles and preferences, which could limit their understanding of social diversity.
• Show diverse cultures in displays or pictures. Toddlers need to see themselves and their families reflected in the environment.
• Develop a partnership with families so that care routines and family child rearing practices across home, school and cultural environments reinforce each other.

How will you create an environment, schedule, and plan to teach these skills and behaviors?

References and Resources to explore

• Bodrova, E. and Leong, D, J. (2007). Tools of the Mind: The Vygotskian Approach to Early Childhood Education. 2nd Ed. New Jersey: Pearson Education.
• Bronson, M. B. (2000). Self-Regulation in Early Childhood: Nature and Nurture. New York: The Guilford Press.
• Elliot, E., & Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2011). Babies’ Self-Regulation Taking a Broad Perspective. YC: Young Children, 66(1), 28-32. [Available on Blackboard or at the BSU library]
• Gallagher, K.C. & Mayer, K. (2008). Enhancing development and learning through teacher-child relationships. Young Children, 63(6), 80-87. [Available on Blackboard or at the BSU library]
  Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2012). On the Way to Friendship: Growing Peer Relationships among Infants and Toddlers. Exchange, (205), 48-50. [Available on Blackboard or at the BSU library]
  Lally, J.R. (2009). The Science and Psychology of Infant-Toddler Care. Zero to Three, 47-53 Available on Blackboard
  Wittmer, D. S. (2008) Turning the lens to Infant and Toddler Peer Relationships. Zero to Three, 5-21 [Available on Blackboard or at the BSU library]