How to Teach Self-Regulation Skills to Children

Self-regulation is the ability to manage your emotions and behavior in accordance with the demands of the situation. It includes being able to resist highly emotional reactions to upsetting stimuli, calm yourself down when you get upset, adjust to a change in expectations, and handle frustration. The key to teaching these skills to children is to model them until they can produce the results on their own. Teachers can offer tips and strategies that they've used personally in pursuit of their goals by offering the rewards they gain from giving up something that they'd like to do for study.