self regulation temperamentandattachment.pdf
Beyond the Journal • Young Children on the Web • July 2006 1
Linda Groves Gillespie
and Nancy L. Seibel
Self-Regulation
A Cornerstone of Early Childhood Development
Imagine you are in your car waiting for anothe
driver to pull out of a parking space. The ca
pulls out of the space, but before you can pull
in, another car whips around the corner and
takes it. You lay on your horn, roll down you
window, and yell, “Can’t you see I was waiting
for that parking space!” The driver gets out of his
car, laughs, and walks away. You get out of you
car and yell, “How dare you! Come back here!”
YOUR INTENSE RESPONSE IN THIS SITUATION could be
considered a loss of self-control or a
eakdown in
emotional regulation. Even as adults, we can be
overwhelmed by emotions, although we probably
have learned some strategies to help us regain
control. We may take a deep
eath, count to ten, call
a friend, or choose to let go of our frustration. We can
think about what happened and why we reacted so
strongly. But when very young children have such
feelings, they are not yet able to do these things.
Babies are born with some ability for self-regulation,
ut they cannot always control thei
strong emotions. Infants and tod-
dlers who are overwhelmed depend
on the outside help, or external regu-
lation, that responsive caregivers
provide. Through caring relation-
ships with adults, babies begin to
develop their ability to self-regulate,
an ability they will continue to work
on and need throughout their lives.
Developing self-regulation
What is self-regulation and why is it important? In the report
From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood
Development, Shonkoff and Phillips XXXXXXXXXXdefine self-regulation
as a child’s ability to gain control of bodily functions, manage
powerful emotions, and maintain focus and attention. The
growth of self-regulation is a cornerstone of early childhood
development and is visible in all areas of behavior (Shonkoff &
Phillips XXXXXXXXXXWhen caring for an infant or toddler, parents and
caregivers act as extensions of or supports for the child’s
internal ability to regulate. The adults put a young baby’s
pacifier back in her mouth, provide a soft blanket for a toddle
falling asleep, and use consistent routines to support self-
egulation by helping very young children know what to expect.
Feeding is one example of a daily routine that adults struc-
ture for infants and toddlers. The feeding process requires
several aspects of self-regulation. Physically, it requires a baby
to suck, swallow, and
eathe. Emotionally, a baby’s cries signal
Young Children • July 2006
Linda Groves Gillespie, MS, is a
senior training specialist at Zero to
Three in Washington, D.C. Linda has
studied and worked in the field of
parent and infant development for 25
years.
Nancy L. Seibel, MEd, NCC, LPC, is
director of Zero to Three’s Center for Training Services.
Her professional interests include infant mental health,
child abuse prevention and treatment, and relationship-
ased and reflective supervision.
Illustrations © Nicole Tadgell.
The growth of
self-regulation
is a corner-
stone of early
childhood
development
and is visible
in all areas of
ehavior.
©
C
. N
av
as
Beyond the Journal • Young Children on the Web • July 2006
Beyond the Journal • Young Children on the Web • July 2006 2
While feeding, Hosea gazes at his mother’s face. Naomi
talks to him soothingly, facilitating the feeding process by
associating it with a pleasant atmosphere and warm
feelings. Over time Hosea has repeated experiences of
feeling hunger, signaling his distress by crying,
and having his needs met by a caring adult.
Although feeling hungry is uncomfortable,
Hosea learns that this feeling will pass. He
learns to trust that an adult will come,
help him calm himself, and then provide
the milk he needs. An attuned, respon-
sive adult helps a child build the capac-
ity to wait, knowing his needs will soon
e met (Pe
y 2005).
Hosea, now eight months old, sits in a
high chair. He fusses because he is hun-
gry. Eleanor, his caregiver, calls to him,
“I’m fixing your food. I will feed you in a
minute.” Hosea quiets upon hearing her voice.
Eleanor a
ives a few minutes later with a bowl
of food, and Hosea bounces in his seat in anticipa-
tion. Eleanor dips the spoon into the bowl and
ings
the food to Hosea’s mouth. He swallows and opens
his mouth for more. After a few bites, Hosea grabs
the spoon. Eleanor says, “I knew you were going to
want that spoon. I will use another one to feed you.”
Throughout this interaction Eleanor talks to and
smiles at Hosea. Hosea responds with conversa-
tional sounds and smiles. At one point Hosea offers
Eleanor imaginary food with his spoon, and she pre-
tends to take a bite.
In this scenario Hosea’s behavior shows his growth
since he was three months old in both the cognitive and
emotional areas of self-regulation. He has gained more
control over his body, emotions, and attention. Eleanor’s
ve
al cue signals him that his food is coming, and he
voice provides enough external regulation to help him
stop fussing. When Hosea sees Eleanor with the bowl, he
ecomes excited; he knows from past experiences that his
need for food is being met.
Eleanor talks to Hosea while feeding him, creating the
positive social interaction he has come to expect as part
of the mealtime routine. Hosea shows his beginning need
for independence and his ability to imitate when he takes
the spoon from Eleanor and offers to feed her. Supporting
Hosea’s emerging independence, she lets him have the
spoon. She also permits his continued dependence by
her distressed reaction to hunger. Cognitively, a baby attends
to the task of feeding long enough to become full. Imagine the
three scenarios that follow.
Hosea is three months old. His mother, Naomi, comes
to the child care center during her lunch hour to
east-feed him. Naomi holds Hosea and offers him
her
east. Hosea latches on to her nipple and nurses.
He watches Naomi as he nurses. She smiles and
talks to him in a low, soothing voice. Hosea pauses
in his sucking to smile at his mother, who smiles
ack and gently jostles him to
ing his attention
ack to the task of nursing.
When Naomi feeds Hosea, she meets his
asic need for food. Perhaps he cried to
signal that he was hungry. Although he
may have had to wait a few minutes,
his developing capacity to self-regu-
late is supported by his mother’s
esponse. Experiences with man-
ageable challenges, like having to
wait a short time to be fed, pro-
mote healthy emotional regulation
(Shonkoff & Phillips 2000).
Experiences with manageable challenges,
like having to wait a short time to be fed,
promote healthy emotional regulation.
©
M
a
ily
n
N
ol
t
Beyond the Journal • Young Children on the Web • July 2006 3
ecognizing that he still needs her to feed him. She fosters
his developing empathy (part of his emotional develop-
ment) by pretending to eat the imaginary food he offers her.
Hosea at 18 months sits in a booster seat at a table
with other toddlers. Eleanor sits next to him at the
table, eating her own meal. Holding his spoon in one
hand, Hosea busily shoves food into his mouth with
the other. Eleanor gives the children foods they can
easily pick up. She encourages Hosea to use his
spoon. Eleanor talks to Hosea about what he is
eating: “Those strawbe
ies are so good! You are
eally hungry.” As his hunger subsides, Hosea uses
his spoon to get the last few bites of fruit. Eleano
comments, “You used your spoon to get that last
strawbe
y. Good for you!”
Even though Hosea can use a spoon, when he is really
hungry, he goes back to using his hands. Eleanor is patient
as Hosea acquires self-feeding skills. The teacher provides
social interaction and emotional engagement as she sits
with Hosea and talks about what he is eating. In the pres-
ence of his teacher’s calm, supportive interactions, Hosea
eventually uses his spoon, and Eleanor comments
positively on this. Through consistent feeding
outines, Hosea learns that people respond to
him in positive, nurturing ways and that the
world is a safe place. Caring, consistent rela-
tionships with adults provide external sup-
ports that serve as the basis for developing self-
egulation.
One of a child’s most important developmental
tasks is moving from external regulation to self-regulation
(Shonkoff & Phillips 2000; Pe
y XXXXXXXXXXHosea’s growing
capacity for self-regulation integrates his cognitive, physi-
cal, and social-emotional abilities. The three vignettes
show the beginnings of this process and how supportive,
esponsive adults facilitate it.
Temperament and goodness of fit
Imagine that when Naomi responded to Hosea’s hungry
cries in the first vignette, he arched his back and
screamed. Or instead of latching on to the
east to nurse,
he was distracted by the slightest sound or movement.
Suppose this fussiness or distractibility continued, and
Naomi became stressed trying to figure out how to meet
Hosea’s needs. Hosea’s view of the world would be differ-
ent if Naomi could not read his cues and meet his needs.
His capacity for self-regulation would be unlikely to de-
velop as smoothly as the vignettes describe.
A baby’s temperament can have an impact on a care-
giver’s ability to meet the baby’s needs. Temperament refers
to a person’s characteristics or traits that are biologically
ased and consistent over time. Temperament influences
how we respond to people and our su
oundings
(Thomas & Chess XXXXXXXXXXWhile Thomas and
Chess’s research shows that temperament char-
acteristics tend to remain consistent over time,
how they are expressed changes as a child ma-
tures. For example, a highly active child can be-
come an extremely energetic adult who is able to
accomplish many tasks in the course of a day. Temperament
traits like mood, i
itability, and adaptability can affect a
aby’s capacity for emotional regulation (Thompson 2001).
Temperament traits can be thought of as existing along
a continuum from high to low. Such traits are not “good” o
“bad,” but when they fall at the high or low end of the
continuum, a child may have some difficulty with self-
egulation. For example, with the activity level trait (see
“Temperament Traits”), children’s activity level may fall at
the high end or the low end of the continuum, the child
eing either very active or not very active. Very active
children may need adults who offer them opportunities to
safely use their energy as well as calming strategies to
help them quiet down and get ready for story or nap time.