Early Years – Emotional Regulation – Short description

What is Emotional Regulation?

Emotional regulation or self-regulation is the ability to monitor and modulate which emotions one has, when you have them, and how you experience and express them.

Why is emotional self-regulation so important for healthy functioning and early intervention?

Learning to self-regulate is a key milestone in a child’s development, whose foundations are laid in the earliest years of life. A child’s capacity to regulate their emotions affects their family and peer relationships, academic performance, long-term mental health, and their ability to thrive in a complex world.

What can teachers do to improve and support emotional self-regulation of the young people they support?

Modelling appropriate behaviour is also important during the childhood years. The best way to teach your child to react to anger appropriately is to show her how. Evidence suggests that children pick up our emotions, and that those exposed to many negative emotions are more likely to struggle.

We have developed two videos to help teachers facilitate conversations around emotions.  You can use the first video with your class or groups of pupils.  The second video will talk you through how to use the first and give you some ideas on how to facilitate discussions around emotions.  We also have some emotion based exercises in our resource section.