Have you ever wondered what skills would’ve been useful to learn as a child? Maybe whistling or learning how to jump rope are at the top of your list. Here is our blog where we explore the subject of self-regulation and how it can be beneficial to children’s learning & development.
Early Years experts have found that self-regulation is incredibly important for the growth and progress of a child’s development, and with this quick guide we are inviting you to consider ways you can put that into practice at your nursery setting. From its definition to the roles both parents and educators play in it, to how Nursery Story can facilitate you mastering self-regulation we simply want to help make your setting the number one choice amongst parents.
What is self-regulation?
Self-regulation allows children to adjust emotions, thoughts, and behaviour in ways that create positive internal states. As most educators know, young children can get upset or overwhelmed easily, and they don’t always know how to manage that kind of disruption.
When children learn self-regulation, they’re better equipped to soothe themselves and balance their emotions. In turn, better emotional management can support other important functions, like learning and interacting with others.
In other words, encouraging and supporting self-regulation gives young children more autonomy, more confidence, and better communication skills. We can say that self-regulation is a lifelong skill that improves children’s chances of personal and professional success throughout their entire lives.
The role of parents and early years educators
The road to self-regulation is a gradual process. Nobody is born with perfect self-regulation skills, so adults play a crucial role in the early years, when children haven’t yet developed this ability.
Co-regulation sets the basis of self-regulation, which is why the Early Years curriculum is geared towards helping kids develop these skills, first through awareness, and later with specific strategies.
Why is self-regulation important in nursery settings?
Children are very sensitive to change. Any disruption to their routine can have a huge impact on their feelings, thoughts, and behaviour. And if they don’t have the tools to cope with disruption, their growth and progress can stall.
Over the past two years, children have been exposed to lots of changes, many of which are hard to cope with, even for adults. This situation makes it even more important to prioritise self-regulation skills in the Early Years environment, since this ability can help children tackle stress related to Covid or any changes that impact their life.
How Nursery Story supports self-regulation in the Early Years
As a nursery management software, we aim to support early years practitioners in all aspects of nursery management. Since the beginning of Nursery Story development, simplicity has been a crucial part of our design process, so childcare businesses can effortlessly switch from paper to digital and concentrate on what’s more important; the learning and development process of all children.
Having said that, when we support early years practitioners with nursery management, we are helping you find more time to be with the children and keep them feeling more confident in their ability to solve problems.
But not only that, our continued development work is based on your nursery’s day-to-day operations and communications needs. So we are looking forward to ensuring children get all the support they need during these challenging times.
Nursery Story’s new features help automate nursery management and make your job more enjoyable. If you need more details on the new upcoming features, get in touch or book a meeting. We can’t wait to show how much better Nursery Story is this year!