Teaching Self Regulation to Preschoolers

I’ve been doing a little research for an upcoming training. I thought I understood the importance of a teaching social emotional skills, but it really hit home when I read why we need to help young children learn self regulation. In the article, Promoting Children’s Social and Emotional Development Through Preschool Education (Preschool Policy Brief March 2005, National Institute for Early Education Research) by Judi Boyd, W. Steven Barnett, Elena Bodrova, Deborah J. Leong, and Deanna Gomby, the authors write "if preschoolers do not practice self-regulation enough, the related brain areas will not be fully developed" I find that statement so powerful. Adults must teach children how to self regulate behavior or the ability to do so may not fully develop. As preschool teachers, we have a tremendous opportunity ( and responsibility) to teach skills which can make a positive difference in the lives of the children in our classrooms.
I hope to effectively share this information with the parents in my classroom. Parents need to understand if they do not take the time to teach skills to their preschooler, they are more likely to have to deal with self regulation issues in the future.

You can learn more about this topic at: http://nieer.org/resources/policyreports/report7.pdf