15.19: Emotional Competence and Self-Regulation- A Strategy to Support Emotional Development

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Amanda Taintor

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A Strategy to Support Emotional Development

Emotional Competence and Self-Regulation, ECSEL, is based on the emotional foundations of learning and cognition. ECSEL aims to help young children develop emotional competence on their path toward effective self-regulation. It teaches emotional competence to children as young as infants, helping enhance emotion regulation, self-regulation, and promote a positive sense of self, mental health, and well-being .[1]

Promoting the growth of self-regulation development and co-regulation from birth through age 2[1]
Developmental Stage	Characteristics of Self-Regulation in Infants	How Caregivers Can Provide Co-Regulation
Infancy (birth to age 1)	Orient attention away from stressors Engage caregivers as resources for comfort Begin to self-soothe	Interact in warm, responsive ways Anticipate and respond quickly to child's needs Provide physical and emotional comfort when a child is stressed Modify environment to decrease demands/stress
Toddlerhood (ages 1–2, approximately)	Begin to select and shift attention (attentional control) Adjust behavior to achieve simple goals Delay gratification and inhibit responses for short periods when there is structure and support Emotions are stronger than cognitive regulation Feelings of attachment support prosocial goals	Reassure/calm the child when upset by removing the child from situations or speaking calmly and giving affection Model self-calming strategies Teach rules and redirecting to regulate behavior

Caregivers of infants and toddlers must pay attention to and document children’s feelings and emotional responses: suggest words for and help children name their feelings rather than telling children what they feel. This strategy gives children a vocabulary for feelings and communicates that they are the ones who know their feelings best. Emotional language support helps children understand what causes their feelings. Offer children, rather than tell them, possible explanations to help determine the cause of their emotion. Pay attention to your own emotional responses as young children are keenly sensitive to tone of voice and facial expressions. Model respectful, appropriate expressions of emotion, facial expressions, and tone of voice that matches feelings. Loud or intensely angry tones can be overwhelming and frightening for children.[2]

Caregivers support regulation of emotions by learning each child's preferred way of being comforted. Identify or name for children what helps them feel comforted. Acknowledge when children seek comfort or comfort themselves. Collaborate with children in providing comfort for them. Keep in mind children are able to comfort themselves. Demonstrate acceptance for all of the feelings children express. Young children use social referencing, meaning they look to adults to "read" how things are going throughout the day. When someone is crying, a teacher can provide a calm, accepting, and empathic tone to help children learn that crying is natural and related to feelings of sadness, frustration, fear, and anger. Likewise, a teacher who responds calmly when angry or afraid helps children learn that such feelings are valid and appropriate.[2]

Definition: Social Referencing

The process by which one individual consults another’s emotional expressions to determine how to evaluate and respond to circumstances that are ambiguous or uncertain.

[1] Housman, D.K. The importance of emotional competence and self-regulation from birth: a case for the evidence-based emotional cognitive social early learning approach is licensed CC BY

[2] California Department of Education (CDE Press). Development Foundations: Social-Emotional Development . Is used with permission