Running Head: CHILD GUIDANCE 1

Child Guidance in the Early Childhood Classroom

Katie Weldon

Fresno Pacific University

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In most developed countries of the world, educational curriculum has a heavy emphasis

on the importance of self-regulation in the early childhood years. The mark of well adjusted child

is one who can harness intrinsic motivation to make wise choices in the classroom free of

directives or the threat of punishment. By teaching children how to properly handle their

emotions, as well as impulse control and the balance of motivation and action, educators set their

students up for a lifetime of success. Such behaviors transcend all subject matter commonly

taught in school and characterize peak performers in all walks of life (Kostelnik, Soderman,

Phipps Whiren, & Rupiper, 2015, p. 166). By understanding the stages of the development of

self-regulation, how different life experiences affect that development, and how to properly teach

children in different situations, teachers have an opportunity to make a positive impact on more

than just the studies of their students.

Children are not born with an intuition as to what is socially acceptable and what is not.

There is no sense of good or bad in the infant child. It is difficult to pin down the age at which

children transition from one stage of development to the next, which further emphasizes the

importance of actively teaching good behavior, rather than just expecting it. One study on

learning related cognitive self-regulation finds this trait to be so important that they suggest using

it as a measure for kindergarten readiness (Lipsey, Nesbitt, Farran, Dong, Wagner Fuhs, &

Wilson, 2017). The study suggests that without the ability to control their emotional response in

a classroom, children have a higher likelihood of floundering. As a result, the study calls for

more intensive intervention in the pre-kindergarten age for children who show struggles with the

area of emotional control and self-regulation.

Like many other aspects of the growth of the young child, self-regulation develops in

clear stages. Described as an entirely internal process in its final stage, self-regulation is the
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voluntary, internal control of behavior (Kostelnik, Soderman, Phipps Whiren, & Rupiper, 2015,

p. 168). At birth, children have no awareness of right or wrong. Additionally, they do not have

the skills to respond to demands by changing their behavior accordingly. The second stage of

development, called adherence, consists of children relying on adults to control their actions for

them (Kostelnik, Soderman, Phipps Whiren, & Rupiper, 2015, p. 168). During this stage,

children often need physical intervention to assist them in their own regulation, such as breaking

up a physical fight. This stage also presents children who can work to achieve or avoid rewards

and punishment. Often a child will regulate their behavior out of fear that punishment will come,

which can lead to marked behavioral regression when the threat is eventually removed. In the

third stage, called Identification or shared regulation, children learn to emulate the actions and

desires of an adult figure they admire. Children in this stage can not understand the logic behind

the actions of the adult they are emulating, and therefore cannot typically use their behavior to

make informed choices out of context. The final stage of development is internalization, or self-

regulation, wherein which children act in certain ways because they think it is the right thing to

do, not to gain a reward or the approval of others (Kostelnik, Soderman, Phipps Whiren, &

Rupiper, 2015, p. 170). Children in this stage are believed to be much more capable of learning

in a cooperative environment and helping the students around them achieve the same goal.

Some important topics to understand in the realm of development and self-regulation are

the concept of guilt and empathy. In the mind of a child in early stages of adherence or

identification, there is yet not reasoning behind other peoples responses to their actions. By

teaching children guilt over hurting others, and empathy for those they have hurt, they are able to

make the logical jump between their actions and the consequences of those actions (Kostelnik,

Soderman, Phipps Whiren, & Rupiper, 2015, p. 173). Another important facet of the
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development of the young child is cognition. Children in the early childhood age need significant

help learning how to take the perspective of those around them. It is also highly important that

children are supported in the areas of speech and language development to further their self-

regulation. Children at this age do not have the skills to properly communicate their wants and

needs to others without frequent squabbling or hurt feelings. One study suggests that children

hailing from areas of poverty, and living in poverty themselves, have significantly lower skills in

self-regulation stating Socio-economic disadvantage is strongly associated with childrens

emotional [internalizing] and behavioral [externalizing] problems. Poor children appeared to be

more vulnerable to low self-regulation (Flouri, Midouhas, & Joshi, 2014). As such, it is

imperative for teachers to assess need in their students that might extend into their home and

socioeconomic situation to provide proper intervention to mitigate any further delay.

Childrens self-regulation has another important contributing factor to its overall success:

the interpersonal experiences that happen every day. There is no writing on the wall when it

comes to a childs ability to control their emotions and actions: it can easily be shaped into a

more positive and productive set of habits. In this realm, the most frequent modes of experience

include modeling, instruction, and consequences (Kostelnik, Soderman, Phipps Whiren, &

Rupiper, 2015, p. 174). Instruction consists of a series of consistently applied coaching and

conversation with children regarding their behavior, giving them a chance to see the

consequences of their actions in a real-time scenario. By modeling behavior for children that is

deemed socially appropriate, teachers and peers alike give students the opportunity to reach

shared regulation, wherein which they emulate the positive behavior of those around them and

are rewarded for it through social validation. The hotly debated topic of consequences varies in

popularity as years pass, but remains an important factor in how children learn to understand
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consequence. Instead of choosing punishment, which seeks to belittle the child and instill fear,

age appropriate and individualized positive and negative consequences can help reinforce what

activities are acceptable and unacceptable in a classroom setting (Kostelnik, Soderman, Phipps

Whiren, & Rupiper, 2015, p. 175). These skills are believed to not only become an important

part of the childs early education, but the rest of their adult life as well. An article in the Journal

of Consumer Research states, (Concepts such as) granting children personal control as they as

well as teaching children the importance of self-regulation learned from an early age and

emphasized throughout childhood become part of individuals value system and worldview

(Vanbergen & Laran, 2016).

Authoritative teaching, much like parenting, is an ever-changing blend of rules and grace

attempting to allow children to develop at their most natural pace. The authoritative teaching

style is the most directly related to increased self-regulatory skills in young children, and should

be used daily to help children understand the how and why of their behavior and its

consequences. Whole textbooks can be, and have been, written on the topic of proper

authoritative teaching, but it can be surmised with some basic attributes. The authoritative

teacher does not belittle or demean their students. The authoritative teacher creates warm

relationships with students that reminds them that they are cared for and that consequences are in

their best interest. The same teacher connects reasons to their rules, to help children make the

jump in logic successfully. Additionally, the authoritative teacher addresses children with

personal statements about the childs actions, properly voicing in example how the child might

be making someone else feel at that moment (Kostelnik, Soderman, Phipps Whiren, & Rupiper,

2015, p. 180-182). These actions help children move deftly through their day with less

breakdown in communication and increased likelihood of self-regulatory behavior.

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Children are tasked with an enormous object in the early childhood age: learning how to

develop from zero liability and capability to being completely in control of their own emotion

and self-regulation. This will never be an easy task, and will always come with growing pains.

With that in mind, teachers can make themselves highly informed on the different developmental

stages of self-regulation, the contributing factors to their students individual abilities, and hone

their skills as an authoritative educator. In doing so, teachers will open many new doors for their

students social and emotional growth and set them on a path to full self-regulation.
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References

Flouri, E., Midouhas, E., & Joshi, H. (2014). Family poverty and trajectories of children's

emotional and behavioral problems: the moderating roles of self-regulation and verbal cognitive

ability. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 42(6), 1043-1056. doi:10.1007/s10802-013-

9848-3

Lipsey, M., Nesbitt, K., Farran, D., Dong, N., Wagner Fuhs, M., & Wilson, S. (2017,

November). Learning-related cognitive self-regulation measures for prekindergarten children: A

comparative evaluation of the educational relevance of selected measures. Journal of

Educational Psychology, 109(8), 1084-1102.

Kostelnik, M. J., Soderman, A. K., Phipps Whiren, A., & Rupiper, M. L.

(2015). Developmentally appropriate curriculum (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Vanbergen, N., & Laran, J. (2016). Loss of Control and Self-Regulation: The Role of Childhood

Lessons. Journal of Consumer Research, 43(4), 534-548. doi:10.1093/jcr/ucw042