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  • Why Self-regulation Is Important for Young Children

    Why Self-regulation Is Important for Young Children

    Why Self-regulation Is Important for Young Children

    There has been a lot of buzz lately around the topic of self-regulation. But what exactly does it mean?

    When thinking about young children, self-regulation refers to the ability to:

    • Be calm and alert enough to take in new information and take part in the activities or interactions around them 
      Every child is different. Some children are naturally calmer and some may become overwhelmed more easily. In the same way, some children may be more or less alert and attentive. And this can vary from situation to situation. For example, a child who is fatigued or stressed at the end of the day may not be calm enough to follow his parents’ directions when getting ready for bed, but may have done well following the routines of his school day. 
      Some children may feel overwhelmed in a busy grocery store and start to cry as soon as you enter. Other children might seem bored during quieter activities like story time. They might seem distracted and it could be difficult to get their attention. Think about when you learned best. It was likely when you were calm, interested and engaged.
    • Recover from stressors (i.e. anything that disrupts calm and affects participation)
      For some children, a stressor might be the sights and sounds they experience walking along a busy sidewalk. It could be feeling hungry, tired, emotional or just being denied something they’ve been thinking about all day. Imagine a child who has just been told they couldn’t have something they want. Some children may become inconsolable and other children might become upset but are able to quickly return to being calm and alert by managing their thoughts and emotions.

    Why Is Self-Regulation Important?

    Self-regulation is a key building block for nearly every aspect of a child’s development, learning and growth, including:

    • Language learning
    • School success
    • Attention and problem-solving skills
    • Overall mental and physical health

    What Might Affect Your Child’s Ability To Self-Regulate?

    There are many different things that could make it easier or more difficult for your child to self-regulate. As parents, you know your children best and can recognize when there is a shift in how well they are responding and participating. Think of what works to help them move to a more calm and alert place.

    You might consider:

    • Your child’s biological make-up and unique temperament – Some children naturally become more agitated than others by certain experiences, and this affects how they respond to their environment. Some children can become over-stimulated in new situations with new people and may benefit from extra time to warm up. Some children may only tolerate one change or new element at a time. Other children need more stimulation in order to become alert enough to respond or participate in a given situation. For example, they may need to move around in order to stay engaged in a book activity.
    • Your child’s environment –The environment can have a big impact on your child’s self-regulation. It is important to consider the space you are in. For example, is there anything in the space that could be distracting or overwhelming to your child, making it hard for him to focus?
    • The way you interact with your child – Interactions that support self-regulation are those in which the adult does two things:
      1. “Tunes in” to the child’s cues, including signs of difficulty with regulation – For example, you might notice if your child is responding in the way you expected him to, or if he’s over-reacting or under-reacting to a particular situation.
      2. Responds with appropriate support – For example, a child that is over-stimulated and agitated may benefit from interacting with an adult who can model a quieter voice and calmer movements. On the other hand, an adult could support a child who is not paying attention by adding more movement or intonation to their voice.

    Interactions in which your child is meaningfully engaged can help maintain regulation. We can do this by following the child’s lead and responding to their ideas and communication. By taking the time to observe, listen and respond to their ideas, you’ll make it more likely that your child will stay motivated, calmly engaged and attentive.

    References

    Aro, T. Laakso, M. Maatta, S., Tolvanen, A. & Poikkeus, A. (2014). Associations between toddler-age communication and kindergarten-age self-regulatory skills. Journal of speech, Language, and Hearing Research, doi: 10.1044/2014_JSLKH-L-12-0411.

    Gulsrud, A. C., Jahromi, L.B. & Kasari, C. (2010). The co-regulation of emotions between mothers and their children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 40, 227-237.

    Hamoudi, A., Murray, D.W., Sorensen, L., Fontaine, A. (2015): Self-Regulation and Toxic Stress: A Review of Ecological, Biological, and Developmental Studies of Self-Regulation and Stress. OPRE Report # 2015-30, February, 2015: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/resource/self-regulation-and-toxic-stress-a-review-of-ecological-biological-and-developmental-studies-of-self-regulation-and-stress.
    Laurent, A.C., Gorman, K. (2018). Development of emotion self-regulation among young children with autism spectrum disorders: The role of parents. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 48 1249-1260.

    McClelland, M.M., Cameron, C.E., Connor, C.M., Farris, C.L., Jewekes, A.M. & Morrison, F.J. (200&). Links between behavioural regulation and preschoolers’ literacy, vocabulary, and math skills. Developmental Psychology, 43, 947-959.

    Murray, D.W., Rosanbalm, K., Christopoulos, C., Hamoudi, A. (2015). Self-Regulation and Toxic Stress: Foundations for Understanding Self-Regulation from an Applied Developmental Perspective. OPRE Report # 2015-21, January, 2015: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/resource/self-regulation-and-toxic-stress-foundations-for-understanding-self-regulation-from-an-applied-developmental-perspective.

    Murray, D.W., Rosanbalm, K., Christopoulos, C. (2016). Self-Regulation and Toxic Stress: A Comprehensive Review of Self-Regulation Interventions from Birth Through Young Adulthood. OPRE Report # 2016-34, February, 2016: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/resource/self-regulation-and-toxic-stress-report-3.

    Murray, D.W. Rosanbalm, K., Christopoulos, C. (2016). Self-Regulation and Toxic Stress: Implications for Programs and Practice. OPRE Report # 2015-97, November 2016: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/resource/self-regulation-and-toxic-stress-implications-for-programs-and-practice.
    Ontario Ministry of Education. (2011). The Full-Day Early Learning-Kindergarten Program, Draft Version. Toronto: Author.

    Ontario Ministry of Education. (2014c). How does learning happen? Ontario’s pedagogy for the early years: A resource about learning through relationships for those who work with young children and their families. Toronto: Author.

    Schmitt, M.B., Justice, L.M., & O’Connell, A. (2014). Vocabulary gain among children with language disorders: Contributions of children’s behavior regulation and emotionally-supportive environments. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, doi: 10.1044/2014_AJSLP-12-0148.

    Shanker, S. (2013). Calm, Alert and Learning. Toronto, ON: Pearson Canada Inc.

    Shanker, S. (2016) Self-Reg: How to help your child (and you) break the stress cycle and successfully engage with life. Toronto, ON: Penguin Random House Canada Limited.

    Sussman, F. (2012). More Than Words: A Parent’s Guide to Building Interaction and Language Skills for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder or Social Communication Difficulties. Toronto: The Hanen Centre.

    Weitzman, E. (2017). It Takes Two To Talk®: A practical guide for parents of children with language delays (5th ed.). Toronto: The Hanen Centre.

    Weitzman, E., & Greenberg, J. (2002). Learning Language and Loving It: A guide to promoting children’s social, language and literacy development in early childhood settings (2nd ed.). Toronto: The Hanen Centre.

    Vallotton, C. & Ayoub, C. (2011). Use your words: The role of language in the development of toddler’s self-regulation. Early Child Research Quarterly, 26, 169-181.

    This content is from Hanen.org 

    At Talking Brains Center (TBC), we understand the importance of early childhood development and offer a range of therapy services to support your child’s growth. Our team of Lebanese therapists in Dubai, UAE, includes occupational therapists, speech therapists, psychologists, and other specialists who can help your child build the skills they need to succeed. Contact us today to learn more about our services and how we can support your child’s development.

  • Turning Book Reading into a Conversation with Look!

    Turning Book Reading into a Conversation with Look!

    While it can sometimes be nice to read a book straight through without stopping, book reading can also be a great time to encourage a back and forth conversation. In fact, conversation is the very best context for children to learn all of the early literacy skills that will prepare them for school. In this Book Nook, we’ll look at how you can turn book reading into a conversation with your child, and we’ll talk about just a few of the things your child might learn when you do this.

    Let’s get started!

    The Book:
    Look! by Jeff Mack
     
    Why we picked it:
    Look! Is a funny story about a monkey who really wants to share a book with a little boy, but the boy is far more interested in watching TV. The monkey tries all kinds of increasingly silly ways to entice the boy to read with him. This is a great book for turning book reading into a conversation because there’s hardly any print in it. This encourages you and your child to focus on the pictures and talk about what’s happening, using your imaginations to fill in parts of the story.

    Getting the conversation started

    The first step in turning book reading into a conversation is to OWL. This is a Hanen strategy that stands for “Observe, Wait and Listen”. When you turn a page, pause and wait quietly for your child to say something or for him to point or laugh at something.

    The purpose of OWL is to find out what interests your child because, just like adults, kids will be much more likely to talk about something when it’s related to their interests.

    Once you know what has caught your child’s attention, the next step is to Follow Your Child’s Lead. This means responding with interest to what your child said or pointed to, and making a comment or asking a question about it. Then wait again for your child to reply, and there you have it – the conversation has begun!

    Keeping the conversation going

    Once you have a conversation started about something, you’ll want to keep it going for as long as your child is interested in talking about it. The more back and forth turns your child takes, the more opportunities he’ll have to learn.

     

    There are so many different directions the conversation could take, but here are a few examples of what you could talk about to get your child thinking, talking and learning:

    Talk about what’s happening in the book

    Talking about what’s going on in the book and why things might be happening is key to helping your child understand the story.

    If your child shows interest in the page where the monkey is balancing a book on his head and tapping the boy on the shoulder, you could make a comment like, “I think the monkey is trying to get the boy’s attention”. You could also ask a question like, “Why do you think he put the book on his head like that?” Wait to see if your child has a response, and feel free to add your own comment if he doesn’t. For example, you could say, “I think he really wants to read with the boy and he’s trying to be funny so the boy notices the book!” Then wait again because your child may have something to add!

    Talk about solving problems

    Most stories revolve around a problem, and helping your child understand the problem is important for his understanding of the story. If your child says something like, “Oh no” or “he fell down” when the monkey falls to the ground after trying to stand on a bunch of books, you could take this opportunity to talk about the problem. You could say, “Uh-oh, it looks like the monkey has a big problem. He’s trying really hard to get the boy to read with him, but the boy just wants to watch tv.” Then you could ask something like, “What do you think the monkey could try next to get the boy’s attention?” This could lead to a funny back and forth conversation as you use your imaginations to think about what the monkey might try next.

    Talk about emotions

    Recognizing characters’ emotions is another important part of understanding stories. This book provides many opportunities to talk about emotions because there are lots of clear facial expressions. If your child points at the monkey on the page where the TV crashes, you could say, “Oh, no, look at his face. He looks sad and sorry that the tv broke”. Or if your child says something about the monkey walking away near the end when the boy yells at him to leave, you could ask a question like, “how do you think the monkey is feeling now?”. The monkey’s slumped shoulders and tears should give your child some good clues.

    You can then keep the conversation going by relating the character’s emotions to your child’s own experience. For example, you could ask, “was there ever a time you felt sad and disappointed like the monkey’s feeling?”. You could even talk about a time when you felt that way to help your child connect the book to real life experiences.

    Talk about print

    Since there is so little print in this book, the little bit that’s there really stands out. On the page where the monkey rides into the room on a tricycle juggling books, the word “Look” is big and repeated many times in different colors. If your child notices this and points at the word, you can help him understand the meaning of the print. You could say, for example, “Wow, it says ‘Look’ so many times on this page. It must mean the monkey is trying really hard to get the boy’s attention. Look, look, look!” This might prompt your child to talk about what the monkey is doing on this page, which will make the print even more meaningful to him.

    These are just a few examples for how you can turn book reading into a conversation with your child. Reading this way not only helps your child learn early literacy skills, but it can also make the experience more fun and interesting for both of you!

    This content is from Hanen.org

    At Talking Brains Center (TBC), we understand the importance of early childhood development and offer a range of therapy services to support your child’s growth. Our team of Lebanese therapists in Dubai, UAE, includes occupational therapists, speech therapists, psychologists, and other specialists who can help your child build the skills they need to succeed. Contact us today to learn more about our services and how we can support your child’s development.

  • What causes stuttering? How to help the child if he’s stuttering?

    What causes stuttering? How to help the child if he’s stuttering?

    What causes stuttering? How to help the child if he’s stuttering?

    As a leading speech therapy center in Dubai, UAE, TBC is dedicated to helping children and adults overcome communication disorders such as stuttering. In this video, we’ll be exploring what causes stuttering and how parents and caregivers can support a child who stutters.

    With her years of experience working with patients with communication disorders, Reine Bou Issa Ghafary, a licensed speech-language pathologist and neuropsychologist and the founder of TBC. shares insights on how to help a child who stutters and what kind of support TBC can provide.

    Stuttering is a complex disorder that affects speech fluency and can impact a child’s confidence and social interactions. Through this video, we hope to provide valuable information to parents and caregivers on how they can support their child’s speech development and promote their overall well-being.

    So, whether you’re a concerned parent or just someone interested in learning more about stuttering, we invite you to join us on this journey to understanding and supporting those with communication disorders.

    If you are looking for stuttering treatment in Dubai, at Talking Brains Center (TBC), we understand the importance of early childhood development and offer a range of therapy services to support your child’s growth. Our team of Lebanese therapists in Dubai, UAE, includes occupational therapists, speech therapists, psychologists, and other specialists who can help your child build the skills they need to succeed. Contact us today to learn more about our services and how we can support your child’s development.