KU PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AND LEARNING
Quarterly
KU Children’s Services
JULY 2017
SELF-REGULATION VS SELF-CONTROL
BY DR STUART SHANKER
There is a fundamental difference between self-
regulation, in its original psychophysiological sense,
and self-control. The former refers to managing stress;
the latter to controlling impulses. Self-regulation is
what makes self-control possible, or, in many cases,
unnecessary. Indeed, self-regulation is what makes
learning in general possible.
The key here is that stress, whether positive or negative,
requires us to burn energy: either to meet a challenge, or
to keep various internal systems operating within their
optimal range. When children are over-stressed they dip
into their energy reserves (hence the rise in cortisol). It is
when they slip into a state of dwindling energy coupled
with high tension that we see problems in behaviour and
emotions, heightened impulsivity and reduced frustration
tolerance.
The problem, of course, is that young children have little
ability to regulate themselves, and none whatsoever
when they are in the throes of a meltdown: for the very
reason that the subcortical systems in the brain that are
hyperaroused impede those neocortical systems that
support self-control. When we map what is going on here,
we see an inverted-V. Trouble starts when the child begins
to hurtle down the descending slope:
IN THIS ISSUE :
RESPONDING TO WARNING SIGNS
Meltdowns and outbursts occur when a child has
gone well past the peak. To learn to self-regulate, it is
essential for children to recognise the signs of when
they are starting to become overstressed. Appearances
to the contrary, explosive behaviours do not come
out of nowhere. They may build very quickly, but they
nonetheless build, and the better children can manage
their stress, the better they can avoid becoming
dysregulated.
This is where early educators have a pivotal role to play:
not just in helping children regulate, but teaching them
how to self-regulate. It is a vital skill for dealing with the
ever-increasing array of stresses the child will encounter
growing up: beginning in primary school! Provided we
tailor our teaching in terms that children can relate to
and comprehend, they can indeed learn how to identify
and reduce negative stresses, recognise when they are
becoming over-stressed, and know when and what they
need to do in order to rest and recover.
To perform this role, educators must be able to distinguish
between misbehaviour and stress-behaviour; know how
to create calming environments and routines; and maybe
most important of all, work on their own self-regulation
in what is undoubtedly one of the most rewarding yet
demanding of professions.