The Development and Importance of Childrens Skills in Emotional Regulation - Essay Example

Considering the Development and Importance of Children’s Skills in Emotional Regulation Affiliation The fundamental goal of developmental psychology and behavioral science is to discern the critical and sufficient infant experiences that typify child development into adulthood. The monitoring of early emotional development in children is quite difficult, but it could be the best way out to the enhancement of their emotional and social intelligence. Given the difficulties associated with the monitoring of children’s early emotional development, it can be ruled out that the extent of emotional regulation can only be achieved through the development of children’s skills as a matter of life experience. This paper argues for the proposition that children skills play a great role in shaping their emotional intelligence, which means that, shaping a child’s emotional and social behaviors could begin with skills enhancement. The paper supports the idea that the development of children skills to promote self-emotional regulation is much better that having their emotional development monitored by their elders, guardian, parents, or any other caregivers. Keywords Emotional Regulation, emotions, developmental psychology, social competence Introduction Emotional Regulation (ER) has been the subject of many studies and a great deal of research. Vast databases have been created about this topic due to the relevance that this field has to social competence and developmental psychology. The interaction between the child and adults creates a stable bond that is crucial in the child’s emotional regulation (Jones et al., 2003). This helps in establishing a firm foundation that fosters important social-emotional development that defines a child’s long term mental status. Conversely, the ability to control these children’s emotions is based on the mental ability of the children to accept this control. This means that a child with a higher level of intelligence is more likely to absorb any kind of emotional regulation from a caregiver than a child whose mental abilities are relatively inferior. Thus, skills are very important in emotional development among children. Cole et al. (2004) astutely notes that a specific issue with regards to the study of ER is predicated upon the fact that few researchers differentiate between ER and emotions themselves. As such, the following analysis will seek to specifically leverage a discussion of ER; without the intervening confusion that an expanded focus of “emotions” in general might denote. Definition of ER Emotional regulation is mainly concerned with an individual’s change of attitude due to emotional disturbances caused by internal and external elements of human nature. This mainly necessitates the need to initiate proper regulation that will adapt children to emotional outcomes to cope with emotional frustration (Cicchetti et al 1991). It is more practical to consider environmental factors, such as the help of parents, as well as natural and fundamental coping processes in human beings (Eisenberg and Spinard, 2004). Such environmental factors are conversely effective with respect to the skills that children have and/or are able to develop. It is senseless to imagine that skills play an insignificant role in the enhancement of emotional regulation among children. Emotional self-regulation can be affected by both genetic and environmental factors; however, it should not be understood as a solitary definition of an undifferentiated term (Eisenberg, 2010). Development of Emotional Regulation There are three main stages in the developmental process of ER; these are referenced and discussed below: First stage In this stage, the regulations of a parent, guardian, or caregiver are applied mainly for self-regulation by the child. Infants from birth to around 6 months of age rely on their parents or caregivers in regulating their emotions. This could be explained in terms of the way young children behave; such as expecting sympathy or comfort from their parents or guardians in case of troubles. In such a case, the reactions of the child to emotional disturbance are manifested in the form of cries or showing other negative reactions. Second stage The second stage involves the need to regulate negative emotions by using cognitive strategies. This requirement has to be initiated by their respective caregivers, whether parents or guardians. Within the first six months of their age, infants start to use some self-regulating strategies to regulate their emotions. It has also been suggested and recommended that the interval of early regulation in the infant can be between the ages of five to ten months old (Stifter & Braungart 1995).In early years, many children start to distract themselves more by playing. By the time they start to use the language, they will have more techniques of dealing with emotional disturbances (Siegler et al., 2010). Language development has an effect on self-regulating improvement since it equips the child with the necessary tool for expressing their grievances. The most notable self-regulation improvement can be seen in the child’s age, between 3- 4 year sold (Jones et al., 2003). This thinking tends to show them that self-reliance is important in some situations (Kopp & Neufeld, 2003). Third stage This is the stage where it is important to equip children with the life skills that enable them adapt to dealing with stressful life scenarios (Siegler et al. 2010). Young children are able how to regulate their emotion most by using behavioral strategies. As they grow old, they start to apply cognitive strategies in difficult situations (Skinner, 2007). An instance could be when a child is bothered by a peer child, in which case he/she will tries to underestimate the importance of the action and uses the appropriate reactions to inhibit more teasing according to Siegler et al. (2010). Dealing with Emotions A core argument over emotional developing have centered upon whether or not the differentials in the stages that have been mentioned previously are significant enough to warrant further definitions of emotional regulation based upon these core differentials. Eisenberg (2010) argues that the ability of children to deal with emotions usually develops over time; however, this development is not uniform and takes place at such different levels that further definitions are required. Even though Eisenberg creates a powerful case for understanding and defining these stages of emotional development, the role of life experience is the more important aspect; at least within the mind of this analyst (Kim & Page, 2013). According to other research, such as that of Siegler et al. (2010), the life experience of the child allows for them to gain skills that assist then in coping with various situations. The core issue that is represented within such a type of understanding, as represented by Siegler and Eisenberg, has to do with the fact that the reader is left in a quandary over what comes first; changes in emotional intelligence and response or life skills that provide these changes. The unpleasant situations naturally cause children stress while the pleasant ones make them happy or exited; a phenomenon that helps them in applying the appropriate mental mechanisms and strategies to deal with each situation respectively (Siegler et al., 2010). However, the children can be guided perfectly on how to differentiate such activities, but life experiences and knowledge of the results of certain actions facilitate their independence in controlling their emotions (Kronengold, 2013). From an analysis of the existing research, it is clear to this author that the examination of the “chicken and egg” argument concerning emotional development and emotional skills is not likely to be settled; however, it is further the understanding of this analyst that actively stating that one necessarily gives way to another is rather futile. Instead, a far better approach would be to discuss these two interrelated concepts in terms of how they influence one another and the manner through which further studies could draw upon this interrelation to understand these elements to a better and more proficient degree. The Relationship of ER with Social Competence and Adjustment Social competence can be defined as the ability to apply strategies in achieving goals within social contexts while keeping an appropriate interplay and behaviour with others (Robin et al. 1998). A child’s relation with other children is used to ascertain the level of development socially and emotionally. Several of the authors within the field explain this in terms of skills and experiences that such children gain from the interactions that they have on a daily basis (Kopp & Neufeld, 2003). Studies show that children can successfully interact and build a relationship with their peers if they have the ability to self-regulate their emotions (Siegler et al., 2010). Children who utilize behavioural and cognitive strategies are able to cope well with their peers, although this comes in due to the skills acquired over time. They can manage their tumultuous life situations by managing life in the sense that the child can at times come to the rescue of his/her peer (Sigler et al., 2010). While research in the past has argued that emotional control is completely independent of a child’s social interaction, this is increasingly understood to be untrue and without an effective level of research to back such a postulation (Eric Digest, 2003). Emotional Control in Children The connection that all of this has to psychological study and understanding is predicated upon the fact that effective emotional control in children invariably leads to the improvement of social competency in later stages of life. Naturally, the impact of emotional regulation in childhood, when analyzed within this particular approach, is maximized; due to the fact that relations within social circles, positive and negative engagements, and identifications of self are all formative experiences that have a powerful impact upon understanding and defining the psychology of later life (Harrist et al., 2013). A litany of studies has shown that children with advanced emotional control fare far better in controlling their negative emotions. Such negative emotions necessarily include anger. A core issue that is oftentimes ignored by the research has to do with the level and extent to which societal or peer approval factors into the world view and social view that the child exhibits. Without a strong mechanism acting upon the child that promotes socialization and peer acceptance, the entire theory and approach that has thus far been presented breaks down; oftentimes leading to a situation in which children are hardly able to control their cognitive behaviour. This oversight by the existing literature misses a very integral component of psychological development and the means through which theories of socialization impact upon developmental psychology. More often than not, the rejection by peers and censure that a child might feel within any number of different situations is sufficient to socialize them towards a more normative level of psychological development. Thus, when social competence decreases, the child’s performance, in every situation in life, develops the high likelihood of stalling. While the peers could be improving in every situation, the child in contrary could be isolated and would ultimately have no company (Spinrad et al., 2006). This would further affect the child’s social and emotional competence as he/she grows. Emotional Development in Academically Talented Children Academically and socially talented children are observed to have good emotional regulation abilities. Children with under-developed emotional regulation ability are slow in coping with life challenges. These children are unable to sustain meaningful relationships with teachers and peers (Graziano et al., 2007). This aspect makes such a child to be on the wrong side of the school administration because of poor emotional intelligence. Some reasons for this are obvious in the sense that having poor relations with other children, the child’s defence mechanism to the peers may seem detrimental to what others like. When the majority of the peers are against, the minority would have to accommodate for what they never desired. From an understanding of the existing body of knowledge, it is apparent that a positive relationship between teachers and students is not only related to child ability in regulating their emotions, but also in enhancing other social skill. They should be a way of establishing how to maintain good contact with each other and how to manage the start and ending of the conversion (Graziano et al., 2007). Teachers tend to be less patient with children who have behavioural problems, but this practice only worsens their emotional abilities. They usually tend to pay little attention to the achievements of such children, and in turn concentrate more on the efforts of socially responsive children (Coie & Koeppl, 1990). Cases Analysis A study of delay in gratification, conducted by Walter Michel and his colleagues, revealed that children who are better in delaying immediate gratification cope better in society later in life. This is evidenced by better in self-control, school performance, satisfaction, and ability to resist depression. The results obtained from this study can be used to predict the social competency and academic success expected later in adulthood. Children with higher self-seem are able to manage their emotional distress better than children with lower self-esteem, and there has been less reporting from them in substance abuse (Siegler et al., 2010). Children who can delay gratification are further found to have more concentration in classrooms, instead of seeking to satisfy their immediate pleasure such as chatting with the other students instead of studying in the classroom (Duckworth et al (2010). This shows that the role of self-control is much more important than the role of intelligence childhood success. Involvement of teachers in some studies indicated that ability to self-regulate plays an important role in the success of children in the kindergartens and later academic achievements. In fact, emotional self-regulation is as important as intelligence measures in determining the developmental level of children (Duckworth & Carlson, 2013). Yet, once again, the literature falls short of specifying how these elements of self restraint/control are affected within the individual. Naturally, they are the result of one of the earlier stages of emotional development; however, delineating which one and measuring the ways in which this can be expanded to promote the developmental best practice for other stakeholders is left curiously absent from nearly all of the available research into this particular topic (Ursache et al., 2013). From a review of the available information that has been presented, it is the approach of this author that even though environmental factors play a profound role in the development of the individual, self-regulation, even within childhood is something that cannot and should not be ignored. Although successful self-regulation has been attributed to better academic performance later in life, some studies have shown that unpleasant experiences in early life can affect the development of emotional regulation ability. Children should be provided with an enabling environment that will not affect the development of their self-regulation skills. In essence, self-regulation is far much better than emotional regulation from external sources such as parents, guardians, or even teachers. Besides, teaching some self-regulation strategies to the adolescents can help them to cope well and be socially competent (Duckworth & Angela Lee, 2011). Conclusion The development of emotional regulation in children is highly attributed to skill acquisition both in skills and through social interactions. Emotional regulation from other people is relatively difficult especially because many children may hardly view the external regulation from a positive perspective. However, this view does not mean that children should be left alone to deal with their emotions. Emotional regulation should commence from early infancy all through to adulthood, but skills developments among children would ease the problems associated with emotional regulations. Early development of children’s skills is necessary as it correlates well with positive advancement in children’s cognitive performance. This solely depicts the importance of emotional self-regulation as compared to external emotional regulation. Effective self-control in children can lead to improved academic performance and a successful life. In order to enhance life satisfaction in children relationship for better self-emotional regulation, more life skills should be adopted in cultivating effective self-regulations in the schools and children’s life. Self-regulations should be encouraged, through the right way such as encouragement and consideration of child skills. Self-regulation is thus influenced highly by the skills portrayed by children. Intelligent children are in a better position to control their emotions. References Baurain, C., & Nader-Grosbois, N. (n.d). 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