MIDDLE CHILDHOOD AND SELF-REGULATION

AGES 9-11 YEARS

EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Children during the middle childhood years are going through
a lot of changes, especially when it comes to their emotional
development. During this stage, children are able to explain
and recognize others’ emotions, are aware that people have
mixed feelings, and their “empathy increases as emotional
understanding and perspective taking improve” (Berk, 2013).
Mary Rothbart’s model of temperament includes 3 different
components of temperament, including emotion, attention,
and action. A child’s temperament is determined by their
biological makeup and their life experiences. Temperament
can fall into different dimensions, such as “inhibited”, or shy,
and “uninhibited, or sociable (Berk, 2013). During this stage
of development, children will land on either end of the spectrum, or somewhere in the middle. When children are
inhibited they tend to be shy and withdrawn from the rest of society, whereas children that are uninhibited are more
social and show positive emotions. There are different influences on temperament, when a child is more active they
tend me more social, where a shy child will “engage in anxious behaviors that discourage interaction” (Berk, 2013).

PROMOTING EMOTIONAL SELF-REGULATION

Murray and Rosanbalm (2017) define self-regulation as “the act of managing thoughts and feeling to enable goal-
directed actions”. It is important to promote these important skills and techniques during the middle childhood years.
These children are going through major changes, and as a parent you are able to aid in their emotional success by
promote self-regulation techniques.
•   Teach self-regulation skills: Model how to properly reinforce
”skills in increasingly complex situations”, such as at school,
extracurricular activities, or even living situations (Murray and
Rosanbalm, 2017).
•   Provide a responsive relationship: When children feel that they
are able to make mistakes and learn from them they are able to
“navigate bigger decisions and more challenging situations on their
own” (Murray and Rosanbalm, 2017).
•   Structure the environment: Limit opportunities for “risk-taking
behaviors”, provide positive discipline, provide natural consequences,
and reduce “emotional intensity” (Murray and Rosanbalm, 2017.
•   Support: Provide the important emotion support they need as
they are learning themselves, they will learn from their
environment and from you as a parent.

BEHAVIORAL STRATEGIES
Children may struggle with self-regulation, as a parent it is important to provide the support they need to manage
self-regulation. Much of the time a child that has not learned, or is not able to show, self-regulation skills will often
by anxious and withdrawn, which could lead to depression. As a parent you need to offer a supportive atmosphere for
those tough times that may occur at home or at school, by promoting ways to manage stress and frustration and find
a conclusion to the situation (Murray and Rosanbalm, 2017). Another way to assist a struggling child is to help them
manage their emotions, children at this age are still learning techniques on how to feel and show emotions, show your
child compassion for his or her situations which they are experiencing (Murray and Rosanbalm, 2017).
Good emotional self-regulation is vital for a child’s empathy, and as a result their sympathy and prosocial behavior.
When a child is able to regulate their own emotions, they are better able to understand another’s feels and emotions,
thus they are able to share in their feelings. When a child can be empathetic to another, they are able to experience
and show sympathy and support. When a child is prosocial they are positive and helpful, being able to self-regulate
their own emotions will provide this important life experience.