FROM THE DIRECTOR: FEBRUARY 2011
Katy Carrese Merrell MEd.
Last month I shared some thoughts about how important it is to give
children the space to struggle just enough to develop their own skills
for mastering the myriad of big and small “hurdles’ that life presents.
Integral to this process is learning when they need to ask for help if
they truly need it, as well as how to ask, and who to ask. The “can do”
attitude that comes from figuring out how to master a skill, solve a
problem, and/or ask for help when it is really necessary, are all huge
components in developing a healthy sense of self. Another key
component is the capacity for self-control.
This results of a study published just this week tracked 1,000
subjects from birth to age 32 in the hopes of identifying major factors
that will predict future success in life; the proverbial “pursuit of
happiness”. The study found that three factors play a major role, IQ
and socioeconomic status being two of them and the ones that we
generally have little or no control over. The third major predictor was
self-control, which, evidence suggests, is something that can be
learned. In fact, in the studies done with identical twins, capacity for
self control was not identical, which would suggest that it is more
learned than inherited. To quote the NPR story (which is where I heard
about this): “Self-control keeps us from eating a whole bag of chips or
from running up the credit card. This new study says that self-control
can make the difference between getting a good job or going to jail-
and we learn it in preschool .Children who had the greatest self-control
in elementary school and pre-school were likely to have fewer health
problems when they reached their 30s, says Terrie Moffitt, a professor
of psychology at Duke University and King’s College London.”
The researchers define self-control as having skills like
conscientiousness, self-discipline, and perseverance, as well as being
able to consider the consequences of actions when making decisions.
For young children it means replacing their “external locus of control”
(which are all the ways adults keep them in check) with an “internal
locus of control” (control that comes from within them). These skills
start out as things like; the ability to “delay gratification”, which simply
means you can’t get everything you want right when you want it all the
time. It means learning to wait, controlling physical and verbal
impulses, learning to use your words instead of your hands to get what
you want, taking turns and sharing. In short, building self-control is the
heart of every Early Childhood teacher’s curriculum (or it should be).
Children who don’t develop self-control have a harder time functioning
successfully in a classroom. As teachers we are continually assessing
these essential skills. In fact and early childhood environment, and all
the routines, rules, strategies, and tools teachers use are very much
geared to help children learn to self-manage, develop self-control,
make their own choices, express their needs, and build problem
solving skills that ultimately, when all bundled together, create a
healthy sense of self. So being able to hang up your own backpack,
wash your hands, sign-in, raise your hand when you have something
to share, etc. etc. all may seem like small potatoes, but they all add up
in a very big way! The child who can successfully function in
preschool will head on to kindergarten feeling capable and confident.
The findings of this study report that; “The children who struggled with
self-control as preschoolers were three times as likely to have
problems as young adults. They were more prone to have a criminal
record, more likely to have financial problems, more likely to have
issues with substance abuse, etc.
One important final note from the study findings; “Though self-
control can be improved throughout life, Moffitt says the earlier
children can learn these skills of self-discipline and perseverance, the
better. The later you wait in life to try to learn self-control skills, the
more problems you have to reverse and overcome. All the more
reason to start picking up the blocks when you are very young”