The emerging ability to regulate and adapt emotions, behaviours and attention according to situational demands is paramount in children’s successful transition into primary school. Literature devoted to child development states that developmental trends and experiences that occur in the first five years of life will set the stage for subsequent development. This suggests that for children to successfully meet the expectations of the primary school environment they must first have a strong foundation of self-regulation strategies.
This paper summarizes key principles that underlie the developmental pathways of self-regulation and ego-resiliency, focusing on the period from early infancy to the beginning of primary school. The forming of a caregiver-infant attachment relationship in the first year of life is discussed. This caregiver-infant attachment is key as the child shifts from guided regulation into the early stages of self-regulation in the toddler years. Next, this paper focuses on the child`s ability to independently self-regulate, and the development of confidence and ego-resiliency in preschool. Finally, this paper looks at how previously developed ego-resilient self-regulation affects a child’s ability to successfully meet the novel expectations and responsibilities that accompany the transition into primary school.
