it to what they already know. Children must also learn to then use self-regulation to communicate with any number of systems (such as motor or language systems) to choose and carry out a response.
Self-regulation is clearly not an isolated skill. Children must translate what they experience into information they can use to regulate thoughts, emotions, and behaviors (Blair & Diamond 2008). Infants translate the feel of sooth- ing touch and the sound of soft voices into cues that help
them develop self-calming skills. Toddlers and preschoolers begin to translate cues from adults, such as “Your turn is next,” into regulation that helps them inhibit urges to grab food or toys. They begin to learn how long they must usu- ally wait to be served food or to have a turn playing with a desired toy, which helps them regulate emotional tension.
Because self-regulation involves different domains, regu- lation of one domain affects other areas of development. Emotional and cognitive self-regulation are not separate, distinct skills. Rather, thinking affects emotions and emo- tions affect cognitive development (Blair & Diamond 2008). Children who cannot effectively regulate anxiety or discour- agement tend to move away from, rather than engage in, challenging learning activities. Conversely, when children regulate uncomfortable emotions, they can relax and focus on learning cognitive skills. Similarly, children experience better emotional regulation when they replace thoughts
like “I’m not good at this” with thoughts like “This is dif- ficult, but I can do it if I keep trying.” Regulating anxiety
and thinking helps children persist in challenging activities, which increases their opportunities to practice the skills required for an activity.
Self-regulation is also like using a thermostat because both are active, intentional processes. Setting a thermostat requires an intentional decision and the device actively monitors environmental temperature. Similarly, self-regula- tion requires intentional decisions (“I will not hit Andrew!”) and active processes (sitting on one’s hands so they are