Does your child recognise the need to speak in a low voice in a library? Does he remain calm when faced with a problem and ask for help? Does she listen and respond appropriately in conversations?
The ability to self-regulate means that your child is able to hit pause, think and then act. It involves learning a complex set of skills, such as resisting impulses, handling frustration and expressing it appropriately, and taking turns, to name a few.
These five activities offer children plenty of practice on self-regulation and positive behaviours while having loads of fun.
1FREEZE DANCE/MUSICAL CHAIRS
Playing Musical Chairs helps children develop patience and learn to resolve arguments peacefully.
Children dance on the spot when the music plays and stay perfectly still when it stops. Vary the tempo with fast and slow songs to keep it fun and interesting. For larger groups, play Musical Chairs. Arrange chairs in different formations (e.g. a circle or line) and have one fewer chair than the number of children.
BENEFIT: Children learn to attend to visual and auditory cues and control their movements.
2SNAP
Draw pairs of pictures or shapes on thick card or craft paper. Deal out the cards face-down. Players take turns to flip over their top card and place it face-up on a new pile. When one player turns over a card that matches another’s top card, the first one to call out “Snap!” wins the pile of cards. Play continues until one player wins all the cards.
BENEFIT: Matching games improve concentration and increase attention to detail.
3MIRROR, MIRROR
The Mirror, Mirror game is a good way to sharpen visual perception and non-verbal communication.
One person is designated as the leader, and the rest mimic the positions or poses that the leader does. For example, the leader might place one hand on his head and stand on one leg, or place arms akimbo and bend at the knees. To make it more challenging, set a timer at 30-second intervals to change the poses.
BENEFIT: This game hones children’s visual perceptual skills and motor control skills.
TRAFFIC LIGHTS
Use paper plates to make steering wheels and red, yellow and green traffic signs. As children pretend-drive around the house, they must pay attention to your commands to stop, slow down or go, or respond to the coloured signs which you hold up.
BENEFIT: Playing stop-and-go games is good practice for listening, following directions and controlling body movements.
5WACKY RELAY
Cooperation games like Wacky Relay teach children about the importance of taking turns and accepting others’ ideas.
Two children transport an object (e.g. book, pillow, ball) between them from one point to another using only designated body parts, such as elbow-to-elbow, cheek-to-cheek or back-to-back. An adult-child pairing also works. Keep it interesting and fun by varying the body parts and objects for each round.
BENEFIT: This game develops cooperation and concentration skills.
