1 EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES A Program of Strategies for Supporting Emotional Regulation in Children Aged 3-7 by Tonya Staska A project submitted in final fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF EDUCATION with emphasis in FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY Ogden, Utah July 19, 2023 Approved Louise R. Moulding, Ph.D. Natalie A. Williams, Ph.D. C. Ryan Dunn, Ph.D. EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 2 Acknowledgements I’d like to thank Dr. Loise Moulding for all of her amazing support during this especially difficult and trying time. She stuck with me, giving me support and encouragement throughout. There were times when I felt hopeless and beyond overwhelmed and she was able to quiet my fears with just a few words and get me back on track. I cannot thank her enough for being my committee chair, teacher, and I hope she knows that I consider her a mentor and friend. I would also like to thank my parents. I was very sick while I worked through my graduate degree and another program simultaneously. They helped keep me alive along with my doctors and incredible nurses. I live. I am here. I accomplished. Without their never-ending love and complete support, I would not be where I am today nor finished this degree which I hold as one of my greatest accomplishments in the face of such trials. They kept me strong and reminded me of who I was and what I was capable of everyday. My gratitude holds no bounds for all they have given to me. If I can make them proud by using this degree, even a little, I will be complete. I now know what I am capable of on a different level than ever before. This project, my dreams for it, and the people supporting that dream are forever in my heart. EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES Copyright Notice All ideas for this program and the parts that comprise this proposed program are under the strict copyright of Tonya Staska as of 7/20/2023. Any attempt to use the ideas below will result in the breaking of copyright laws. 3 EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 4 Abstract Healthy emotional regulation (ER) has been found to be related to good mental health, higher academic achievement, and healthier relationships with caregivers and peers. The crucial age for teaching ER is in early childhood. Based on the published literature, a comprehensive program for teaching young children (aged 3-7) how to regulate their emotions effectively is warranted. The process developed for this program focused on regulating five main emotions: anger, sadness, fear, anxiety, and hyperactivity. The goal was a tool for educators, parents, and other professionals that work with young children in some capacity to help children learn to regulate these emotions using preemptive and crisis management research-based strategies for each specific emotion. The program utilized in this project incorporated a variety of techniques including stuffed animals, books, and activities that focus on teaching emotion regulation to children. The program included two strategies for each emotion using stories and games or activities to easily teach and implement them into the child’s life. The caregiver guide, which explained the program fully and an example story to read for sadness was reviewed by three experts in the field who provided feedback. The results were extremely positive and promising, with the mother and special education supervisor providing rave reviews. The daycare provider had some mixed reviews concerning implementation in her facility, so perhaps more research and field- testing could be done in finding the effectiveness of the program in different settings. Future programming can include the creation of a better training program. More research will need to be done in a variety of settings with diverse populations to ensure the validity and reliability of the program. EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 5 Table of Contents Literature Review 8 Benefits of Emotional Regulation....................................................................................... 9 Concerns When ER is Lacking..........................................................................................10 Importance of Caregiver Relationships and ER................................................................ 10 Strategies for Strengthening Effective ER Focusing on Five Emotions............................11 Sadness.................................................................................................................. 13 Anger..................................................................................................................... 15 Fear........................................................................................................................ 16 Anxiety.................................................................................................................. 18 Overactive..............................................................................................................19 Summary............................................................................................................................20 Purpose.......................................................................................................................................... 20 Method...........................................................................................................................................21 Audience............................................................................................................................ 21 Scope of Project.................................................................................................................22 Expert Feedback................................................................................................................ 22 Outcomes and Feedback................................................................................................................ 22 References..................................................................................................................................... 27 Appendix A: Questionnaire Given to Experts for Feedback......................................................... 44 Appendix B: Caregiver Guidebook Given to Experts for Feedback............................................. 48 Appendix C: Story Given to Caregivers for Feedback..................................................................70 EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 6 Strategies for Supporting Emotional Regulation in Children Aged 3-7 Emotional Regulation (ER), the ability to exert control over one’s own emotional state, is one of the most important and fundamental skills in which humans engage. Challenges for anyone with poor ER skills struggle to accept or recognize their emotional responses, which can lead to behavioral dysregulation including, self-injurious behavior, suicidal ideation and attempts, anger outbursts, anxiety, depression, excessive substance use and impulsivity. Difficulties with ER are increasingly recognized as common challenges in children with intellectual disabilities and mental health disorders (England-Mason, 2020). Furthermore, ER in childhood has been linked to decreased social skills, aggressive and disruptive behaviors (Teisl & Cicchetti, 2007; 2008), as well as increased mental health difficulties (Fruhauf et al., 2020; Güzel et al, 2021; Haukeland et al., 2020; Romero-Ayuso et al., 2020). Poor emotional control has been shown to have a strong link in adolescence to substance abuse (Wills et al., 2011), increased internalizing psychopathology, including anxiety (Davis et al., 2019), and risky behavior (Hessler, & Katz, 2009; 2010). In adults, poor ER is connected to a history of self-harm (Davis et al., 2014), hypertension (Wirtz et al., 2006), sleep impairment (Watling et al., 2020), obesity (Micanti et al., 2017), and increased risk of coronary heart disease (Potijk et al., 2016). Recognizing the broad impacts associated with ER deficits, there is an immediate need for ER strategies to be taught to parents and teachers to help children and students learn how to manage their emotions in a healthier way because a comprehensive toolbox is lacking for these caregivers (Blewitt et al., 2021; Slot et al., 2017; Wilkinson & Kao, 2019). Parents and teachers need intervention strategies to teach children how to regulate their emotions (Navsaria et al., 2020). EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 7 Without a comprehensive program for caregivers it is common for caregivers to select among various programs and strategies or to apply guesswork into creating their own toolbox, leading to the use of strategies that have not been empirically vetted. Some of the programs currently available target multiple emotions with the same strategy, such as the Zones of Regulation (Kuypers, 2011), which helps children build awareness of their emotions by using colored zones to aid the child in knowing when regulation is necessary. However, the targeting of all emotions in the same way can be problematic. Each emotion is vastly different from the other, therefore strategies for regulating each one need to be different also. In a study conducted on the Zones of Regulation, Hoffman (2018) demonstrated that the program was effective with children’s ability to name and categorize their diverse emotions more successfully but made no difference in conflict management between peers. The program appeared to be effective when a child is calm enough to label what they are feeling, but less effective while a child is angry. While this program is effective in some of the areas it attempts to focus on ER control, it elucidates the need for a program that can be applied to real-life emotional situations that target the emotion being experienced in the moment. A program that addresses real-life situations may result in a calmer, happier childhood, with reduced frustration and chaos (Hoffman, 2018). Other programs available focus on only one emotion or are made specifically for children with certain disabilities, such as the Emotional Awareness and Skills Enhancement (EASE) program (Conner et al., 2019), which specifically targets children with autism. Even more common in readily available programs is they are often designed for use in only one setting, such as school. Additionally, they combine ER with other skills, usually social skills, in the same program. The skills that the child is learning need to be generalized to a variety of EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 8 settings and social situations. Second Step is designed to promote social competence, as well as decrease aggression, when feeling anger (Moy et al., 2018). Second Step has been found to be highly effective in reducing aggression of students in the classroom, while parents report no change in aggressive behavior of their children at home (Frey & Sylvester, 1997). An effective program should be as helpful at home as it is in the classroom in order to help children be successful in all settings of their lives. While structure in a classroom is helpful for teaching life skills, it is also important for children to learn that those lessons work in their day-to-day world and providing ER during less structured activities for children is critical. Each emotion needs to be regulated differently because just as emotions are distinct from one another, so are the strategies that are needed to regulate those emotions (Sjowall et al., 2015; Stefan et al., 2017; Yeo et al., 2014). The program should also use objects that are familiar and beloved by children, such as stuffed animals and beautifully illustrated books (Webster-Stratton & Reid, 2004). The activities associated with ER for each emotion should be fun and engaging for all children from diverse backgrounds and struggles. Furthermore, the program needs to be realistic and effective across many different settings. Caregivers need a comprehensive program that is organized and addresses multiple emotions based on each child’s unique needs. The proposed program needs to be applicable and generalizable to all children. Literature Review Emotional regulation (ER) refers to the conscious, cognitive way of managing the intake of emotionally arousing information (Garnefski et al., 2007), which is the crucial ability of an individual to cope with regulatory demands of the self during demanding emotional stimuli. All humans attempt to emotionally regulate, sometimes without even thinking about it. For example, when we are sad, we may try to make ourselves feel better either by indulging in things that EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 9 make us feel better or surrounding ourselves with friends to be distracted by the feeling. This multidimensional process develops from birth through adulthood in a dynamic interplay of environmental, relational, and biological factors (Edossa et al., 2018). Multifactorial aspects can interfere with a child's acquisition of positive and healthy auto-regulatory skills through emotional and cognitive developmental stages, thus resulting in emotional dysregulation or the adaptation of negative ER strategies (Edossa et al., 2018). For example, sleep, emotional, and behavioral disturbances in early childhood are connected to problems in ER (Bocknek et al., 2018; Braet et al., 2014; Jusienė & Breidokienė, 2019). Past experiences have been found to interfere with ER control which can also be associated with future challenges. Benefits of Emotional Regulation There are many benefits to learning emotional regulation. It has been found to help in developing independence, self-discipline, interpersonal skills, increased academic skills, and emotional intelligence. It can also help children understand the meaning of their relationships with others, build mental resilience and form their identities (Gutiérrez-Cobo et al., 2017). ER involves looking inwardly and assessing how one is feeling and then implementing a plan in response to what is happening (Eisenberg et al., 2010). This includes learning to wait, thinking and reflecting appropriately to a situation before reacting to it, monitoring, recognizing, and managing emotional, behavioral, and attentional capabilities towards goal-oriented actions (Eisenberg et al., 2010). The goal for teaching ER is for children to learn to think and plan before they act, thus becoming the experts in their emotions rather than the emotions alone driving the behavior. Teaching ER supports students’ behavior through extrinsic means until they are able to learn skills to then use intrinsic regulation independently. For example, it has been shown that preschool children who use passive coping skills for ER are more likely to form maladaptive ER EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 10 strategies (Blair et al., 2004); thus, a program to aid children in developing coping skills for ER is essential. Concerns When ER is Lacking Children with low ER have been found to be prone to many difficulties. Children with low ER capabilities are more prone to irritability (Pylypow et al., 2017; 202); major depressive disorder (Whalen et al., 2020); bullying at school (Camodeca & Coppola, 2019); poorer memory-related functioning (van der Kaap-Deeder et al., 2020); susceptibility to developing language disorders, which is strongly associated with peer and emotional struggles throughout early childhood, resurfacing in adolescence (Forrest et al., 2020); lack of self-confidence (Hipson et al., 2019); and increased difficulty with cognitive tasks (Mauri et al., 2020), thus making it imperative that good ER strategies are taught to young children. It is critical that children learn ER so that they can grow to be happy, healthy, safe, and productive members of society (Moffitt et al., 2011). It is unfortunate that most children who struggle with ER come from lower socio-economic backgrounds (Bocknek et al., 2018; Smith-Adcock et al., 2019), foster care (Harden et al., 2017; Imrisek et al., 2018), and/or abusive homes (Geyer & Ogbonnaya, 2021), or have experienced trauma (e.g.., war, death of a parent). It is imperative that children who have experienced these factors are actively taught healthy ER strategies by the supportive caregivers in their lives because they constitute the largest community of children suffering with poor ER strategies. Importance of Caregiver Relationships and ER The caregiver-child relationship is essential for helping children gain superior emotional regulatory behaviors. It is not enough for caregivers to just be present, they must engage meaningfully, reading and playing with the child. Evidence of this was cited in a study that found EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 11 that spontaneous, flexible, and creative caregivers were in fact connected to improved ER and lower anxiety levels in their children (Shorer et al., 2021). A study involving infants as young as 4 to 15 months old demonstrated that less responsive parenting from mothers resulted in poorer ER in the babies. In contrast, the children of more responsive mothers exhibited higher emotional control (Kim & Kochanska, 2012). The role of the caregiver offers an important social context and source of modeling for the child to learn ER strategies, either for good or ill (Havighurst et al, 2013). The attachment relationship of child and caretaker (Birmingham et al., 2017), the relationship between caretakers (Camodeca & Coppola, 2019), the expressiveness and parenting style of the caretaker(s) contribute to strong or weak ER in a child (Hu et al., 2017; Morris et al., 2007). These relationships make positive caretaker roles invaluable to a child learning effective ER (Hu et al., 2017; Morris et al., 2007). Yap et al. (2008), found that positive affect in mothers was an indicator of higher functioning ER in their adolescent children, leading to the conclusion that the more positive caregivers are in facial appearance to children the more likely ER will be evident in adolescence. Children as young as 5 years old have reported needing additional positive support from caregivers to navigate difficult ER situations in school and struggled when they could not obtain it such as when a teacher is too busy to respond (Booth et al., 2019). A good ER program will teach caregivers about appropriate child behavior in order to set realistic expectations and encourage positive interaction (Lincoln et al., 2017). Strategies for Strengthening Effective ER Focusing on Five Emotions Children need different strategies for different emotions because not all emotions can be regulated the same way (Sjowall et al., 2015; Stefan et al., 2017; Yeo et al., 2014). For example, in a study of sadness and fear, reappraisal only slightly helped with regulating fear, but was significant in helping regulate feelings of sadness. In the same study, children were able to EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 12 regulate sadness using distraction, but the same technique was ineffective for dealing with/regulating fear (Davis et al., 2016). In another study about anger, results showed that while distraction did keep anger from escalating, it was the process of gathering information that de-escalated angry feelings in the children (Gilliom et al., 2002). In a study in which the participants used three different regulatory strategies, teachers viewed the participants as less aggressive and less disruptive during class (Davis et al., 2016). Finally, another study showed that teaching some children too many strategies could unintentionally generate the opposite effect and create a disadvantage, as avoidantly attached children tended to overly regulate emotional expressions (Stefan et al., 2017). There are some key features that must be in place for a successful ER program. One of these is the ability to label an emotion (Webster-Stratton & Reid, 2004). Children, as young as 18 months can be taught how to recognize and label an emotion they or their caregiver are feeling. It is also reported that children at this age even attempt to influence the emotion of a caregiver in order to get what they desire (Repacholi & Gopnik, 1997). The most effective way to teach this is to model labeling. For example, if a child is angry that it is time to leave a friend’s house, one could say “you are angry” thus helping the child label an emotion they are feeling in the moment they are feeling it. Another effective way to teach emotions is by reading books about feelings (McCormack, 2020), and using puppets or stuffed animals to model different emotions (Webster-Stratton & Reid, 2004). Introducing play to teach certain ER strategies has also been found to be an effective way to introduce children to new ideas. When a caregiver joins in the play as an active participant, it has been shown to increase ER and vocabulary in children (Cabrera et al., 2017; Shorer et al., 2021). EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 13 Sadness There is an important debate when dealing with sadness regulation in children between ignoring the child’s distress and using distraction as a positive regulatory technique (Waugh et al., 2020). Caregivers often want to know why children are sad and are quick to attempt to intervene to regulate their behavior. This is because when babies are first born, they cry to signal that something is distressing and the way in which caregivers respond to those cries can determine the quality of bonds formed and give the child a sense of stability and knowledge that they are safe and secure in this world (Woodhouse et al., 2020). Perhaps because of this important bond forming intuition, historically, avoidance as an ER tool in relation to sadness has been seen as a maladaptive strategy to ER. Distraction is vastly different from avoiding the child’s unhappiness. The important distinction between avoiding feelings of sadness and applying positive distraction techniques into an ER program is that one is done purposefully and infuses the moment with an activity that induces positive emotions (Waugh et al., 2020). Avoidance is ignoring a situation and the feelings associated with it, which may lead to rumination, the act of persistently and repetitively using passive focus onto a negative emotion, such as sadness or depression (Stewart et al., 2021; Stroebe et al., 2007). Positive distraction, on the other hand, is an adaptive way to deal with negative emotions and should be integrated into a healthy ER program (Stroebe et al., 2007). Preschool-aged children who watched a sad movie with caregivers using positive distraction techniques (to think about something happy or fun, like a vacation or ice cream), were able to significantly decrease sad feelings and regulate to a more normal emotive state (Davis et al., 2016). Positive distraction techniques have been shown to aid in helping with sadness and even EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 14 helped with family stress and future depressive symptoms in adolescents, especially when controlling for avoidance (Bettis et al., 2019; Waugh et al., 2020). Positive thinking aims to cultivate positive feelings, behaviors, and cognitions rather than fixing negative or pathological feelings, thoughts, or behaviors. This can include but is not limited to the ideas and pursuit of hope, gratitude, optimism, resiliency, and grit. It is not clear why positive thinking works so well on sad emotions, but the evidence of its impressive effect on ER is very strong (Esmaeili et al., 2019; Kwok et al., 2016; Shoshani & Slone, 2017). Therapists often offer positive psychology in group format, but research shows that individual skill development is extremely promising (Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009). Positive emotion-focused strategies, such as positive thinking hare been found to be highly effective, which children have proven to be superiorly predisposed to doing well (Davis et al., 2010; Garnefski et al., 2007). It stands to reason that when aided at implementing positive emotions over-time into their emotive regulatory practices that children will be able to make this a part of their own implicit emotional regulation. These strategies can be introduced to children as young as 18 months because as Yeo et al (2014) suggested, the earlier the skills are taught to children, the better. Another study intentionally disappointed children by giving them an undesirable prize and found that joint caregiver-child distraction techniques significantly reduced sadness (Morris et al., 2011), highlighting that having an adult who understands and incorporates healthy emotive coping techniques is just as important as teaching the child. Therefore, a highly effective ER program should focus on teaching distraction and positive thinking techniques, particularly when dealing with sadness. EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 15 Anger There are many different views of which strategies work best for regulating anger in children. One of the reasons for this is that there are conflicting views on the merits of expressing anger versus suppressing anger. What is agreed upon is that validating anger, showing verbal empathy, and helping children form a solution using collaborative problem solving (CPS), has been particularly effective in reducing anger and helping children develop cognitive thinking abilities (Booker et al., 2020; De Oliveira & Jackson, 2017; Greene, 2005; Heath et al., 2020; Johnson et al., 2012). Eisenberg et al. (1994) concentrated on the difference between preschool children who showed negative coping techniques versus positive ones, hints at the importance of introducing children to CPS at a young age. Children who did not express or vocalize anger were considered to have a higher emotional intelligence by teachers, but less by their parents, thus suggesting that they were only good at suppressing their anger in social situations, but then expressing that anger once safe at home (Eisenberg et al., 1994). Parents and teachers alike reported using CPS techniques more often than actual observations by researchers showed. Therefore, caregivers seem to overstate how often they implement actual CPS techniques, therefore it is imperative that caretakers take the time to learn how to implement CPS correctly and effectively in order to get the best outcome and practice often while using the given guidelines (Azad et al., 2016). Gathering information about an obstacle to a goal has been found to be effective in reducing anger (Gilliom et al., 2002). One study suggested this may be because children are able to emotionally regulate more effectively when finding solutions to the problems that triggered the anger in the first place (Pennequin et al., 2020). Another study about anger rumination suggested the likelihood that asking questions about the situation also pulls children out of the EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 16 rumination cycle and allows them to calm down as they focus on something else, as well as helping them to come up with solutions to the problem (Smith et al., 2016). From the research above, we can conclude that an effective ER program for a child that is angry or frustrated is teaching them to ask for information to reduce their anger, especially when coupled with CPS techniques. Fear Fear is a common part of childhood. Monsters under the bed, thunderstorms, spiders, etc. (Debiec & Olsson, 2017). Many of these fears are healthy and normal as children learn what is safe and what is not. It is when these fears become debilitating for the child that they need caregivers to step in and teach them how to regulate their fears in a healthy way. This will curb the likelihood that the fear will develop into internalizing problems (Rydell et al., 2003), depression (Hastings et al., 2014), or developing a risk for anxiety disorders later in life (Buss, 2011). Research shows that children who demonstrate healthier relationships with their caregivers (e.g. secure attachment) have been found to more often seek out comforting strategies with parents when they are afraid (Stefan et al., 2017). When a child is fearful and parents are unavailable, children tend to find comfort in tangible objects, such as a blanket or a soft toy (Garber, 2019). This finding suggests that a highly effective emotional regulatory system might include a stuffed animal for the fear emotion. This will give children that do not have secure attachments the ability to use comforting strategies in a different and safe self-regulatory way (Barlow et al., 2012). Children often form transitional attachments to cope with short-term fear and they can be influential in helping the child form long-term autonomy (Garber, 2019). It is also suggested that a small backpack be introduced for the child to bring something small and designated as “safe” (such as a blanket or toy) to bring with them anywhere (Swaim, 2021). EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 17 Fear-based emotions have been found to be better solved by introducing immersion techniques and expanding knowledge about specific fears (Abado et al., 2020; Düzkaya et al., 2021; Kahlon et al., 2019; Meindl et al., 2019). As the child learns that new things and places are safe, their fear begins to lessen. An effective way to implement immersion techniques is to slowly introduce a child to an unfamiliar environment or introduce a new object in a non-threatening way (such as starting with a picture) until the child gets acclimated to the thing inducing the fear. The fear-based object or situation can lose its hold and become non-threatening or even enjoyable (Kahlon et al., 2019); Meindl et al., 2019). Immersion is often suggested for foster children (for example, using the object of their fear such as the wooden spoon that was previously associated with punishment as a means to make cookies together). Immersion by degree looks at fears not as an “all or nothing” task or exposure but asks the child to choose something that they can do that is related to the fear. For example, a child might not be able to sit with class and watch the magician, but they can sit in the back corner of the room with a stuffed animal on their “safe cushion”; (Nelissen et al., 1995). The more novel things the child is exposed to, the less his or her fear of the world will manifest (Bubrick, n.d.; McNally, 2007). In the little research that has been conducted on managing fear in children, it seems that education and open discussion about the fear-inducing factor helps to reduce fear significantly (Abado et al., 2020; Düzkaya et al., 2021). This finding stems from the human fear of the unknown. The goal of an effective ER program would include ways to help children change any scary unknown places, activities, etc. into benign or even enjoyable experiences for the child, giving them back a sense of control and understanding of their world. EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 18 Anxiety While fear is often used synonymously with anxiety, there is a limited body of research specifically related to exploring how to regulate fear in young children. Since there is a difference between the two emotions they are addressed separately in this program. Anxiety tends to be more stress related and long term where fear tends to be shorter lived and is more commonly threat-based (Cheung-Blunden et al., 2019). The more anxious the child, the more emotionally-based their coping strategies tend to be (e.g., crying, screaming, getting mad), the more avoidant and withdrawn they are, and the less positive their coping strategies tend to be (Yeo et al., 2014). Calming a child’s body when they are experiencing anxiety may be an effective emotional regulatory technique since sensory over-responsivity is the cause of anxiety in some children (Green & Ben-Sasson, 2010; Larson et al., 2010). Calming techniques, such as reaching in wide arcs in the shape of a large circle in front of the body while breathing in and out or freezing like a snowman and then slowly melting, are widely used tools in teaching children to self-regulate anxiety and have been shown to be effective (Petersen et al., 2020). Reappraisal, looking at something in a different way, has also been shown to be highly effective in reducing anxiety in children, specifically lessening self-harm behavior (Bettis et al., 2019), learning less reactivity when dealing with anxiety (Keil et al., 2021), and positive coping skills, especially at a young age (Yeo et al., 2014). Identifying what is causing the anxiety and the “why” of that specific anxiety-inducing stimuli is sometimes important as well, followed by introducing reappraisal thinking to lessen the specific worry (Brown et al., 2020). A highly effective ER program would need to include both calming techniques and reappraisal of specific anxiety inducing stimuli when dealing with anxiety. EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 19 Overactive Sometimes children feel overly happy or exuberant and need emotional regulation of these positive emotions to calm down. A lack of ER is significantly associated with symptoms of overactivity and impulsivity (Sjowall et al., 2015). Because many overactive children struggle with atypical sensory processing (Mah & Doherty, 2021) an effective way to calm down overly exuberant emotions is to engage in sensory experiences, such as using a weighted blanket or playing quietly with sand when attempting to calm the body. Sensory activities used in a calming way when needing to de-escalate or in an active way when needing more stimulation can prove positive for children and bring about an emotional equilibrium when out of balance (Dickie et al., 2009). A second way to calm overly excited emotions includes mindfulness activities that engage at least three of the senses in each session. An example of this would be handing a child a ball of Play-Doh and asking him/her to smell the dough, feel the doh between his/her fingers, and look at the doh (the color, the shape, etc.). Mindfulness activities that engage the senses have a calming effect and bring emotions down to normative levels (Agarwal, & Sarthi, 2020; Roux & Philippot, 2020; Zaccari et. al., 2021). The need for focusing on regulating positive emotions such as happiness and exuberance may be essential when a child is experiencing overactivity, which is regulated using mindfulness activities that engage at least three of the senses, as well as implementing sensory stimuli. Sometimes children who are over excited need to expend their extra energy (Ng et al., 2017). This is when stimulation is necessary and sensory activities such as running, jumping, or engaging in specific exercises are helpful in calming the body down (Mah & Doherty, 2021; EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 20 Salami et al., 2017). Thus, a highly effective ER program should include both sensory application and mindfulness when dealing with overactivity in children. Summary The review of literature shows the need for an ER program for children aged 3-7 that ideally includes two strategies for each of the five emotions discussed. The need can be met by incorporating a variety of strategies specific to each emotion because the way one experiences emotions is vastly unique from one emotion to another. It is not necessary to calm down if one is feeling sad, for example. Therefore, a unique approach to each of the five emotions is necessary. Furthermore, it is suggested that stuffed animals, activities, and books be incorporated into the program to offer accessibility and delight to children while learning to regulate emotions, as well as encourage positive interaction and relationship bonding with the caregiver (Shorer et al., 2021; Webster-Stratton & Reid, 2004). It is further suggested that pre-emptive strategies be taught, as well as emergent strategies, for regulating heated emotions in the moment. The research and theories reviewed clearly outline the need for a comprehensive, easily accessible, and unique approach to regulating emotions as nothing exists today that teaches both caregivers and children how to regulate five separate emotions in young kids with differing techniques effectively. A program that incorporates each of the strategies described above will provide young children with the skills needed to learn to manage emotions in healthy ways, both internally and externally. Purpose The purpose of this curriculum project was to develop a new program for early childhood educators and those working with children aged 3-7 to assist in supporting the development of emotional regulation. The program targeted each of the five basic emotions of children in diverse EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 21 ways from one another to create improved outcomes for emotional control (Davis et al., 2016). . It was designed to be highly engaging for children by introducing stories, lovable characters, and enjoyable strategies for young people to learn effective strategies for managing their emotions. The program was designed to be easy enough for all adult caregivers (e.g., educators, parents, daycare providers) to use and become active participants with the children The goals of this project were to: 1. Create an example outline for one story with a captivating emotional-related character for each emotion that instructs children on one of the two regulatory methods of the program. 2. Create ideas for connecting activities/practices that will aid in teaching the strategies. 3. Develop a guide for adult caregivers describing the program in detail and how it should be used to be the most efficacious for their child, student, etc. Method The curriculum project focuses on caregiver support for teaching emotional regulation to young children. The program was created based on the characteristics of ER strategies identified in the literature for sadness, anger, fear, anxiety, and overactivity. Audience The program was designed for use in a variety of settings including home and school. Teachers of children aged three to seven would be a primary audience. This program was designed to be diverse enough for students from all cultures and backgrounds, as well as children with or without disabilities (modifications are included if necessary). It also was designed to be used by any caregiver in a child’s home, including birth parents, foster parents, biological relatives, and nannies. EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 22 Scope of Project The program introduces two strategies for each emotion. One of those two strategies is taught in story form. For this project one story has been written as an example. For the other strategy, activity ideas are presented to be used between caregiver and child for ER growth. A caregiver guide was written to include explanations of the strategies for each emotion, activity ideas to be used to teach those strategies, and an explanation of the stuffed animals that are expected to be helpful in aiding the teaching of ER. Expert Feedback An overview of the program was evaluated by three experts in the field to expose any areas needed for improvement. The experts included an early childhood special education specialist, a parent of young children, and a daycare provider. They were given a questionnaire consisting of nine questions (see Appendix A) about the program, and open comments to include ideas on how to improve it. Outcomes and Feedback The caregiver guidebook (see Appendix B) was developed with the entire program in mind. It breaks down why the program is needed, how to implement it, and includes the objects and activity ideas that will be implemented to apply the program to the best outcome possible. The guidebook begins with an introduction to the program, explains what ER is and why it is important in the development of children. It then explains how the program works best, with specific instructions on how to implement it in the best way possible. The two strategies for each emotion are then explained as to why two for each emotion were decided and how they will be presented within each emotion in the program. EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 23 Next in the guidebook the program is actually broken down into sections for the caregiver. Labeling emotions is the first activity idea mentioned because it is included in each emotion kit. From there, each emotion is clearly laid out with the activities and object ideas that are to be used to teach the particular emotion so that if only one emotion is being taught, the caregiver can easily flip to that section. The guidebook concludes with references used to create the program ideas. The early childhood special education specialist gave supportive feedback. Overall, she felt it was extremely easy to implement as well as engaging for the child and the caregiver in teaching emotional regulation. Her response to what was best about the program is as follows: I like that it is very child centered rather than a teacher or parent directed program. It incorporates good research data as the basis of making the decisions for the program content. I have implemented through my 30 years of working with children with special needs (mostly with children with Autism) many curricula. I have found them somewhat incomplete and have needed to add to them or modify them. Zones of Regulation, the 5point scale and second step all have good ideas for the classroom setting but they are not complete in my experience. This program not only would be easy to implement and teach in the classroom setting but it would be extremely easy for a parent to also implement at home. When I taught, I would also have a home visit with parents to help them implement strategies at home. This would have been a wonderful addition to help parents interact with their children and teach emotional regulation. I think the addition of ready-made stories and activities is a strong element to this program. The activities include strategies that use sight, movement, and audio so there is a variety of input for the child to learn which will aid in reaching more children and their learning style. EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 24 The early childhood special education specialist’s response to what could be improved was: The guidebook is clear and understandable and not too long or overwhelming. It is hard to see improvements to that. I like that the research is included in the footnotes in the back. The stories and activities sound fun and engaging as well as being a catalyst for opening up the child to learn about emotional regulation, which is a hard topic to teach without a program such as this. Maybe down the road an addition for older children would be helpful. Perhaps an addition for a therapeutic setting as well. Perhaps also down the road additional activity suggestions or kits could be added to expand the variety of activities available. The daycare provider’s response was inconsistent, as her ratings were quite high for the effectiveness and engagement of the program for the children she watches, yet her response to what could be improved was contradictory. “I don’t think this program is very effective for teaching emotion regulation in younger children. A lot of the wording and situations aren't relatable. I think using real situations children are familiar with would be better.” The parent that responded to the survey felt that it would be somewhat easy to implement, yet highly effective and engaging with her kids and herself at home. She also felt it would be very accessible to children of different abilities. “I like that the program seems simple to follow and is very specific. I think the books are a good way to help the children understand how they might deal with their own situations.” She also recommended improvements: “There were just a couple of little mistakes I noticed in wording, and numbering, but the overall program seems well thought out and very straight forward. I also thought that everything was written very clearly and concise.” EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 25 From the responses that were given it seems that the program, while it would be highly effective to be implemented in schools and home settings, perhaps it is not the best program for day care facilities that do not include academics or story times. The ideas given by the special education specialist to expand to therapeutic settings and to create a program that is more geared towards older children in the future seem exactly on track with my own plans for expansion on the program as well as offering an online version, which perhaps would be more conducive to a daycare setting. The example story was written for the sadness emotion and implemented “Sad Puppy” as its main character to show how to use the strategy of positive thinking (see Appendix C). It was created with the other stories in mind as all of them will implement a similar formula to be united and all the characters will ultimately find a treasure chest with an object to be used by the child to help implement the strategy in their real lives. Next Steps Due to the feedback given by the caregivers it is important to weigh the idea of changing the story idea to more realistic challenges for the animal character to experience. It is also possible to keep the more fantastical ideas in place and have a guide at the beginning of the books to teach the caregiver how to help the child learn to use the lesson presented in the story into everyday life. Both ways have been successful in popular children’s’ books and can easily be adapted either way. Plans for putting this program into the hands of caregivers are next. Pitching to a company familiar with making educational programs and creating a protype will be necessary. It will be easily accessed on my webpage to learn more about and purchase if interested. An online version will also need to be created to help children be more independent with the program in a EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 26 classroom or daycare setting. Since independence and self ER is the goal of this program, seminars for caregivers in different settings (e.g., teachers, foster care providers, parents, etc.) will be most helpful. More specific directions on how to use the activities will also be created for caregivers to make the program as simple and effective to use as possible. The hope is that educational and bookstores will sell the program to the public as well. EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 27 References Abado, E., Sagi, J., Silber, N., De Houwer, J., Aue, T., & Okon-Singer, H. (2020). Reducing attention bias in spider fear by manipulating expectancies. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 135, 103729-103729. doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2020.103729 Agarwal, N., & Sarthi, P. (2020). Efficacy of yoga and mindfulness as a potential intervention for children with ADHD: A review study. Indian Journal of Positive Psychology, 11(3), 191-196. Azad, G. F., Kim, M., Marcus, S. C., Sheridan, S. M., & Mandell, D. S. (2016). Parent-teacher communication about children with autism spectrum disorder: An examination of collaborative problem-solving. Psychology in the Schools, 53(10), 1071-1084. doi.org/10.1002/pits.21976 Barlow, M. R., Hutchinson, C. A., Newton, K., Grover, T., & Ward, L. (2012). Childhood neglect, attachment to companion animals, and stuffed animals as attachment objects in women and men. Anthrozoös, 25(1), 111-119. Bettis, A. H., Henry, L., Prussien, K. V., Vreeland, A., Smith, M., Adery, L. H., & Compas, B. E. (2019). Laboratory and self-report methods to assess reappraisal and distraction in youth. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 48(6), 855-865. doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2018.1466306 Birmingham, R. S., Bub, K. L., & Vaughn, B. E. (2017). Parenting in infancy and self-regulation in preschool: An investigation of the role of attachment history. Attachment & Human Development, 19(2), 107-129. doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2016.1259335 EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 28 Blair, K. A., Denham, S. A., Kochanoff, A., & Whipple, B. (2004). Playing it cool: Temperament, emotion regulation, and social behavior in preschoolers. Journal of School Psychology, 42(6), 419-443. doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2004.10.002 Blewitt, C., O'Connor, A., Morris, H., Nolan, A., Mousa, A., Green, R., Ifanti, A., Jackson, K., & Skouteris, H. (2021). "It's embedded in what we do for every child": A qualitative exploration of early childhood educators' perspectives on supporting children's social and emotional learning. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(4), 1530. doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18041530 Bocknek, E. L., Richardson, P. A., van den Heuvel, M. I., Qipo, T., & Brophy-Herb, H. E. (2018). Sleep moderates the association between routines and emotion regulation for toddlers in poverty. Journal of Family Psychology, 32(7), 966-974. doi.org/10.1037/fam0000433 Booker, J. A., Capriola-Hall, N. N., Greene, R. W., & Ollendick, T. H. (2020). The parent-child relationship and posttreatment child outcomes across two treatments for oppositional defiant disorder. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 49(3), 405-419. doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2018.1555761 Booth, A., O’Farrelly, C., Hennessy, E., & Doyle, O. (2019). ‘Be good, know the rules’: Children’s perspectives on starting school and self-regulation. Childhood, 26(4), 509-524. doi.org/10.1177/0907568219840397 Braet, C., Theuwis, L., Van Durme, K., Vandewalle, J., Vandevivere, E., Wante, L., Moens, E., Verbeken, S., & Goossens, L. (2014). Emotion regulation in children with emotional problems. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 38(5), 493-504. doi.org/10.1007/s10608-014-9616-x EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 29 Brown, S. L., McCobin, A., Easley, S., & McGoey, K. E. (2020). Supporting anxious children in the preschool classroom. YC Young Children, 75(3), 16-26. Bubrick, J. (n.d.). Behavioral treatment for kids with anxiety. Retrieved from https://childmind.org/article/behavioral-treatment-kids-anxiety/ Buss, K. A. (2011). Which fearful toddlers should we worry about? Context, fear regulation, and anxiety risk. Developmental psychology, 47(3), 804. Cabrera, N. J., Karberg, E., Malin, J. L., & Aldoney, D. (2017). The magic of play: Low‐income mothers’ and fathers’ playfulness and children's emotion regulation and vocabulary skills. Infant Mental Health Journal, 38(6), 757-771. doi.org/10.1002/imhj.21682 Camodeca, M., & Coppola, G. (2019). Participant roles in preschool bullying: The impact of emotion regulation, social preference, and quality of the teacher–child relationship. Social Development, 28(1), 3-21. doi.org/10.1111/sode.12320 Cheung-Blunden, V., Cropper, K., Panis, A., & Davis, K. (2019). Functional divergence of two threat-induced emotions: Fear-based versus anxiety-based cybersecurity preferences. Emotion, 19(8), 1353-1365. doi.org/10.1037/emo0000508 Conner, C. M., White, S. W., Beck, K. B., Golt, J., Smith, I. C., & Mazefsky, C. A. (2019). Improving emotion regulation ability in autism: The Emotional Awareness and Skills Enhancement (EASE) program. Autism, 23(5), 1273-1287. Davis, E. L., Levine, L. J., Lench, H. C., & Quas, J. A. (2010). Metacognitive emotion regulation: Children's awareness that changing thoughts and goals can alleviate negative emotions. Emotion, 10(4), 498-510. doi:http://dx.doi.org.hal.weber.edu:2200/10.1037/a0018428 EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 30 Davis, E. L., Quiñones-Camacho, L. E., & Buss, K. A. (2016). The effects of distraction and reappraisal on children's parasympathetic regulation of sadness and fear. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 142, 344-358. doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2015.09.020 Davis, M. M., Miernicki, M. E., Telzer, E. H., & Rudolph, K. D. (2019). The contribution of childhood negative emotionality and cognitive control to anxiety-linked neural dysregulation of emotion in adolescence. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 47(3), 515-527. doi.org/10.1007/s10802-018-0456-0 Davis, T. S., Mauss, I. B., Lumian, D., Troy, A. S., Shallcross, A. J., Zarolia, P., Ford, B. Q., & McRae, K. (2014). Emotional reactivity and emotion regulation among adults with a history of self-harm: Laboratory self-report and functional MRI evidence. Journal of Abnormal Psychology (1965), 123(3), 499-509. doi.org/10.1037/a0036962 Debiec, J., & Olsson, A. (2017). Social fear learning: from animal models to human function. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 21(7), 546-555. DeOliveira, E. A., & Jackson, E. A. (2017). The moderation role of self-perceived maternal empathy in observed mother-child collaborative problem solving. Infant and Child Development, 26(3), e1993. doi.org/10.1002/icd.1993 Dickie, V. A., Baranek, G. T., Schultz, B., Watson, L. R., & McComish, C. S. (2009). Parent reports of sensory experiences of preschool children with and without autism: A qualitative study. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 63(2), 172-181. doi:10.5014/ajot.63.2.172 EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 31 Düzkaya, D. S., Bozkurt, G., Ulupınar, S., Uysal, G., Uçar, S., & Uysalol, M. (2021). The effect of a cartoon and an information video about intravenous insertion on pain and fear in children aged 6 to 12 years in the pediatric emergency unit: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Emergency Nursing, 47(1), 76-87. Edossa, A. K., Schroeders, U., Weinert, S., & Artelt, C. (2018). The development of emotional and behavioral self-regulation and their effects on academic achievement in childhood. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 42(2), 192-202. Eisenberg, N., Fabes, R., Nyman, M., Bernzweig, J., & Pinuelas, A. (1994). The relations of emotionality and regulation to children's anger-related reactions. Child Development, 65(1), 109-128. doi:10.2307/1131369 Eisenberg, N., Spinrad, T. L., & Eggum, N. D. (2010). Emotion-related self-regulation and its relation to children’s maladjustment. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 6, 495–525. England-Mason, G., & Gonzalez, A. (2020). Intervening to shape children’s emotion regulation: A review of emotion socialization parenting programs for young children. Emotion, 20(1), 98. Esmaeili D, H., Elyasi, F., & Hasanzadeh, R. (2019). Effectiveness of positive thinking training on anxiety, depression, and quality of life of mothers of children with leukemia. Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Sciences, 6(1), 21-26. doi.org/10.410 Forrest, C. L., Gibson, J. L., Halligan, S. L., & St. Clair, M. C. (2020). A cross-lagged analysis of emotion regulation, peer problems, and emotional problems in children with and without early language difficulties: Evidence from the millennium cohort study. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 63(4), 1227-1239. EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 32 Frey, K., & Sylvester, L. (1997). Research on the Second Step Program: Do Student Behaviors and Attitudes Improve? What Do Teachers Think about the Program? Frühauf, A., Niedermeier, M., Sevecke, K., Haid-Stecher, N., Albertini, C., Richter, K., Schipglinger, S., & Kopp, M. (2020). Affective responses to climbing exercises in children and adolescents during in-patient treatment for mental health disorders a pilot study on acute effects of different exercise interventions. Psychiatry Research, 291, 113245. Garber, B. D. (2019). For the love of fluffy: Respecting, protecting, and empowering transitional objects in the context of high-conflict divorce. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 60(7), 552-565. doi.org/10.1080/10502556.2019.1586370 Garnefski, N., Rieffe, C., Jellesma, F., Terwogt, M. M., & Kraaij, V. (2007). Cognitive emotion regulation strategies and emotional problems in 9–11-year-old children: The development of an instrument. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 16(1), 1-9. doi.org/10.1007/s00787-006-0562-3 Geyer, C., & Ogbonnaya, I. N. (2021). The relationship between maternal domestic violence and infant and toddlers’ emotional regulation: Highlighting the need for preventive services. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(3-4), 1029-1048. doi.org/10.1177/0886260517739891 Gilliom, M., Shaw, D. S., Beck, J. E., Schonberg, M. A., & Lukon, J. L. (2002). Anger regulation in disadvantaged preschool boys: Strategies, antecedents, and the development of self-control. Developmental Psychology, 38(2), 222-235. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.38.2.222 Greene, R.W. (2005). The explosive child. First Harper. EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 33 Green, S. A., & Ben-Sasson, A. (2010). Anxiety disorders and sensory over-responsivity in children with autism spectrum disorders: is there a causal relationship? Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 40(12), 1495-1504. Gutiérrez-Cobo, M. J., Cabello, R., & Fernández-Berrocal, P. (2017). Performance-based ability emotional intelligence benefits working memory capacity during performance on hot tasks. Scientific Reports (Nature Publisher Group), 7, 1-9. doi:http://dx.doi.org.hal.weber.edu:2200/10.1038/s41598-017-12000-7 Güzel, H. Ş., Akkaya, G., & Altuntaş, M. (2021). The investigation of the relationship between depressive symptoms and self-perception in children diagnosed with specific learning disorder: The mediator role of difficulties in emotional regulation. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 24(2), 228-238. doi.org/10.5505/kpd.2020.24008 Harden, B. J., Panlilio, C., Morrison, C., Duncan, A. D., Duchene, M., & Clyman, R. B. (2017). Emotion regulation of preschool children in foster care: The influence of maternal depression and parenting. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 26(4), 1124-1134. doi.org/10.1007/s10826-016-0636-x Hastings, P. D., Klimes-Dougan, B., Kendziora, K. T., Brand, A., & Zahn-Waxler, C. (2014). Regulating sadness and fear from outside and within: Mothers' emotion socialization and adolescents' parasympathetic regulation predict the development of internalizing difficulties. Development and psychopathology, 26, 1369-1384. Haukeland, Y. B., Czajkowski, N. O., Fjermestad, K. W., Silverman, W. K., Mossige, S., & Vatne, T. M. (2020). Evaluation of “SIBS,” an intervention for siblings and parents of children with chronic disorders. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 29, 2201-2217. EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 34 Havighurst, S. S., Wilson, K. R., Harley, A. E., Kehoe, C., Efron, D., & Prior, M. R. (2013). “Tuning into Kids”: Reducing young children’s behavior problems using an emotion coaching parenting program. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 44(2), 247-264. Heath, G. H., Fife‐Schaw, C., Wang, L., Eddy, C. J., Hone, M. J. G., & Pollastri, A. R. (2020). Collaborative problem solving reduces children's emotional and behavioral difficulties and parenting stress: Two key mechanisms. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 76(7), 1226-1240. doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22946 Hessler, D. M., & Katz, L. F. (2009; 2010). Brief report: Associations between emotional competence and adolescent risky behavior. Journal of Adolescence, 33(1), 241-246. doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2009.04.007 Hipson, W. E., Coplan, R. J., & Séguin, D. G. (2019). Active emotion regulation mediates links between shyness and social adjustment in preschool. Social Development, 28(4), 893-907. doi.org/10.1111/sode.12372 Hoffman, J. (2018). The Effects of Implementing Zones of Regulation Curriculum in a Third Grade Classroom. Dissertations, Theses, and Projects. 62. Hu, Y., Wang, Y., & Liu, A. (2017). The influence of mothers’ emotional expressivity and class grouping on Chinese preschoolers’ emotional regulation strategies. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 26(3), 824-832. doi.org/10.1007/s10826-016-0606-3 Imrisek, S. D., Castaño, K., & Bernard, K. (2018). Developing self‐regulation in a dysregulating world: Attachment and biobehavioral Catch‐up for a toddler in foster care. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 74(8), 1308-1318. doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22642 EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 35 Johnson, M., Ostlund, S., Fransson, G., Landgren, M., Nasic, S., Kadesjö, B., Gillberg, C., & Fernell, E. (2012). Attention-deficit/overactivity disorder with oppositional defiant disorder in Swedish children - an open study of collaborative problem solving. Acta Paediatrica, 101(6), 624. Jusienė, R., & Breidokienė, R. (2019). Preschoolers' self‐regulation and developmental trajectories of sleep problems in early childhood. Infant and Child Development, 28(6), e2158. doi.org/10.1002/icd.2158 Kahlon, S., Lindner, P., & Nordgreen, T. (2019). Virtual reality exposure therapy for adolescents with fear of public speaking: a non-randomized feasibility and pilot study. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 13(1), 47. Keil, V., Tuschen-Caffier, B., & Schmitz, J. (2021). Effects of cognitive reappraisal on subjective and neural reactivity to angry faces in children with social anxiety disorder, clinical controls with mixed anxiety disorders and healthy children. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 1-13. doi.org/10.1007/s10578-021-01173-y Kim, S., & Kochanska, G. (2012). Child temperament moderates effects of parent-child mutuality on self-regulation: A relationship-based path for emotionally negative infants. Child Development, 83(4), 1275-1289. doi.org/10.1111/j.14678624.2012.01778.x Kwok, Sylvia Y. C. L, Gu, M., & Kit, K. T. K. (2016). Positive psychology intervention to alleviate child depression and increase life satisfaction: A randomized clinical trial. Research on Social Work Practice, 26(4), 350-361. doi.org/10.1177/1049731516629799 EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 36 Larson, H. A., El Ramahi, M. K., Conn, S. R., Estes, L. A., & Ghibellini, A. B. (2010). Reducing test anxiety among third grade students through the implementation of relaxation techniques. Journal of School Counseling, 8(19), n19. Lincoln, C. R., Russell, B. S., Donohue, E. B., & Racine, L. E. (2017). Mother-child interactions and preschoolers’ emotion regulation outcomes: Nurturing autonomous emotion regulation. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 26(2), 559-573. doi.org/10.1007/s10826-016-0561-z Mah, J. W. T., & Doherty, M. (2021). Sensorimotor intervention group for children with ADHD and sensory processing difficulties: A feasibility study. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 30(2), 447-459. doi.org/10.1007/s10826-021-01900-y Mauri, M., Crippa, A., Bacchetta, A., Grazioli, S., Rosi, E., Gazzola, E., Gallace, A., & Nobile, M. (2020). The utility of NIRS technology for exploring emotional processing in children. Journal of Affective Disorders, 274, 819-824. doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.06.004 McCormack, A. (2020). No fear? Nursery World, 2020(3), 30-31. McNally, R. J. (2007). Mechanisms of exposure therapy: How neuroscience can improve psychological treatments for anxiety disorders. Clinical Psychology Review, 27(6), 750-759. doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2007.01.003 Meindl, J. N., Saba, S., Gray, M., Stuebing, L., & Jarvis, A. (2019). Reducing blood draw phobia in an adult with autism spectrum disorder using low‐cost virtual reality exposure therapy. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 32(6), 1446-1452. doi.org/10.1111/jar.12637 EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 37 Micanti, F., Iasevoli, F., Cucciniello, C., Costabile, R., Loiarro, G., Pecoraro, G., Pasanisi, F., Rossetti, G., & Galletta, D. (2017). The relationship between emotional regulation and eating behaviour: A multidimensional analysis of obesity psychopathology. Eating and Weight Disorders, 22(1), 105-115. doi.org/10.1007/s40519-016-0275-7 Moffitt, T. E., Arseneault, L., Belsky, D., Dickson, N., Hancox, R. J., Harrington, H., Houts, R., Poulton, R., Roberts, B. W., Ross, S., Sears, M. R., Thomson, W. M., & Caspi, A. (2011). A gradient of childhood self-control predicts health, wealth, and public safety. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS, 108(7), 2693-2698. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1010076108 Morris, A. S., Silk, J. S., Morris, M. D. S., Steinberg, L., Aucoin, K. J., & Keyes, A. W. (2011). The influence of mother–child emotion regulation strategies on children's expression of anger and sadness. Developmental Psychology, 47(1), 213-225. doi:http://dx.doi.org.hal.weber.edu:2200/10.1037/a0021021 Morris, A. S., Silk, J. S., Steinberg, L., Myers, S. S., & Robinson, L. R. (2007). The role of the family context in the development of emotion regulation. Social Development, 16(2), 361-388. doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9507.2007.00389.x Moy, G. E., & Hazen, A. (2018). A systematic review of the second step program. Journal of school psychology, 71, 18-41. Navsaria, N., Hawkey, E. J., Whalen, B. M., & Galvin, K. (2020). Using social and emotional learning paradigms to inform a therapeutic intervention for preschool-aged children and their parents. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 17(6), 895-925. doi.org/10.1080/17405629.2020.1811085 EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 38 Nelissen, I., Muris, P., & Merckelbach, H. (1995). Computerized exposure and in vivo exposure treatments of spider fear in children: Two case reports. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 26(2), 153-156. Ng, Q. X., Ho, C. Y. X., Chan, H. W., Yong, B. Z. J., & Yeo, W. (2017). Managing childhood and adolescent attention-deficit/overactivity disorder (ADHD) with exercise: A systematic review. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 34, 123-128. doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2017.08.018 Pennequin, V., Questel, F., Delaville, E., Delugre, M., & Maintenant, C. (2020). Metacognition and emotional regulation in children from 8 to 12 years old. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 90(S1), 1-16. doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12305 Petersen, C. L., Görges, M., Todorova, E., West, N. C., Newlove, T., & Ansermino, J. M. (2020). Feasibility of using a single heart rate–based measure for real-time feedback in a voluntary deep breathing app for children: Data collection and algorithm development. JMIR Perioperative Medicine, 3(2), e16639-e16639. doi.org/10.2196/16639 Potijk, M. R., Janszky, I., Reijneveld, S. A., & Falkstedt, D. (2016). Risk of coronary heart disease in men with poor emotional control: A prospective study. Psychosomatic Medicine, 78(1), 60. Pylypow, J., Quinn, D., Duncan, D., & Balbuena, L. (2020; 2017). A measure of emotional regulation and irritability in children and adolescents: The clinical evaluation of emotional Regulation–9. Journal of Attention Disorders, 24(14), 2002-2011. doi.org/10.1177/1087054717737162 EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 39 Repacholi, B. M., & Gopnik, A. (1997). Early reasoning about desires: evidence from 14-and 18-month-olds. Developmental psychology, 33(1), 12. Romero-Ayuso, D., Alcántara-Vázquez, P., Almenara-García, A., Nuñez-Camarero, I., Triviño Juárez, J. M., Ariza-Vega, P., Molina, J., & González, P. (2020). Self-regulation in children with neurodevelopmental disorders “SR-MRehab: Un colegio emocionante”: A protocol study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(12), 4198. doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17124198 Roux, B., & Philippot, P. (2020). A mindfulness-based program among adolescent boys with behavior disorders: A quasi-experimental study. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 29(8), 2186-2200. Rydell, A. M., Berlin, L., & Bohlin, G. (2003). Emotionality, emotion regulation, and adaptation among 5-to 8-year-old children. Emotion, 3(1), 30. Salami, F., Ashayeri, H., Estaki, M., Farzad, V., & Entezar, R. K. (2017). Studying the effectiveness of combination therapy (based on executive function and sensory integration) child-centered on the symptoms of attention Deficit/overactivity disorder (ADHD). International Education Studies, 10(4), 70. doi.org/10.5539/ies.v10n4p70 Shorer, M., Swissa, O., Levavi, P., & Swissa, A. (2021). Parental playfulness and children's emotional regulation: The mediating role of parents' emotional regulation and the parent child relationship. Early Child Development and Care, 191(2), 210-220. doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2019.1612385 Shoshani, A., & Slone, M. (2017). Positive education for young children: Effects of a positive psychology intervention for preschool children on subjective well-being and learning behaviors. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1866- 1866. doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01866 EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 40 Sin, N. L., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2009). Enhancing well-being and alleviating depressive symptoms with positive psychology interventions: A practice-friendly meta-analysis. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 4(65), 467-487. doi.org/10.1002/jclp.20593 Sjöwall, D., Backman, A., & Thorell, L. B. (2015). Neuropsychological heterogeneity in preschool ADHD: Investigating the interplay between cognitive, affective, and motivation-based forms of regulation. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 43(4), 669-680. doi:10.1007/s10802-014-9942-1 Slot, P. L., Mulder, H., Verhagen, J., & Leseman, P. (2017). Preschoolers' cognitive and emotional self-regulation in pretend play : Relations with executive functions and quality of play. Infant and Child Development, 26(6), e2038-n/a. doi.org/10.1002/icd.2038 Smith-Adcock, S., Leite, W., Kaya, Y., & Amatea, E. (2019). A model of parenting risk and resilience, social-emotional readiness, and reading achievement in kindergarten children from low-income families’ model. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 28(10), 2826-2841. doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01462-0 Smith, S. D., Stephens, H. F., Repper, K., & Kistner, J. A. (2016). The relationship between anger rumination and aggression in typically developing children and high-risk adolescents. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 38(4), 515-527. doi.org/10.1007/s10862-016-9542-1 Ştefan, C. A., Avram, J., & Miclea, M. (2017). Children's awareness concerning emotion regulation strategies: Effects of attachment status. Social Development, 26(4), 694-708. doi:10.1111/sode.12234 EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 41 Stewart, Tracy M., Simon C. Hunter, & Sinéad M. R., (2018) A prospective investigation of rumination and executive control in predicting overgeneral autobiographical memory in adolescence. Memory & Cognition 46(3), 482-96. Stroebe, M., Boelen, P. A., Van Den Hout, M., Stroebe, W., Salemink, E., & Van Den Bout, J. (2007). Ruminative coping as avoidance. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, 257(8), 462-472. Swaim, L. A. (2021). The Effect a Security Item Has on a Young Child’s Preschool Separation Experience https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/published-disserta tion-references. Teisl, M., & Cicchetti, D. (2008; 2007). Physical abuse, cognitive and emotional processes, and aggressive/disruptive behavior problems. Social Development, 17(1), 1-23. doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9507.2007.00412.x van der Kaap-Deeder, J., Soenens, B., Mouratidis, A., De Pauw, S., Krøjgaard, P., & Vansteenkiste, M. (2020). Towards a detailed understanding of preschool children's memory-related functioning and emotion regulation: The role of parents' observed reminiscence style, memory valence, and parental gender. Developmental Psychology, 56(9), 1696-1708. doi.org/10.1037/dev0001048 Watling, C. N., Shaw, L. M., & Watling, H. (2020). Sleep-impaired emotional regulation, impaired cognition, and poor sleep health are associated with risky sleepy driving in young adults. Traffic Injury Prevention, 21(2), 133. EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 42 Waugh, C. E., Shing, E. Z., & Furr, R. M. (2020). Not all disengagement coping strategies are created equal: Positive distraction, but not avoidance, can be an adaptive coping strategy for chronic life stressors. Anxiety, Stress, and Coping, 33(5), 511-529. doi.org/10.1080/10615806.2020.1755820 Webster-Stratton, C., & Reid, M. J. (2004). Strengthening social and emotional competence in young children—The foundation for early school readiness and success: Incredible years classroom social skills and problem-solving curriculum. Infants & Young Children, 17(2), 96-113. doi:10.1097/00001163-200404000-00002 Whalen, D. J., Gilbert, K. E., Kelly, D., Hajcak, G., Kappenman, E. S., Luby, J. L., & Barch, D. M. (2020). Preschool-onset major depressive disorder is characterized by electrocortical deficits in processing pleasant emotional pictures. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 48(1), 91-108. doi.org/10.1007/s10802-019-00585-8 Wilkinson, J. E., & Kao, C. (2019). Aspects of socio-emotional learning in Taiwan’s pre-schools: An exploratory study of teachers’ perspectives. International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy, 13(1), 1-17. doi.org/10.1186/s40723-019-0057-6 Wills, T. A., Pokhrel, P., Morehouse, E., & Fenster, B. (2011). Behavioral and emotional regulation and adolescent substance use problems: A test of moderation effects in a dual-process model. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 25(2), 279-292. doi.org/10.1037/a0022870 EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 43 Wirtz, P. H., von Känel, R., Mohiyeddini, C., Emini, L., Ruedisueli, K., Groessbauer, S., & Ehlert, U. (2006). Low social support and poor emotional regulation are associated with increased stress hormone reactivity to mental stress in systemic hypertension. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 91(10), 3857-3865. doi.org/10.1210/jc.2005-2586 Woodhouse, S. S., Scott, J. R., Hepworth, A. D., & Cassidy, J. (2020). Secure base provision: A new approach to examining links between maternal caregiving and infant attachment. Child Development, 91(1), e249-e265. Yap, M. B. H., Allen, N. B., & Ladouceur, C. D. (2008). Maternal socialization of positive affect: The impact of invalidation on adolescent emotion regulation and depressive symptomatology. Child Development, 79(5), 1415-1431. doi.org/10.1111/j.1467 8624.2008.01196.x Yeo, K., Frydenberg, E., Northam, E., & Deans, J. (2014). Coping with stress among preschool children and associations with anxiety level and controllability of situations. Australian Journal of Psychology, 66(2), 93-101. doi:10.1111/ajpy.12047 Zaccari, V., Santonastaso, O., Mandolesi, L., De Crescenzo, F., Foti, F., Crescentini, C., Fabbro, F., Vicari, S., Curcio, G., & Menghini, D. (2021). Clinical application of mindfulness-oriented meditation in children with ADHD: a preliminary study on sleep and behavioral problems. Psychology & Health, 1-17. doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2021.1892110 EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 44 Appendix A: Questionnaire Given to Experts for Feedback Q1 How easy do you feel that this program would be to implement? Extremely easy (1) Somewhat easy (2) Neither easy nor difficult (3) Somewhat difficult (4) Extremely difficult (5) Q2 How effective do you feel that this program would be at teaching children Emotional Regulation? Extremely effective (1) Very effective (2) Moderately effective (3) Slightly effective (4) Not effective at all (5) EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 45 Q3 How engaging do you feel this program would be for children? Extremely engaging (1) Very engaging (2) Moderately engaging (3) Slightly engaging (4) Not engaging at all (5) Q4 How engaging do you feel this would be for the caregiver implementing the program? Extremely engaging (1) Very engaging (2) Moderately engaging (3) Slightly engaging (4) Not engaging at all (5) EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES Q5 How confident do you feel that you would be able to implement the activities described in the guidebook? Extremely confident (1) Very confident (2) Moderately confident (3) Slightly confident (4) Not confident at all (5) Q6 How accessible to children of all abilities do you believe this program to be? Extremely accessible (1) Very accessible (2) Moderately accessible (3) Slightly accessible (4) Not accessible at all (5) 46 EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 47 Q7 What things do you like best about this program? Q8 What improvements do you feel could be made to this program? Q9 Please provide any other comments that you feel would be helpful in improving this program. EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 48 Appendix B: Caregiver Guidebook Given to Experts for Feedback Introduction Welcome to the program! In this world of increased technology and a decrease in face-to-face social interaction, the need for our children to have a program to teach them how to understand and regulate their emotions has become critical. This program is designed to help you navigate the process of emotional regulation for your young child. What Is Emotional Regulation? The goal for teaching emotional regulation is for children to learn to think and plan before they act, thus becoming the masters of their emotions rather than the emotions alone driving the behavior. Healthy ER involves learning how to actively push past comfort zones and find socially acceptable ways of dealing with emotions extrinsically, with the goal being that children will eventually be able to regulate emotions intrinsically. Why is it Important to teach Emotional Regulation?1 Poor ER has been linked to many deficits in childhood such as intellectual disabilities, mental health disorders, and difficulties with peer interactions. In adolescence there is a strong link to substance abuse, risky behavior, and mental disorders. If left untreated, this can lead to major health issues in adulthood. Benefits of effective ER:2 Healthy ER regulation aids in developing independence, self-discipline, interpersonal skills, increased academic skills, and emotional intelligence. It can also help children understand the meaning of their relationships with others, build mental resilience and form their identities. How does this program work?3 EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 49 The caregiver-child relationship is important for children to learn ER the most effectively if the following requirements are met: ❖ Responsive: ❖ Modeling healthy ER strategies: ❖ A strong healthy relationship with the child: ❖ Healthy caretaker to caretaker relationships: ❖ Expressive positive facial reactions to the child: ❖ Balanced parenting style all contribute to strong or weak ER in a child: ฀ Have fun! Be present in the moment and genuinely enjoy the interactions you are having with the child when presenting the program. If a session ever becomes frustrating or negative in any way stop the session and start again after a break. ฀ Engage positively (assume the child is doing the best that they can)4 It is not enough for caregivers to just be present, they must engage meaningfully, reading and playing with the child. Evidence of this was cited in a study that found that spontaneous, flexible, and creative caregivers were in fact connected to improved ER and lower anxiety levels in their children ฀ Be a facilitator Follow the child’s lead. Be less directive and just enjoy the interaction with the child. For example, the activity asks the child to clap, instead of telling child to clap, model it for child while smiling and encouraging, then positively reinforce anything that resembles a clap (approximations) by becoming more excited and by praising the child. ฀ Modify the program as needed (meet your child where they are at) Every activity in this program can be adjusted to meet your child’s individual needs. Each one has adaptations included. Children that are asked to do activities beyond their capabilities will become frustrated, disruptive, or disinterested. If these behaviors are seen in the child, stop the session and modify for next time. 3. Two strategies for each emotion included in the program ฀ Understand each strategy and how to use it ฀ Be sure to use both strategies, children need variety and options 4. How to implement the program most effectively ฀ Make it a special time and place EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 50 Keep every part of these activity kits out of reach for the child, so that they are only used with you at a certain time and place. This will make the activities special and more impactful. ฀ Keep it positive If you or your child find yourselves feeling too directive, frustrated, or overcome with anxiety during any activity in the kit, do not hesitate to end the session and begin at another time. It is important that all interactions are positive ฀ Maintain a “helping” relationship when engaging in the program Instead of directing, gently guide the child. Many children have a longer processing time than adults are accustomed to, be sure to offer wait time after questions or when interacting. For example, when asking a question count to 10 before prompting in any way. Why are there different strategies for different emotions?5 Children need different strategies for different emotions because not all emotions can be regulated the same way. Studies show that different strategies work well for some emotions, but do not help at all with others. Why are there two strategies for each emotion?6 Studies show that too many strategies offered to children can be overwhelming and too few strategies offered can be ineffective, so the compromise of two strategies has been adopted for this program to create the most optimal strategies for ER success. THE PROGRAM Step 1 Labeling Emotions7 Children as young as 18 months can be taught how to recognize and label an emotion they are feeling. The most effective way to teach this is to model labeling. For example, if a child is angry that it is time to leave a friend’s house, one could say “it seems like you are angry” thus helping the child label an emotion they are feeling in the moment they are feeling it. EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 51 Each kit comes with an “I Feel…” Poster which aids children to identify each emotion and learn the difference between emotions. ▪ ฀ Kit Activity “I Feel…” Posters ✔ Hang the posters in a prominent area where the child can view it often and access it easily. ✔ One of the posters is two sided and can be used for multiple children(such as classroom or daycare). ✔ Start by allowing the child total access to explore and interact with the poster in any way they want to. ✔ After exploring, move to the next step by approaching the poster when child is showing emotion. Label the emotion by saying “you seem happy” CAUTION: make sure you include the word “seem.” Do not assume that you know what the child is feeling, but making an educated guess is OK. Hand the child the corresponding picture and show the child where the picture should be placed on the poster. Give smiles and praise once the picture is placed. ✔ Decrease the amount of help given to the child as their ER independence grows. Step 2 Recognizing Emotions Each emotion we feel is unique to us. What I see and feel as happy may be different to what you see and feel as happy, thus the child needs to learn: 1. What does each emotion look like to me 2. What does each emotion feel like to me ฀ Kit Activity ▪ My Feelings Coloring/Painting/Drawing Book (blank pages with prompts at the top such as “the color I see when feel sad” or “A time when I felt sad was…”) EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 52 Step 3 Emotional Regulation Sadness Strategy 1 – Positive Distraction Distraction is vastly different from avoiding the child’s unhappiness. The important distinction between avoiding feelings of sadness and applying positive distraction techniques is that one is done purposefully and infuses the moment with an activity that induces positive emotions (Waugh et al., 2020). Avoidance is ignoring a situation and the feelings associated with it, which may lead to rumination, the act of persistently and repetitively using passive focus onto a negative emotion, such as sadness or depression (Stewart et al., 2021; Stroebe et al., 2007). Positive distraction, on the other hand, is an adaptive way to deal with negative emotions. Positive distraction techniques have been shown to aid in helping with sadness and even helped with family stress in adolescents and future depressive symptoms, especially when controlling for avoidance8 ฀ Kit Activities ▪ Positive Distraction Cube ( a large plush cube with pockets on each side ▪ Positive Distraction Box (filled with different activities to distract from a filled with cards that have ideas for distraction that are not included in the distraction box (e.g. dance party, baking cookies (with a recipe), etc.) sad moment (e.g. Play Doh, water color and finger painting, buildng blocks, etc.) Caregivers will be given prompts on how to talk to about why the child is sad if the distraction is not bringing smiles. Strategy 2 – Positive Thinking Positive thinking aims to cultivate positive feelings, behaviors, and cognitions rather than fixing negative or pathological feelings, thoughts, or behaviors. This can include but is not EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 53 limited to the ideas and pursuit of hope, gratitude, optimism, resiliency, and grit. It is not clear why positive thinking works so well on sad emotions, but the evidence of its impressive effect on ER is undeniable9 ฀ Kit Activities ▪ Positive Thinking Game (each child has a path laid out with colored ▪ Sad Puppy Story Book ▪ circles from start to finish. Each color represents a different step to positive thinking (labeling the emotion, recognizing the negative thought, changing to a positive thought, action, and solution). The caregiver displays a scene card with sad puppy. As the children progress down their path they learn how to think more positively in different situations. Sad Puppy Stuffed Animal with sunny sunglasses (the glasses are a prop to be used to help the child turn their negative thoughts at the moment into positive thoughts with caregiver direction when needed.) Anger Strategy 1 – Collaborative Problem Solving Validating anger, showing verbal empathy, and helping the child form a solution using collaborative problem solving (CPS), has been particularly effective in reducing anger and helping children develop cognitive thinking abilities10 ฀ Kit Activities ▪ CPS Game (there are three boxes with cards labeled Empathy, Talk it Out, ▪ Consequence Path Game (using puppets angry kitty and bully badger, a and Solutions respectively. Using angry kitty and other character pieces around a board of situations/problems, the cards are used to help talk to the characters and come up with solutions that both sides are happy with) simple scenario is set out with a situation card for the children to see and a script to act out with the puppets for the caregiver on the back. Children can choose the angry path – made with squares laid on the ground- when no solution that doesn’t involve anger can be made by the child. The end of the calm path is a calm ball pit filled with duckies and frogs, while the EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 54 end of the angry path has a thinking chair. Any child that does make it to the chair will have solutions that the caregiver can work with the child to help them use a ‘bridge’ to get the calm path. Everyone should be in the calm pool by the end of the game.) Strategy 2 – Gathering Information Gathering information about an obstacle to a goal has been found to be effective in reducing anger. One study suggested this may be because children are able to emotionally regulate more effectively when finding solutions to the problems that triggered the anger in the first place. Another study about anger rumination suggested the likelihood that asking questions about the situation also pulls children out of the rumination cycle and allows them to calm down as they focus on something else, as well as helping them to come up with solutions to the problem11 ฀ Kit Activities ▪ Angry Kitty Story Book (kitty will use the magnifying glass found in the ▪ Angry Kitty Stuffed Animal with magnifying glass -angry side makes treasure box to help find solutions to the 2 or 3 problems that cam up and made them angry while traveling to the chest) everything bigger, detective side makes things smaller and easier to see for the child to start making a goal and creating steps to reach that goal Fear Strategy 1 - Immersion Fear-based emotions are better solved by introducing immersion techniques and as the child learns that new things and places are safe, their fear begins to lessen. An effective way to implement immersion techniques is to slowly introduce a child to an unfamiliar environment or introduce a new object in a non-threatening way (such as starting with a picture) until the child EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 55 gets acclimated to the thing inducing the fear. The fear-based object or situation can lose its hold and become non-threatening or even enjoyable12 ฀ Kit Activities ▪ Scared Bunny Story Book (bunny will be scared to travel. They will use ▪ Scared Bunny Stuffed Animal with backpack (used to carry scared bunny, ▪ their map-which is written out like a ladder-to make a plan to reach the scary island so far away from home. Each place will bring the bunny up a wrung to the treasure chest. They will need to take out a stuffed animal from the backpack to comfort them when they are scared along the way) a fearless story to read when needed, or anything else that will help calm the child) Ladder Activity With Sequence Cards (the ladder has holders for 4 cards that work with immersing the child safely to their fear. A little wooden scared bunny goes on the step that the child is on. As they move up so does bunny. At the top there is a treasure box to open with a reward inside). Strategy 2 – Knowledge Expanding knowledge by education and open discussion about the fear-inducing factor helps to reduce fear significantly (Abado et al., 2020; Düzkaya et al., 2021). This finding is because human fears stem from the unknown. It is important to help the child change any scary unknown places, activities, etc. into benign or even enjoyable experiences for the child, giving them back a sense of control and understanding of their world. ▪ ฀ Kit Activities Fearless Story Making Set ( empty books with a scared bunny in the corner at the beginning of the book, getting less and less scared with each page until the end, when they are happy. There are 4 pages for facts about the fear and 2 pages for solutions when confronted with the fear. The child helps write the story. Examples will be included in the kit for use as well for common fears). Anxiety EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 56 Strategy 1 – Breathing Techniques While fear is often used synonymously with anxiety, the two emotions are addressed separately in this program. Anxiety tends to be more stress related and long term where fear tends to be shorter lived and is commonly threat-based. The more anxious a child is, the more emotionally-based their coping strategies tend to be (e.g., crying, screaming, getting mad), the more avoidant and withdrawn they are, and the less positive their coping strategies are calming a child’s body when they are experiencing anxiety may be an effective emotional regulatory technique since sensory over-responsivity is the cause of anxiety in some children, calming techniques, such as reaching in wide arcs in the shape of a large circle in front of the body while breathing in and out or freezing like a snowman and then slowly melting, are a widely used tool in teaching children to self-regulate anxiety and have been shown to be effective13 ▪ ฀ Kit Activities Breathing Exercise Cards (each card has an animal or something fun for the child to do that helps them breath out and in slowly, such as blowing up a huge balloon and then deflating it slowly. There are actions with each movement as well.) Strategy 2 - Reappraisal Reappraisal is looking at something in a different way. This technique has been shown to be highly effective in reducing anxiety in children, specifically lessening self-harm behavior, learning less reactivity when dealing with anxiety), and showing positive coping skills, especially at an early age. Identifying what is causing the anxiety and the “why” of that specific anxiety-inducing stimuli is sometimes important as well, followed by introducing reappraisal thinking to lessen the specific worry14. ฀ Kit Activities EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 57 ▪ Worry Monkey Story Book (monkey worries about every encounter they ▪ Worry Monkey Stuffed Animal with Situation Card Set (the card as the have on their journey to the treasure chest. In the chest is the situation card. They use it to look through to see a calming idea or thought for each obstacle.) worry written on the blue side and a solution or phrase that calms the child on the yellow side. The child can easily take this with them and is customizable.) Overactivity Strategy 1 – Sensory Regulation Sometimes children feel overly happy or exuberant and need emotional regulation of these positive emotions to calm down. A lack of ER is significantly associated with symptoms of overactivity and impulsivity Because many overactive children struggle with atypical sensory processing an effective way to calm down overly exuberant emotions is to engage in sensory experiences, such as using a weighted blanket or playing quietly with sand when attempting to calm the body. Sometimes children who are over excited actually need to expend their extra energy. This is when stimulation is necessary and sensory activities such as running, jumping, or engaging in specific exercises are helpful in calming the body down. Sensory activities used in a calming way when needing to de-escalate or in an active way when needing more stimulation can prove positive for children and bring about an emotional equilibrium when out of balance15 ฀ Kit Activities ▪ Regulation Poster (a poster with questions the child answers with a happy ▪ Calming Set ( a dark child sized tent with noise canceling headphones-that or sad face to see if they need calming or stimulus to calm their nervous system) can have calm music if needed or just silence-a box filled with stuffed smelling fruits and small characters that each have different textures to taste and feel.) EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES ▪ 58 Stimulus Set (a card set that has animals doing different activities such as running, kicking, punching, jumping, crawling, etc) Strategy 2 - Mindfulness One way to calm overly excited emotions is mindfulness activities that engage at least three of the senses in each session. An example of this would be handing a child a ball of play-doh and asking him/her to smell the doh, feel the doh between his/her fingers, and look at the doh (the color, the shape, etc.). Mindfulness activities that engage the senses have a calming effect and bring emotions down to normative levels16 ฀ Kit Activities ▪ Speedy Cheetah Story Book (cheetah uses three senses each time he faced ▪ Speedy Cheetah Stuffed Animal with Cap (with raised words that have all ▪ with something that makes him overly excited during his journey. When he finds his cap in the treasure box he looks back at his journey and realizes how he calmed down and how it can help him in the future.) 5 of the senses shown in picture. The child learns how to use the cap to engage 3 senses when overactive to calm their body) A sensory box (filled with bags of moon sand and toys that can be used for engaging the senses) If You Have Any Questions Tonyastaska@weber.mail.edu Thank You EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 59 References 1. Poor ER has been linked to common deficits at all ages: o In Children Intellectual disabilities, mental health disorders (England-Mason, 2020), decreased social skills, aggressive and disruptive behaviors (Teisl & Cicchetti, 2007; 2008), as well as increased mental health difficulties (Fruhauf et al, 2020; Güzel et al, 2021; Haukeland University Hospital, 2020; Romero-Ayuso et al., 2020). Sleep, emotional, and behavioral challenges are abundant (Bocknek et al., 2018; Braet et al., 2014; Jusienė & Breidokienė, 2019). More prone to irritability (Pylypow et al., 2020; 2017); major depressive disorder (Whalen et al., 2020); bullying at school (Camodeca, & Coppola, 2019); poorer memory-related functioning, (van der Kaap-Deeder et al., 2020); susceptibility to developing language disorders, which is strongly associated with peer and emotional struggles throughout early childhood, resurfacing in adolescence (Forrest et al., 2020); lack of self-confidence (Hipson et al., 2019); and increased difficulty with cognitive tasks (Mauri et al., 2020). o In Adolescence Strong link to substance abuse (Wills et al., 2011), increased internalizing psychopathology, including anxiety (Davis et al., 2019), and risky behavior (Hessler, & Katz, 2009; 2010). o In Adults Is connected to a history of self-harm (Davis et al., 2014), hypertension (Wirtz et al., 2006), sleep impairment (Watling et al., 2020), obesity (Micanti et al., 2017), and increased risk of coronary heart disease (Potijk et al., 2016). 2. Gutiérrez-Cobo et al., 2017 3. The importance of caregiver-child relationships Research has shown that in order for children to learn ER the most effectively, caregivers need to exhibit the following characteristics: ✔ Responsive (Kim & Kochanska, 2012). EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 60 ✔ Modeling healthy ER strategies (Birmingham et al., 2017), ✔ A strong, healthy relationship with the child (Birmingham et al., 2017) ✔ Healthy caretaker to caretaker relationships (Camodeca, & Coppola, 2019) ✔ Expressive positive facial reactions to the child (Yap et al., 2008), ✔ Balanced parenting style all contribute to strong or weak ER in a child (Hu, Wang, & Liu, 2017; Morris et al., 2007) 4. Shorer et al., 2021; Hu et al., 2017; Morris et al., 2007; Yap et al., 2008 5. Sjowall et al., 2015; Stefan et al., 2017; Yeo et al., 2014 6, In a study in which the participants used three different regulatory strategies, teachers viewed the participants as less aggressive and less disruptive during class. (Davis et al., 2016). Another study showed that teaching some children too many strategies could unintentionally generate the opposite effect and create a disadvantage, as avoidantly attached children tended to overly regulate emotional expressions. (Stefan et al., 2017). 7. Webster-Stratton & Reid, 2004 8. Bettis et al., 2019; Waugh et al., 2020 9. Esmaeili et al., 2019; Kwok et al., 2016; Shoshani, & Slone, 2017 10. Booker et al., 2020; De Oliveira & Jackson, 2017; Greene, 2005; Johnson et al., 2012 11. Gilliom et al., 2002; Pennequin et al., 2020; Smith et al., 2016 12. Kahlon, Lindner, & Nordgreen, 2019; Meindl et al., 2019 13. Cheung-Blunden et al., 2019; Petersen et al., 2020; Yeo et al., 2014 14. Bettis et al., 2019, Keil et al., 2021, Yeo et al., 2014 15. Dickie et al., 2009; Mah & Doherty, 2021; Ng et al., 2017; Sjowall et al., 2015 16. Agarwal, & Sarthi, 2020; Zaccari et. al., 2021 References EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 61 Agarwal, N., & Sarthi, P. (2020). Efficacy of yoga and mindfulness as a potential intervention for children with ADHD: A review study. Indian Journal of Positive Psychology, 11(3), 191-196. Bettis, A. H., Henry, L., Prussien, K. V., Vreeland, A., Smith, M., Adery, L. H., & Compas, B. E. (2019). Laboratory and self-report methods to assess reappraisal and distraction in youth. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 48(6), 855-865. doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2018.1466306 Birmingham, R. S., Bub, K. L., & Vaughn, B. E. (2017). Parenting in infancy and self-regulation in preschool: An investigation of the role of attachment history. Attachment & Human Development, 19(2), 107-129. doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2016.1259335 Bocknek, E. L., Richardson, P. A., van den Heuvel, M. I., Qipo, T., & Brophy-Herb, H. E. (2018). Sleep moderates the association between routines and emotion regulation for toddlers in poverty. Journal of Family Psychology, 32(7), 966-974. doi.org/10.1037/fam0000433 Booker, J. A., Capriola-Hall, N. N., Greene, R. W., & Ollendick, T. H. (2020). The parent-child relationship and posttreatment child outcomes across two treatments for oppositional defiant disorder. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 49(3), 405-419. doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2018.1555761 Braet, C., Theuwis, L., Van Durme, K., Vandewalle, J., Vandevivere, E., Wante, L., Moens, E., Verbeken, S., & Goossens, L. (2014). Emotion regulation in children with emotional problems. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 38(5), 493-504. doi.org/10.1007/s10608-014-9616-x EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 62 Camodeca, M., & Coppola, G. (2019). Participant roles in preschool bullying: The impact of emotion regulation, social preference, and quality of the teacher–child relationship. Social Development, 28(1), 3-21. doi.org/10.1111/sode.12320 Cheung-Blunden, V., Cropper, K., Panis, A., & Davis, K. (2019). Functional divergence of two threat-induced emotions: Fear-based versus anxiety-based cybersecurity preferences. Emotion, 19(8), 1353-1365. doi.org/10.1037/emo0000508 Davis, E. L., Quiñones-Camacho, L. E., & Buss, K. A. (2016). The effects of distraction and reappraisal on children's parasympathetic regulation of sadness and fear. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 142, 344-358. doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2015.09.020 Davis, M. M., Miernicki, M. E., Telzer, E. H., & Rudolph, K. D. (2019). The contribution of childhood negative emotionality and cognitive control to anxiety-linked neural dysregulation of emotion in adolescence. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 47(3), 515-527. doi.org/10.1007/s10802-018-0456-0 Davis, T. S., Mauss, I. B., Lumian, D., Troy, A. S., Shallcross, A. J., Zarolia, P., Ford, B. Q., & McRae, K. (2014). Emotional reactivity and emotion regulation among adults with a history of self-harm: Laboratory self-report and functional MRI evidence. Journal of Abnormal Psychology (1965), 123(3), 499-509. doi.org/10.1037/a0036962 DeOliveira, E. A., & Jackson, E. A. (2017). The moderation role of self-perceived maternal empathy in observed mother-child collaborative problem solving. Infant and Child Development, 26(3), e1993. doi.org/10.1002/icd.1993 EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 63 Dickie, V. A., Baranek, G. T., Schultz, B., Watson, L. R., & McComish, C. S. (2009). Parent reports of sensory experiences of preschool children with and without autism: A qualitative study. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 63(2), 172-181. doi:10.5014/ajot.63.2.172 England-Mason, G., & Gonzalez, A. (2020). Intervening to shape children’s emotion regulation: A review of emotion socialization parenting programs for young children. Emotion, 20(1), 98. Esmaeili D, H., Elyasi, F., & Hasanzadeh, R. (2019). Effectiveness of positive thinking training on anxiety, depression, and quality of life of mothers of children with leukemia. Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Sciences, 6(1), 21-26. doi.org/10.410 Frühauf, A., Niedermeier, M., Sevecke, K., Haid-Stecher, N., Albertini, C., Richter, K., Schipglinger, S., & Kopp, M. (2020). Affective responses to climbing exercises in children and adolescents during in-patient treatment for mental health disorders a pilot study on acute effects of different exercise interventions. Psychiatry Research, 291, 113245. Gilliom, M., Shaw, D. S., Beck, J. E., Schonberg, M. A., & Lukon, J. L. (2002). Anger regulation in disadvantaged preschool boys: Strategies, antecedents, and the development of self-control. Developmental Psychology, 38(2), 222-235. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.38.2.222 Greene, R.W. (2005). The explosive child. First Harper. EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 64 Gutiérrez-Cobo, M. J., Cabello, R., & Fernández-Berrocal, P. (2017). Performance-based ability emotional intelligence benefits working memory capacity during performance on hot tasks. Scientific Reports (Nature Publisher Group), 7, 1-9. doi:http://dx.doi.org.hal.weber.edu:2200/10.1038/s41598-017-12000-7 Güzel, H. Ş., Akkaya, G., & Altuntaş, M. (2021). The investigation of the relationship between depressive symptoms and self-perception in children diagnosed with specific learning disorder: The mediator role of difficulties in emotional regulation. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 24(2), 228-238. doi.org/10.5505/kpd.2020.24008 Haukeland, Y. B., Czajkowski, N. O., Fjermestad, K. W., Silverman, W. K., Mossige, S., & Vatne, T. M. (2020). Evaluation of “SIBS,” an intervention for siblings and parents of children with chronic disorders. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 29, 2201-2217. Hessler, D. M., & Katz, L. F. (2009; 2010). Brief report: Associations between emotional competence and adolescent risky behavior. Journal of Adolescence, 33(1), 241-246. doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2009.04.007 Hipson, W. E., Coplan, R. J., & Séguin, D. G. (2019). Active emotion regulation mediates links between shyness and social adjustment in preschool. Social Development, 28(4), 893-907. doi.org/10.1111/sode.12372 Hu, Y., Wang, Y., & Liu, A. (2017). The influence of mothers’ emotional expressivity and class grouping on Chinese preschoolers’ emotional regulation strategies. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 26(3), 824-832. doi.org/10.1007/s10826-016-0606-3 EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 65 Johnson, M., Ostlund, S., Fransson, G., Landgren, M., Nasic, S., Kadesjö, B., Gillberg, C., & Fernell, E. (2012). Attention-deficit/overactivity disorder with oppositional defiant disorder in Swedish children - an open study of collaborative problem solving. Acta Paediatrica, 101(6), 624. Jusienė, R., & Breidokienė, R. (2019). Preschoolers' self‐regulation and developmental trajectories of sleep problems in early childhood. Infant and Child Development, 28(6), e2158. doi.org/10.1002/icd.2158 Kahlon, S., Lindner, P., & Nordgreen, T. (2019). Virtual reality exposure therapy for adolescents with fear of public speaking: a non-randomized feasibility and pilot study. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 13(1), 47. Keil, V., Tuschen-Caffier, B., & Schmitz, J. (2021). Effects of cognitive reappraisal on subjective and neural reactivity to angry faces in children with social anxiety disorder, clinical controls with mixed anxiety disorders and healthy children. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 1-13. doi.org/10.1007/s10578-021-01173-y Kim, S., & Kochanska, G. (2012). Child temperament moderates effects of parent-child mutuality on self-regulation: A relationship-based path for emotionally negative infants. Child Development, 83(4), 1275-1289. doi.org/10.1111/j.14678624.2012.01778.x Kwok, Sylvia Y. C. L, Gu, M., & Kit, K. T. K. (2016). Positive psychology intervention to alleviate child depression and increase life satisfaction: A randomized clinical trial. Research on Social Work Practice, 26(4), 350-361. doi.org/10.1177/1049731516629799 EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 66 Mah, J. W. T., & Doherty, M. (2021). Sensorimotor intervention group for children with ADHD and sensory processing difficulties: A feasibility study. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 30(2), 447-459. doi.org/10.1007/s10826-021-01900-y Mauri, M., Crippa, A., Bacchetta, A., Grazioli, S., Rosi, E., Gazzola, E., Gallace, A., & Nobile, M. (2020). The utility of NIRS technology for exploring emotional processing in children. Journal of Affective Disorders, 274, 819-824. doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.06.004 Meindl, J. N., Saba, S., Gray, M., Stuebing, L., & Jarvis, A. (2019). Reducing blood draw phobia in an adult with autism spectrum disorder using low‐cost virtual reality exposure therapy. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 32(6), 1446-1452. doi.org/10.1111/jar.12637 Morris, A. S., Silk, J. S., Steinberg, L., Myers, S. S., & Robinson, L. R. (2007). The role of the family context in the development of emotion regulation. Social Development, 16(2), 361-388. doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9507.2007.00389.x Ng, Q. X., Ho, C. Y. X., Chan, H. W., Yong, B. Z. J., & Yeo, W. (2017). Managing childhood and adolescent attention-deficit/overactivity disorder (ADHD) with exercise: A systematic review. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 34, 123-128. doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2017.08.018 Pennequin, V., Questel, F., Delaville, E., Delugre, M., & Maintenant, C. (2020). Metacognition and emotional regulation in children from 8 to 12 years old. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 90(S1), 1-16. doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12305 EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 67 Petersen, C. L., Görges, M., Todorova, E., West, N. C., Newlove, T., & Ansermino, J. M. (2020). Feasibility of using a single heart rate–based measure for real-time feedback in a voluntary deep breathing app for children: Data collection and algorithm development. JMIR Perioperative Medicine, 3(2), e16639-e16639. doi.org/10.2196/16639 Potijk, M. R., Janszky, I., Reijneveld, S. A., & Falkstedt, D. (2016). Risk of coronary heart disease in men with poor emotional control: A prospective study. Psychosomatic Medicine, 78(1), 60. Pylypow, J., Quinn, D., Duncan, D., & Balbuena, L. (2020; 2017). A measure of emotional regulation and irritability in children and adolescents: The clinical evaluation of emotional Regulation–9. Journal of Attention Disorders, 24(14), 2002-2011. doi.org/10.1177/1087054717737162 Romero-Ayuso, D., Alcántara-Vázquez, P., Almenara-García, A., Nuñez-Camarero, I., Triviño Juárez, J. M., Ariza-Vega, P., Molina, J., & González, P. (2020). Self-regulation in children with neurodevelopmental disorders “SR-MRehab: Un colegio emocionante”: A protocol study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(12), 4198. doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17124198 Shorer, M., Swissa, O., Levavi, P., & Swissa, A. (2021). Parental playfulness and children's emotional regulation: The mediating role of parents' emotional regulation and the parent child relationship. Early Child Development and Care, 191(2), 210-220. doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2019.1612385 EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 68 Shoshani, A., & Slone, M. (2017). Positive education for young children: Effects of a positive psychology intervention for preschool children on subjective well-being and learning behaviors. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1866- 1866. doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01866 Sjöwall, D., Backman, A., & Thorell, L. B. (2015). Neuropsychological heterogeneity in preschool ADHD: Investigating the interplay between cognitive, affective, and motivation-based forms of regulation. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 43(4), 669-680. doi:10.1007/s10802-014-9942-1 Smith, S. D., Stephens, H. F., Repper, K., & Kistner, J. A. (2016). The relationship between anger rumination and aggression in typically developing children and high-risk adolescents. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 38(4), 515-527. doi.org/10.1007/s10862-016-9542-1 Ştefan, C. A., Avram, J., & Miclea, M. (2017). Children's awareness concerning emotion regulation strategies: Effects of attachment status. Social Development, 26(4), 694-708. doi:10.1111/sode.12234 Teisl, M., & Cicchetti, D. (2008; 2007). Physical abuse, cognitive and emotional processes, and aggressive/disruptive behavior problems. Social Development, 17(1), 1-23. doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9507.2007.00412.x van der Kaap-Deeder, J., Soenens, B., Mouratidis, A., De Pauw, S., Krøjgaard, P., & Vansteenkiste, M. (2020). Towards a detailed understanding of preschool children's memory-related functioning and emotion regulation: The role of parents' observed reminiscence style, memory valence, and parental gender. Developmental Psychology, 56(9), 1696-1708. doi.org/10.1037/dev0001048 EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 69 Watling, C. N., Shaw, L. M., & Watling, H. (2020). Sleep-impaired emotional regulation, impaired cognition, and poor sleep health are associated with risky sleepy driving in young adults. Traffic Injury Prevention, 21(2), 133. Waugh, C. E., Shing, E. Z., & Furr, R. M. (2020). Not all disengagement coping strategies are created equal: Positive distraction, but not avoidance, can be an adaptive coping strategy for chronic life stressors. Anxiety, Stress, and Coping, 33(5), 511-529. doi.org/10.1080/10615806.2020.1755820 Webster-Stratton, C., & Reid, M. J. (2004). Strengthening social and emotional competence in young children—The foundation for early school readiness and success: Incredible years classroom social skills and problem-solving curriculum. Infants & Young Children, 17(2), 96-113. doi:10.1097/00001163-200404000-00002 Wills, T. A., Pokhrel, P., Morehouse, E., & Fenster, B. (2011). Behavioral and emotional regulation and adolescent substance use problems: A test of moderation effects in a dual-process model. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 25(2), 279-292. doi.org/10.1037/a0022870 Wirtz, P. H., von Känel, R., Mohiyeddini, C., Emini, L., Ruedisueli, K., Groessbauer, S., & Ehlert, U. (2006). Low social support and poor emotional regulation are associated with increased stress hormone reactivity to mental stress in systemic hypertension. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 91(10), 3857-3865. doi.org/10.1210/jc.2005-2586 EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 70 Yap, M. B. H., Allen, N. B., & Ladouceur, C. D. (2008). Maternal socialization of positive affect: The impact of invalidation on adolescent emotion regulation and depressive symptomatology. Child Development, 79(5), 1415-1431. doi.org/10.1111/j.1467 8624.2008.01196.x Yeo, K., Frydenberg, E., Northam, E., & Deans, J. (2014). Coping with stress among preschool children and associations with anxiety level and controllability of situations. Australian Journal of Psychology, 66(2), 93-101. doi:10.1111/ajpy.12047 Zaccari, V., Santonastaso, O., Mandolesi, L., De Crescenzo, F., Foti, F., Crescentini, C., Fabbro, F., Vicari, S., Curcio, G., & Menghini, D. (2021). Clinical application of mindfulness-oriented meditation in children with ADHD: a preliminary study on sleep and behavioral problems. Psychology & Health, 1-17. doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2021.1892110 EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES Appendix C: Story Given to Caregivers for Feedback *All pictures used were taken from the PowerPoint library 71 EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 72 EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 73 EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 74 EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 75 EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 76 EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 77 EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 78 EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 79 EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 80 EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 81 EMOTIONAL REGULATION STRATEGIES 82