Self-regulation skills in 4-6 years old children

Self-regulation is the ability to control emotions, thoughts, internal states or reactions to attention and performance (Ann-Bell and Deater-Deckard, 2007). The aim of this study is to examine the self-regulation skills of 4-6 year old children. The participants of the study, which was conducted in the relational screening model in 2021, consisted of 194 mothers who had children between the ages of 4 and 6 on a voluntary basis. The data of the study were collected through "Personal Information Form" and "Self-Regulation Skills Scale for 4-6 Years-Old Children (Mother Form)". Independent T test, One Way ANOVA and Tukey test as post hoc test were used in data analysis using SPSS program. The findings of the study showed that there was a statistically significant difference between children's self-regulation skills according to the variables of attending preschool education, frequency of playing pretend games, family income, mother's age, mother's education level, mother's working status and father's education level shows that they differ. As a result of the research, it was seen that the children's self-regulation skills, which are sub-dimensions of attention and working memory, were at high levels, their inhibitory control-emotion levels were above the medium level, and the inhibitory control-behavior sub-dimension was at a medium level, based on the opinions of the mothers. The findings were discussed in line with the literature and suggestions for future research and applications were presented.