ABSTRACT
The development of self-regulation brings together strands from maturing attention, emotional regulation and planning and organising abilities (executive function). It is facilitated by the concurrently developing language, memory and improving processing ability or cognition and is influenced by emotional experience, attachment with care-givers and inherited temperament (Figure 7). In the early pre-school period, children begin to carry out intentional tasks or activities. They seem to have a plan when they pick up objects and toys. They start with simple activities such as stacking bricks, scribbling with a crayon, feeding themselves or a doll and, in time, move to more complex constructions, drawing and play sequences. To succeed in such planned and sequential activities, they must remember their plan in their working memory, organise their actions, overcome obstacles, manage their frustrations and emotions and ignore other distractions.
