Loretta Hart

Let’s talk about the development of self regulation. You may have seen this recent TikTok trend in which parents covertly film themselves placing candy in front of their young children, then contrive a reason to walk away… instructing the child not to eat any until they return. It’s interesting to watch the results, most of which depict (slightly younger) children contemplating the directive briefly, if at all, and then beginning to eat the candy. But this little one is different. Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky proposed that self-regulation (the ability to control one’s impulses) emerges in parallel with the development of symbolic thought - and begins with the use of private or “self-directed” speech. That’s exactly what we’re seeing here. Asked not to eat the candy in her mother’s absence, this little one uses spoken language as a tool to help regulate her own behavior. She repeats her mother’s instruction over and over, actively reminding herself of mom’s directive for almost the entirely of her absence. While she mimes and contemplates eating the chocolates, she ultimately finds success with the support of a newly minted cognitive tool. 🧠 A lovely illustration of developmental theory in practice. Have you ever noticed your child using self-directed speech? What did it help them to accomplish? 🎥 mayaejackson IG