Promoting the self-regulation skills of children and adolescents in day care centres and schools (2025)

The well-being and development opportunities of children and adolescents are extremely important for the future development of our society. However, these are under threat in many ways, not least from the effects of crises and wars.

Recent psychological and neuroscientific research shows that the self-regulation skills of children and adolescents play a central role in their well-being and opportunities for development. These skills encompass cognitive, emotional, motivational and social skills that allow them to achieve personal goals and react flexibly to change. These include the ability to focus ones own attention and be fully aware of factors that can be distracting, such as the intensive use of social media. The ability to regulate emotions and social skills are also critical.

One of the main tasks of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina is to provide evidence-based advice to policymakers and the public. For this reason, the Leopoldina is publishing with this statement. It has been prepared over the past two years by an interdisciplinary working group dedicated to addressing how to include the promotion of self-regulation skills in children and adolescents as an evidence-based guiding principle in the German school and education system.