Abstract
Self-regulation is a hallmark of early development, enabling the child to increasingly monitor and respond to her own and others’ emotions, cognitions and behaviors. Adults commonly use snacks as an aid to self-regulate their daily stressors and this mechanism has been shown to be beneficial in children. However, preschool settings rarely provide open access to snacks as a self-regulation mechanism, hindering their ability to manage their energy level and overall mood. The following paper proposes to evaluate an open-access snacking procedure to help improve opportunities for self-regulation through snacking in preschool settings.