A healthy, safe environment in a pre-school can facilitate children's needs by developing necessary skills to develop their social and behavioral milestones.
Taking turns, politeness, sharing and making choices are the ordinary preschool activities that offer opportunities for the development of these milestones.
Methods of developing self-discipline in children include: oInstead of praising the child, praise the behavior oEncouraging and building a child's self esteem oTake into account a child's age and stage of development when setting limits oUsing play and games with rules to help the child learn and understand boundaries oChildren will imitate adult behavior so lead by example oAvoiding isolation and humiliation of children oWhen you say 'No'...
mean it.
Consistency is key.
oClarifying expectations and rules of behavior oAlways reward good behavior Day care workers should use these positive methods of discipline which will in turn encourage self-control, self-direction, self-esteem and cooperation.
On the other hand, using the following as a means of correction is never acceptable: oHitting, shaking, biting or any other physical restraint oNever humiliate, threaten or isolate a child- such emotional punishment is unacceptable oDepriving child of meals or snacks Unacceptable behaviors i.
e.
bullying and temper tantrums should be dealt with using a range of strategies.
Effective tried and tested methods include: oRemove the child from the situation or distraction techniques oExplaining why this behavior is not acceptable oOffering the child an opportunity to regain control and become calm Biting falls into the category of difficult behavior and your range of approaches for dealing with said behavior would apply to this unsavory activity also.
Children who display challenging behavior should have, with the involvement of parents and carers, a work plan developed specifically for them.
Parents should be included, informed and supported to follow work plans for children, if and when appropriate.
Sometimes it is necessary to seek additional support in the form of outside specialists.
Where necessary additional support may be sought by referral to other professionals.
This is not a negative thing and should be supported by parents and provider and a positive way forward.
The childcare worker should be supported to work on a one to one basis with a child who may be biting or displaying other challenging behavior over an agreed period of time.
The aim being that the carer would attempt to extend the child's interests by specifically engaging them in activities thus avoiding the difficult behaviors.
Difficult and challenging behaviors, both in adults and children, respond positively to calm, constructive, consistent actions.
Calm, constructive, consistent actions are essentially the most effective method of counteracting challenging behavior.
Be patient, be vigilant, stick to your guns and you will out.