There are many ways to guide children’s behaviour in a daycare setting. Here are some ways we guide behaviour at St. James Daycare:
Look at the environment i.e. toys, materials and furniture: when the environment is creating unwanted behaviours, we change the environment
Know the children: try to form positive relationships with all of the children
Help children recognize feelings: we work on developing empathy by recognizing kind acts; we acknowledge their feelings and let them know what is and is not acceptable
Set clear, simple limits: it gives children security and helps them learn about wanted and unwanted behavior; we set age-appropriate limits which we repeat often in a positive way; it also teaches the child about safety, care of property, good health habits, and consideration of others
Offer choices: this helps children co-operate with the daily routine
Focus on the behaviour, not the child: when a child behaves in an unwanted way, we talk with them about why this behaviour is a problem
Reinforce positive behaviour: we notice when children are helping and co-operating and we give them lots of positive reinforcement; children repeat wanted behaviour when we pay attention to it
Redirect children: when a child is having difficulty at a certain area, we may redirect the child to another area; this often stops unwanted behaviour
Show respect: we speak to children about their behaviour in a calm voice; using their names and gently touching their back also helps get their attention in a respectful manner
Offer help: we as caregivers let children know we will help them; if they are having difficulty working out a problem, we will go with them or help them
Help children calm themselves: in the extremely rare circumstance that a child is hurting himself or others, caregivers may need to help children calm down by holding the child firmly but kindly across their arms until they have calmed down enough that they aren’t a danger to themselves. As well, if a child is hitting or kicking caregivers, we may need to sit the child on our lap on the floor with our arms across their arms and our legs across their legs until the child is not trying to hit or kick anymore. Everything will be documented and the family informed if this occurs.
Sometimes we use “time away” with children who are hurting or upsetting others; usually this involves removing the child from the group for a short time; this approach will only be used when necessary. If a child has been given repeated warnings in an area, time away might also be used as another method of managing behaviour
WE AS CAREGIVERS:
never hit or humiliate or use language that is threatening when handling difficult situations
are consistent, firm and fair
enforce rules in a positive way
attempt to foresee and forestall trouble
re-direct an uncooperative child to another activity
try to ignore improper language and encourage the child to use different words to express their feelings
avoid judgmental words such as good, bad, right and wrong
do not allow children to hit staff: we restrain gently and say “I do not like to be hit”
handle toilet accidents casually
will remove a disruptive child from a group without punitive action and let the child know they may return to the group when they are ready
always check with senior staff when handling a child with behavioural difficulties to be sure of consistency
develop a partnership with parents: we recognize that the family is the most important influence on a child’s life; we want to join with you to care for your child in the best possible way; you can help us by telling us how you care for your child at home and your expectations of their behavior at daycare; we are happy to talk to parents about our approaches to guidance.
