Facing Discipline Challenges
by Lynne Reeves Griffin RN, M.Ed.

Working with children every day brings with it many rewards. Watching children develop friendships, express love to their teacher, and learn to skip and swing are momentous occasions. But providing care to children all day and for long periods of time also brings with it some challenges.

This is School and that is Home

Often children will say that the rules at child care are different from those at home. They may have a hard time balancing the differences in your discipline style versus that of their parents. However, children are very adaptable, and the following strategies may help.

Communicate the rules of the child care setting to parents and children. This allows parents the opportunity to adopt some of your rules at home. Communicate the rules often. Everyone needs reminders, especially after days apart. Be an authority figure. Children of parents whose style is permissive may need to be reminded that at this child care center, the rules are enforced.

What a Day!

Child care providers and parents can do a lot to make the transition from a child care setting to home go more smoothly.

Provide children with lots of structure and routine all day. Being able to predict what comes next helps many children deal with long days. Include rest periods throughout the day. Taking a break builds reserve energy. Towards the end of the day, engage in activities of a calming nature, such as water play, clay, or just snuggling in for a good book. Keeping stimulation to a lower level at the end of the day helps children cope with the transition to home. Encourage parents to establish an evening routine that includes structure, limited physical activity, and plenty of sleep. Unruly behavior during the day is often attributed to limited amounts of sleep.

Stress at Home

When children spend the weekend with one parent, the weekdays with the other parent, and daytime at child care, they may have trouble understanding who expects what. Sometimes Monday is a tough day in the child care setting because all children have to refocus on the child care provider's expectations. And for children whose parents are not getting along, confusing emotions may play themselves out in the form of misbehavior.

Be empathetic to children's home situation. Provide loving, yet firm discipline. Talk to parents about how you can support their children with their transitions and their feelings regarding difficult family matters. Ask parents to let you know when things are especially stressful, so that you can provide extra attention. Meet with both parents to convey the importance of all of you following through on the same discipline issues. Consistency is the key to learning expectations.

The Spirited Ones

Every child care setting has children who are quiet and sensitive, and children who are "spirited." Temperament plays a role in some children's ability to follow rules.

Remember that while some children require more limit setting and behavior management than others, all children learn by watching how you enforce the rules.

Provide positive attention to the children who require more limits. Catch them being good and let them know you appreciate their efforts at following the rules.

Give children a job. Some children behave better when they are active and when you show your appreciation for their help. Position yourself or another teacher near spirited children. This allows you to be proactive and stop certain behaviors before they begin. Be consistent. As tiring as it may be to always follow through, it is the key to delivering the message that misbehavior is not acceptable here.

Planning your strategy toward children who tend to be aggressive or who act out goes a long way toward helping with overall classroom management -- and also behavior improvement. Try meeting with your colleagues at the beginning of each week to devise strategies for tackling particular behaviors. For example, if one child is being particularly aggressive, designate one teacher to stay close to him to catch the aggression in its beginning stages. If another child is acting out in order to call attention to himself, designate him as the teachers' helper: give him extra jobs like helping the teacher set up snack to make the attention he is craving more positive.

*Submitted by Patrisha

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