Anyone who cares for children knows that it’s guaranteed you’ll encounter challenging behavior from them as they’re growing and developing. There are many approaches to addressing this kind of behavior, but how do you know what’s appropriate?
Child Care Providers Are Not the Parents
Ultimately, it’s up to the parents of a child to determine how to address behavior issues. However, as a child care provider, you can offer your experienced opinion in support of the parent making their decisions. Take some time to research the different approaches out there and think back on what discipline has been like for you in practice.
What is Positive Guidance?
One approach you could take is Positive Guidance. Positive Guidance is the philosophy and strategy that every child has the potential for learning correct behavior (within a developmentally appropriate level) and that with guidance and practice, they will.
How Does Positive Guidance Work?
A main premise of Positive Guidance is that challenging behavior from a child is considered a form of communication from them. When you shift your thinking in this way, you have the ability to be open to a whole new way of how to address the child’s needs.
With Positive Guidance as the strategy, you can ask yourself these questions:
- What really is the child trying to tell me?
- What need or desire of theirs is not being met at this time?
- Has the child tried to communicate in this way before?
Why Positive Guidance
The bottom line theory is that the more effective you are at encouraging appropriate child behavior, the less time and effort you’ll spend correcting misbehavior.
- Children are still developing—they’re still learning what’s what in the world.
- Children are creative. They’re great at discovering ways to get what they need, so you can help to guide them in their approach.
- Children’s self-esteem is fragile. When you have more positive lessons than negative ones, it can help to build and solidify healthy self-esteem.
