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Welcome to the October
2006 issue of the Health and Safety E-News from
the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Click
here to view previous issues of E-News or to sign
up to recieve this newsletter.
This issue includes information and action steps for
you on the following topics:
What Young Children Need to Be Ready for Kindergarten
Most of us think that getting children ready for school
means helping them learn to tie their shoes, count,
write, and read. While these skills are important, teachers
tell us that it is easier for them to teach children
who can:
- Talk to and play with others
- Follow directions (listen, ask questions, and finish
tasks)
- Identify and talk about feelings
- Handle a problem with others
- Ask for help when they need it
Learning
is a social process, and children who have trouble with
social skills might act out or use undesirable behaviors.
These children may receive fewer compliments, have trouble
developing friendships, and cannot always focus on schoolwork.
This makes school harder for everyone. When parents
and child care providers help young children learn how
to make friends, follow directions, and complete schoolwork,
everyone benefits!
For additional
information and resources on getting children ready
for kindergarten, click here.
Expressing Warmth
and Affection, Helping Children Build Relationships
Expressing warmth and affection to children is important
for many reasons. It's also crucial for young children
to be appropriately touched and hugged by adults. Touching
and holding infants and toddlers helps them feel secure
and learn to trust their caregivers. A good relationship
(that is positive and supportive) promotes brain development.
By remaining calm and responsive to the child's needs,
adults can reassure and calm an anxious child. Finally,
these activities will help you develop a good relationship
with the children, and this will help you feel good,
enjoy your work, and have fun.
Here are some things you can do:
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Greet each child warmly. Smile, make eye contact,
and use a positive tone of voice that says you are
happy to see the child. Use the child's name. Help
the child to say good-bye to the person who brought
them and then to decide what to do as their first
activity of the day. This approach is especially
important when a child has been absent or is new
to a program.
-
Be friendly and affectionate with each child. Warmth
and affection can be shown through your expression,
laughter, voice, and words (e.g., "little one",
"I am glad you are here"). It can also
be expressed through touch. Leaning against a child,
giving a quick gentle touch on the head, arm or
shoulder, and hugging are appropriate ways to show
affection through touch. Snuggling with several
children while reading together is a natural and
enjoyable way to do this. Show each child you care
by responding individually and being sensitive to
their needs. Remember to:
- Provide regular positive attention to each child
every day
- Get on the child's level for face-to-face interactions
- Use a pleasant, calm voice, and simple language
while making eye contact
- Provide warm, responsive physical contact
- Listen carefully to children and encourage them
to use words to express their feelings
- Praise children when they do what you ask them
to do or are playing well with other children
-
Think about whether your joy and your good feelings
about children are easy for them to see. Remember
that children who act out are often those who need
the most warmth and affection.
-
Make sure that your words and interactions with
children are more positive than negative. Avoid
criticism, nagging, yelling, and scolding. Look
for each child's strengths. Enjoy each child's individuality
and sense of humor; smile, laugh, be playful, and
have fun.
-
Show children how to talk to other children and
build friendships. Use group activities such as
circle time or story time as well as role-playing
to help children learn how to say nice things, share,
and help each other. Model these positive behaviors
and praise children who follow directions. If needed,
use incentive charts or stickers to encourage desired
behaviors.
For additional
information and resources on expressing warmth and affection
and building relationships, click here.
What to do if Children
Act Out or Hurt Others
Knowing how to respond when children act out or hurt
others can be very difficult. Many caregivers/teachers
report that having even one child in their care who
acts out can lead to exhaustion and decreased job satisfaction.
Caregivers play a key role in identifying the positive
behaviors and skills they want for children and actively
teaching and strengthening these behaviors. By teaching
children positive behaviors, caregivers/teachers will
spend less time correcting negative behaviors and will
have more time to interact with children and enjoy program
activities.
Here are some things you can do to help children learn
positive behaviors:
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Reinforce desirable behaviors by ignoring things
that are trivial, providing frequent praise when
you see positive behaviors start to emerge, and
modeling respectful communication.
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Respond to children's negative behaviors by redirecting
them. For example, when a child throws sand from
the sandbox, do not take away his favorite toy.
Talk to the child about their behavior calmly and
with empathy. Tell the child that he may not throw
sand (because it is dangerous). Explain that because
he did this, he cannot play in the sandbox and needs
to play somewhere else.
-
Provide children with opportunities to make choices
when possible and help them to learn to understand
the consequences of their actions. Watch children
who act out and consider why they might be behaving
that way. For example, many children have trouble
during transitions (when they need to finish one
activity and start another). If problems tend to
occur during transition times, you can recognize
that this child will always need help during these
times.
-
Try role-modeling and having children practice
the behaviors that you want to see. Determine what
the negative behavior is and identify the desired
behavior. Talk to the children about the desired
behaviors and show them what you expect. Anticipate
when a child is likely to engage in a negative behavior
and offer them help and/or encourage the child to
ask for help. Ask children as a group to show you
what it means to "use inside voices",
"keep hands and legs to ourselves", or
"ask for help when you need it".
-
Provide clear messages that hurtful behaviors
are not allowed, and give the child acceptable alternatives.
For example, tell the child to express his anger
but not to hurt his friends. Time-outs should be
used when all other interventions have failed and
should be used as a "cooling off" period
for the child. Time-outs should not be used with
infants or toddlers. Children should always be told
why they are receiving a time-out. A time-out should
be supervised by an adult and last only a few minutes.
(See resources for more information.)
- Talk to a child's parents early on if you observe
problem behaviors. If the problems last several weeks
to months or are getting worse, you may want to refer
a child for further evaluation. Start with the child's
medical home (a doctor or health professional who
makes sure the child receives comprehensive primary
care). This individual can provide additional support
and refer the family appropriately, depending on the
child's condition and available community resources.
For additional
information and resources on what to do if children
act out, click here.
Health and Safety E-News is provided by the
American Academy of Pediatrics with support from the
federal Child Care Bureau and Maternal and Child Health
Bureau (Grant #U46MCO4436) to provide information on
evidence-based practices that promote the health and
safety of children in child care. If you are not yet
signed up to receive this newsletter, click here.
If you don't want to receive this newsletter, send an
e-mail to childcare@aap.org.
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