In my experience there are 6 things teachers who are consistently successful with children who exhibit challenging behavior do.
So, before you decide a child doesn’t belong in your classroom or that you’re not equipped for the challenge please be honest and ask yourself if you’re consistently doing these 6 things:
DECIDE that you’re committed to keeping the child in your classroom and approach every interaction with the child with an “I got this” attitude. (Without this nothing you try will work).
PLAY with the child, for just a few minutes per day - follow their lead by imitating their use of materials. You may be shocked how quickly a new level of trust can be built with this.
BE PLAY POWERED - use playful teaching to connect with the child, motivate them, grab and keep their attention, and help them move through transitions throughout the day.
CONVEY A CALM CONFIDENCE. I can’t teach my whole step-by-step de-escalation approach in a blog but here’s a few pointers to consider: When children are upset or in the “red zone”: breathe, put your body between the child and other children or things they may throw, say calmly “I can’t let you do that” and then stop talking. Breathe, stay calm, and let the child co-regulate with you. Talking to children about their behavior when they are upset usually escalates the behavior so you or your coworkers may be - with the best of intentions - inadvertently making things worse (provoking from resistance to aggression).
TEACH what you want the child to do and how you want them to act when the behavior is not happening - you can do this one-on-one, in small groups, large groups.
ACCEPT that some families may never take your suggestions….and know that you can still shift a behavior at school. Don’t give your power away as an educator just because families don’t set limits, won’t switch from a sugary breakfast, or aren’t being consistent.
Are you really and truly doing all of the above consistently?
If you’re not, can you give it a try?
I can’t teach you all of the how-to’s on using the above ideas through a blog post but I urge you to consider whether you are doing all of the above because it’s crucially important that we don’t ask children to leave a program.
Let me know your questions, a-ha’s or concerns in the comments below!
And if you want to learn more strategies to help you succeed with children who exhibit challenging behavior in your preschool classroom, get your own copy of The No More Challenging Behavior Cheat Sheet below.
