There are many different behavioural management strategies. Some of these are:
I will explore a range of possible strategies to manage the child’s behaviour in the example below.
Example:
During my first placement in a nursery there was a boy aged 3 who was constantly tired as he was taken to a nursery at 7:30am and was there until 5pm or 6pm. His home life was believed to be disruptive and he had a lack of routine as he would go to sleep at differing times, and then sleep on and off throughout the day. This lack of routine is an example of environmental factors affecting his behaviour. As a result of his tiredness he was quite aggressive and ‘snappy’ when talking to people and would snatch toys from the other children. His lack of social skills seemed to be a result of little interaction with his parents and family and he seemed to think that he had to shout to be heard and get what he wants. This situation links to Maslow’s theory of hierarchy of needs. As the child’s basic needs were not being met he was not able to grasp the understanding of acceptable behaviour in social settings.
As this child’s home life seemed to be the source of his problems it would be beneficial to speak to his parents. This needs to be done through effective communication. The concerns are confidential issues that an early years worker needs to handle in a sensitive and appropriate manner so as not to appear like they are handing out blame to the parent. It would therefore be important to arrange a formal chat with the parents when the child is not in the room, and when the issue can be discussed without interruptions. It may be necessary to offer the parents ‘parenting’ classes and support. This could be through guidance into what a child of his age needs to progress and make the parents’ fully aware of his needs, in particular a consistent sleep pattern. However in this example although the nursery nurses tried to contact the boy’s parents they refused to come into the nursery for a formal chat. As the child is taken to, and picked up from the private nursery alongside the school nursery, the nursery nurses told me that they had only seen his parents on a handful of occasions. This lack of visual communication, as the nursery nurses and the parents have not been able to arrange a time to meet up, has not helped improve the situation with the child’s behaviour. If the parents had met up with the nursery nurses when first asked then some of the reasons for the child’s behaviour may have been resolved earlier on.
When speaking to the child about his behaviour it would be necessary to talk to him individually and in a quiet area. This will help him focus on what is being said as children may find it hard to concentrate and listen as “listening is an important skill for children to master.” (Tassoni, P. et Al. 2002 p.212). It will also be necessary to use a soft tone of voice when talking to him, which may be different than the tone of voice used when discussing the issue with the parents. Sandy Green states, “Young children may not always understand what is being said to them, but the tone of voice used conveys a message, which at times may be the wrong one.” (Green, S 2006 p.39).
However the way that the nursery nurses handled the child’s disruptive behaviour varied. Sometimes they were patient with him and used a softer tone of voice when talking to him, and they tried to calm him down by giving him time-out sessions. Time-out sessions “allow the distressed person time to sit quietly” and to calm down. (Green, S. 2006. p.66). Other times however they got annoyed and raised their voices, singling out the child in front of the rest of the class and standing over him in an authoritative and imposing manner. The nursery nurses were therefore sometimes taking the child’s behaviour personally rather than staying in control of the situation. This does not resolve the situation but just intensifies the child’s anger. On a few occasions he kicked objects out of his way and stormed out of the nursery into the toilets, once pushing another child and knocking her over on his way. The nursery nurses needed to ensure they were assertive and firm when talking to him, but that they stayed calm.
Unfortunately, although the nursery nurses did spend time with the child on a one-to-one basis and did try to listen to him, it seemed the situation was not dealt with effectively as the parents refused to go into the nursery to discuss the matter and to help. The strategy needed to manage this child’s behaviour needed to be between the nursery nurses, the parents, and the child for it to be effective. It was also important to praise the child when his behaviour improved and when he displayed appropriate behaviour. This was something that the nursery nurses did, and when he had been praised he did act like a different child, but unfortunately this behaviour often didn’t last.
It is also necessary to show empathy when communicating with the child and his parents. To be emphatic means to be able to put aside your own feelings and views, and to consider what is being told to you from that person’s point of view. This can help the early years worker to understand the situation better, and can help them and the child’s parents to form an action plan regarding how to help the child. Action plans need to include all the relevant information needed to help the child and this can include dates of when each step aims to be resolved. It is necessary that action plans use small, succinct steps to get to the desired result, for example, acceptable behaviour from the child. Small steps will be more manageable and attainable to achieve. Action plans can also include activities, which could help the child, and plan times that are set aside for one-on-one communication with the child. Both the early years setting, and the parents should have a copy of the action plan and it should be kept updated regularly.
One system that could be put into place with this child is a reward/consequence chart. As his behaviour is not socially acceptable then he needs to learn what is acceptable and unacceptable and a good way of doing this for a child of this age is through a reward system. When he acts in an acceptable way he will be praised and rewarded with a sticker or ‘smiley face’, and when he displays unacceptable behaviour then a sticker or ‘smiley face’ is taken away. He will soon start to realise that his unacceptable behaviour result in a bad response. This is a way of conditioning his behaviour.
References:
- Alcott, M. (2002) An Introduction to Children with Special Educational Needs. Hodder and Stoughton.
∙ Beaver, M. et Al. (2002) Babies and Young Children– Certificate in Child Care and Education. Nelson Thornes.
- Green, S. (2006) BTEC National Early Years. Nelson Thornes.
- Mukherji, P. et Al. (2001) Understanding Children’s Challenging Behaviour. Nelson Thornes.
- Minett, P. (2001) Child Care and Development. John Murray.
- Tassoni, P. et Al. (1999) Early Years Care and Education. Heinemann.
- Tassoni, P. et Al. (2002) Diploma Child Care and Education. Heinemann.
Bibliography:
- Alcott, M. (2002) An Introduction to Children with Special Educational Needs. Hodder and Stoughton.
- Beaver, M. et Al. (2002) Babies and Young Children– Certificate in Child Care and Education. Nelson Thornes.
- Bruce, T. and Meggitt, C. (2005) Child Care and Education. Hodder Arnold.
∙ Davenport, G. C. (1991) An Introduction to Child Development. Collins Educational.
- Eysenck, M. W. (2002) Psychology – A Student’s Handbook. Psychology Press.
∙ Green, S. (2006) BTEC National Early Years. Nelson Thornes.
- Riddall-Leech, S. (2003) Managing Children’s Behaviour. Heinemann.
- Tassoni, P. et Al. (1999) Early Years Care and Education. Heinemann.
- Tassoni, P. et Al. (2002) Diploma Child Care and Education. Heinemann.
- Tassoni, P. (2006) Early Years. Heinemann.