Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/guidance-with-children--who-show-challenging-behaviors/5022518/
Psychologists who study brain development are validating what caring educators have known for years: that there is no such thing as ‘bad kids,’ only kids with bad problems that they cannot solve on their own (Cozolino, 2006). Part 1 of this two-piece series looks at a major psychological source of children’s problems and how these problems cause young children to show behaviors that are challenging. Part 2 will offer seven individual- and group-focused guidance practices that assist young children in managing their problems and gaining the emotional and social strengths that help them get along.
In both parts, two basic ideas guide our conversation. First, early childhood professionals do well to think of young children not as years-old, but as months-old. A two-year-old has only 24 to 36 months of total life experience. A four-year-old has 48 to 60 months. Yet, adults sometimes expect emotional maturity from young children during conflicts (expressed disagreements) that we adults, with years of life experience, do not always show.
Second, we use the term guidance to define developmentally appropriate leadership with children who show challenging behaviors (Gartrell, 2012). In immediate situations, guidance means intervening in conflicts in firm but friendly ways that calm and teach, rather than ...