Guiding Children to Socially Acceptable Behavior

02/09/2004

Guiding Children to Socially Acceptable Behavior

"Dancing is just discovery, discovery, discovery."- Martha Graham

GUIDING CHILDREN TO SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR

An article, "Building Spaces, Finding Words -- Creating the Context for Positive Discipline," by Marjorie J. Kostelnik, Ph.D., from the September, 1992 Child Care Information Exchange, forms the basis for one of Exchange's Out of the Box Training Kits. In this article, Kostelnik observes....

"Traditionally, it is the adults in the setting who help children learn the difference between acceptable and unacceptable conduct. They teach children socially desirable acts like sharing, answering politely, and working cooperatively with others. Additionally, they help children learn to avoid inappropriate behaviors such as pushing, interrupting, or writing in picture books.

"How adults carry out this socializing function has a tremendous impact on how successful children are in learning to behave and in children's opinions about themselves. For instance, poor social learning occurs when adults shame children, coerce them, or fail to make their expectations clear. The same is true when children learn that their best efforts are not good enough and that failure is more likely than success.

"Youngsters subjected to these conditions tend to become covert in their actions, continually looking for ways to avoid responsibility, or they become hostile and destructive. Conversely, when adults convey respect for children through actions and words and provide constructive guidelines to them about how to behave successfully, children are more likely to become helpful, cooperative, and self-controlled."

To learn about and order the Out of the Box Kit, "Building Spaces, Finding Words," go to: http://mail.ccie.com/go/eed/0115

For more information about Exchange's magazine, books, and other products pertaining to ECE, go to www.ccie.com.