Guiding Children’s Behavior (Mini-Series)

Guiding Children’s Behavior (Mini-Series)

Training Series with a focus on using guidance to promote the development of self-regulation skills, purposefully nurture social and emotional competence, and intentionally create engaging environments that are developmentally appropriate and encourage positive behavior in young children.

Attendance to all 4 modules is not required, but it is encouraged! Those who participate all four sessions will receive a special certificate and gift upon completion.

Definitions:

Self-regulation: a person’s ability to manage attention and emotions well enough to complete tasks, organize [and manage] behavior, control impulses, and solve problems constructively (Murray et al 2015)

Positive guidance: Positive Guidance is how you help children learn the expectations for behavior in a variety of settings. It involves providing guidance that exemplifies positive behavior and helps children know what it means to be a member of their learning community. Positive guidance teaches children what to do and how to successfully meet the expectations for behavior in the learning environment. Positive guidance is about boosting a child’s self-control rather than focusing solely on a behavioral outcome. It requires a shift in thinking that considers a child’s behavior as an opportunity for teaching and learning.

Behavior: A developmental process that takes time to master.

Goal(s): To develop a shift in thinking in which guiding children emphasizes boosting a child’s self-control rather than focusing solely on a behavioral outcome.

Objectives: Participants will be able to:

Define positive guidance as an effective approach to guiding young children how to regulate their behavior.
Examine the role of intentionality and planning as a tool for guiding children’s behavior.
Recall that children’s behaviors, and in particular challenging behaviors, communicate a message and that it is up

to the adults to “decode” and interpret that message.

Create experiences that proactively teach social and emotional skills.

Who should attend: early childhood educators, directors, before and aftercare staff of children ages Birth to 5.