Free Web Hosting Provider - Web Hosting - E-commerce - High Speed Internet - Free Web Page
Search the Web

You are here:  Home > Other Stuff > Understanding Beavers > Behaviour Problems

Tail Slap is a Colony Scouter resource.
Beaver Logo
The focus of these pages is Beavers, the junior section of Scouts Canada.
 spacer

Understanding Behaviour Problems
by Eva Essa

Why Children Misbehave

Social Learning

Behaviour, whether appropriate or inappropriate, is learned as children react to their environment and the people in it. As children interact with peers and adults, they learn ways of responding, reacting, and behaving in social situations. They also learn how others respond and react to their social behaviour. As a result, children adopt behaviours that appear to them to meet the expectations of others.

What children do is either reinforced or not reinforced by those around them. Acceptable behaviour continues if it is reinforced. Similarly, problem behaviour also continues if it is reinforced. Both kinds of behaviours can be extinguished if they are not reinforced. Many problem behaviours are continued because children are given attention when they so behave. Many appropriate behaviours are discontinued because they are not reinforced.

Inappropriate behaviours exhibited by young children stem either from patterns that have evolved in their past, or from a lack of understanding (caused by limited social experience) of what is expected of them. This in normal. With skill, the adult can systematically change children's unacceptable behaviour to those that are more suitable.

toptop of page

Environmental Causes of Misbehaviour
spacer
  1. Inappropriate expectations for the child's development level
  2. Health problems
  3. Allergies
  4. Poor nutrition
  5. Sensory deficits (i.e., hearing or sight problems)
  6. Oversensitivity to stimulation
  7. Family stress or change
  8. Physical environment
  9. Inconsistent messages
  10. Lack of clear-cut guidelines
  11. Attention

toptop of page

Techniques for Dealing with Misbehaviour

Reinforcement
The first and most important technique to use in dealing with children is positive reinforcement, particularly when you are trying to change a negative behaviour.

Ignoring
This can be a very effective strategy, but one which is very difficult to use. Ignoring should not be used when children are hurting others, hurting themselves, or damaging or destroying property.

Time-Out
This strategy is a last resort technique that has to be used sparingly and carefully. Aggressive behaviour needs to be stopped as quickly as possible, and time-out is often (but not always) the best method for doing so. Time-out should only be used when a child has repeated the aggressive behaviour more than twice, and the teacher has already explained to the child that the behaviour is not acceptable.

Time-Out Procedure:

  1. Quickly make sure that the child against whom the aggression was aimed is not hurt. If possible, another teacher should attend to the victim.
  2. Calmly take the aggressive child by the hand to the time-out area. Firmly but quietly say, "I cannot allow you to hurt other children. You will have to sit here until I tell you that you may get up." (1 minute for every year of the child's age.)
  3. Note the time and move away from the child. Do not talk or look at the child during the time-out period.
  4. If another child approaches the time-out area, quietly move the child away.
  5. At the end of the time, promptly go to the child and say, "You may get up now." Do not lecture. The child knows the reason for the isolation. To channel the child into constructive behaviour, you might suggest joining an ongoing activity. Reinforce the child as soon as possible for engaging in an appropriate activity.

Self-Selecting Time-Out
Some children may, at times, find themselves overwhelmed with the noise, activity level, and general stimulation of the classroom, and may need an opportunity to get away. A quiet, less stimulating area needs to be designated for this.

Prevention
By planning ahead, teachers and parents can identify problems that occur fairly frequently, and develop a strategy to avoid them.

Redirection
The adult directs the child's attention to another activity or provides a duplicate or alternate activity.

Discussion
Often a child of four or five is quite willing to try to solve behaviour problems with the teacher/parent.

Special Time
Setting aside special time provides children with an opportunity to receive positive reinforcement/attention from an adult. This can be very effective if the child's misbehaviour is attention-seeking.

Start Chart/Reward System


top of page | Understanding Beavers | Other Stuff | Home

Thanks to Maureen Hall, C.C.W., B.A., Manager Community Based Programs, Seven Towers Non-Profit Family Day Care Inc., for contributing this material.

These pages have been taken from A Practical Guide to Solving Preschool Behaviour Problems, by Eva Essa.

Send us your comments, ideas and suggestions.
Last updated: October 3, 1998
Beaver Logo