Response to: CHILD BEHAVIOR: Why does s/he do that? And what can I do about it?

From time to time I will post some excellent comments/papers by people who have taken a course. This one is by Kelly Catt

I appreciate this article because it provides a variety of insights into the
reasons for a child’s behavior. I especially liked the examples of how to manipulate a
child’s behavior by changing the environment – turning off the lights to move a child
out of a room etc. Also, the child’s physical needs must be addressed; the children I
care for range in age from 8 months to 3 years of age and I am reminded that these
children need sleep in a desperate way! Many times parents will tell me about their
weekend outings and the tantrum that accompanied the trip. With further
questioning I discover that the outing was planned during the child’s nap time.
Children who are not rested don’t have the emotional reserves to deal with
disappointment or frustration! The article discussed a child’s behavior getting them
something desirable. I have seen this dynamic in the children who I care for. Many
times, a child will whine to get something because this is how they are used to
operating at home, but I have found that, as a provider, I should never give into
whining because it perpetuates the problem! As early as possible I teach babies sign
language and the most important signs to learn to prevent whining are “please” and
“help.” After the child learns these signs, I can encourage the child to “ask nicely”
rather than whining. This works so well! Parents love this strategy too, because it
gives them a way out of whining rather than just getting frustrated.

The article also mentioned that laughing at inappropriate behavior is common. I
agree and have seen the results of this interaction between parent and child. The
children don’t know that they are doing something inappropriate, so they continue in
the behavior.
I especially like the section about finding a consequence that is more punishing or
more rewarding (the example of the boy in church). This has caused me to rethink
my disciplining strategies. Often, one little boy will ask to be put into time-out, and
I probably need to reevaluate his discipline if he is asking for it! This article has
encouraged me to ask the question “what is this child getting out of this behavior?”
Often times, in a childcare setting, it is easy to just react to a behavior issue, but this
article has encouraged me to rethink my discipline strategies and consider what the
child is actually getting out of the negative behavior. Then, I can more fully
understand why the child is displaying the behavior. Also, I really liked this link:
http://www.childcareaware.org/en/subscriptions/dailyparent/volume.php?id=43.
It was very helpful and I will pass it on to the parents who I work with.
To make the article better, I would recommend enlarging the font to 12 pts through
out the article. The small font is very difficult to read. Also, I would recommend
more hands-on examples of behavioral issues in the classroom and at home. I have
found that when parents and caregivers are responding in the same way to a child’s
negative behaviors, the child will more quickly change their behavior. Another
recommendation is to include more links specific to the childcare setting – perhaps
there is a blog which allows caregivers to interact and exchange ideas and strategies
to help kids.