“It’s important to slow down a discipline situation enough so that you can pay attention to the behavior, to stop and analyze the behavior instead of just reacting to it. When you react, you’ve got a no-win situation.”
Kris Pearson, Preschool Director
When behavior communicates an unmet need
Acting out is one way a child shows us that something is not working. A first step in finding positive, effective supports that result in change is to determine the underlying message being expressed through the behavior.
Teachers gather information, building understanding
The teachers in this video clip are working with a child who seems very uncooperative. Notice that they don’t focus on this but instead work to understand what is at the root of the child’s behavior.
This video clip is from the video Understanding Difficult Behavior that is part of the video training series, Reframing Discipline Problems.
Click the Play Arrow on the lower left corner to start the video.*
*If you do not see the video, you may need to Install Adobe Flash Player 7.0+ on your computer. This plug-in is widely available across several platforms and browsers. If you don't have a Flash Player plug-in installed on your computer, you can download it from the Adobe Website.
Suggested Discussion Questions
- How do you think teacher Marge’s quiet, nonjudgmental tone throughout her interactions with Chris was helpful?
- What do you think would have happened if Marge had focused on Chris’ misbehavior and been more forceful with him?
- The teachers realized that the underlying message in Chris’ behavior was his unmet need to feel safe and secure. What other kinds of activities and interactions might be helpful to a child like Chris?
- What other unmet needs might a child have that could lead to difficult behaviors?
Other resources that build classroom management skills
Preventing Discipline Problems Training Series
Hand-in-Hand Series
Super Groups Series
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