Setting the Stage
Physical, social, and emotional development impacts a child's understanding of their behavior and the behaviors of others around them. Children are constantly growing, learning, and discovering. From infancy and well into school age, children continue to grow physically, socially, and emotionally. This development influences their relationships, their view of themselves, and their eventual success in adulthood.
Physical development is a long continuum of growth and mastery of skills. A very young child might not have the physical size to reach a certain object and could cry loudly to gain attention to his dilemma. Another child might be physically larger than a peer and able to knock the other child over to reach a desired toy. Some children with physical disabilities might become frustrated if their environment is not adapted to meet their needs and throw a tantrum in that frustration. In order to enhance development and avoid some challenging behaviors, an early childhood program must examine each child's physical development and determine how to best meet that child's unique learning needs.
Social cognition is another key feature in children's behavior. Children give meaning to their social world early on. As they begin to interpret their experiences, they begin to see themselves as individuals and as a part of a larger community. An important role of the practitioner is to guide the social growth of children by introducing, enhancing, and expanding social skills.
Gartrell (1998) speaks to mistaken behavior rather than misbehavior since it is through experiences that a child learns when it is okay and not okay to laugh loudly, to run inside, or to knock over someone else's tower of blocks. An early childhood program can effectively teach developmentally appropriate social skills that could prevent some challenging behaviors from occurring. When a behavior occurs that is not in keeping with a program's values, the teaching continues as the practitioner introduces a more appropriate behavioral response to the child.
According to Berk (1997), emotional development can be seen as a major force in "all aspects of human activity—cognitive, processing, social behavior and even physical health." As stated in earlier chapters, emotional development is a key component in a child's behavior and social skill acquisition. Emotional development occurs in a sequential manner as children master skills and move on to the next emotional milestone (Greenspan, 2002). Children who do not master skills such as emotional regulation will find it difficult to make and keep friends. Self-control, another important emotional component, is key to many childhood behaviors. If a child wants a particular object and has not yet developed a measure of self-control, he could use aggression to obtain the object.
Temperament also plays a key role in children's behavior (see Chapter Three). For example, a child with high intensity will display more emotion in their language, play, and social interactions that can sometimes lead to conflict or aggression. A child, who is shy and more withdrawn, could find it difficult to enter into play groups and hence may engage in more solitary play. A child with more fearfulness may resist changes in activities or environment. Berk asserts (1997), "Since temperament represents an individual's emotional style, it should predict behaviors that emotions organize and regulate." Therefore, how an early childhood program responds to individual temperament styles can have a great impact on the behavior of children in that program.
A child's physical abilities, social skills, emotional development, and temperament must be considered as a practitioner develops strategies for working with a child who displays challenging behaviors. A combination of strategies designed to meet the needs of an individual helps increase a child's success in the early childhood program.
Specific Strategies for Meeting the Functional Needs of a Child's Behavior
As explained in the previous chapter, the function of any behavior is the need for a child to "get" or "get away from" an object, activity, attention, or sensation. Once a practitioner has identified the function, she can go on to meet the child's need by adapting or changing the environment or practices. What follows in this chapter are specific strategies that can be employed by early childhood or school age practitioners in each of the functional areas as they relate to programming.
Objects
Objects are described as the components of the setting that can be touched, felt, or seen by children. Many challenging behaviors can occur because two children desire the same object (e.g. toy). Teaching children the skills they need to share a limited number of materials in an early childhood setting requires patience, creativity and endurance. Children need time to learn ways to get their needs met in socially acceptable ways. Some children learn by watching others and some through the coaching of those around them. Other children need more specific instruction. Stories, puppet plays, and role plays can help all children learn the skills needed to control their impulses, take turns, and work out conflicts. If a child has learned to get what he wants in ways that are challenging to adults, it takes more time, planning, and strong teaching skills to help the child relearn more acceptable ways to meet his needs.
A child needs many social skills to learn how to interact with his peers. This requires that he coordinate his behavior with theirs and successfully obtains materials he wants to use in play. Suggestions for arranging the environment and ways to teach impulse control, turn taking, and problem solving follow. These are intended as examples upon which to build.
Environment
Careful consideration of the environment can help set the stage for success. Sometimes the goal of challenging behavior is to obtain an object. Make it easier for children to see and to access materials they want by arranging the environment in ways that allow them to be as independent as possible.
Practitioners can also avoid or reduce the number of challenging behaviors by adding objects, removing objects, or arranging them in ways that support appropriate behavior. A few suggestions are listed here. For a more thorough description of the effects of the environment see Chapter Two.
Place toys and materials on low shelves and hooks so the children can help themselves as well as independently return materials to their places.
Arrange materials in a way that children can easily see the selections and make decisions about what to play with. For example, display books on bookshelf with the titles and covers facing forward. This way the child doesn't have to dig through a box or become frustrated looking through the books on a shelf before finding the one he wants.
Label containers for materials with a picture and put the same picture on the shelf where the container is to be stored.
Provide duplicates of favorite toys and materials.
Place some materials that are available for use on a table or on the floor. This might draw children to the area and encourage the type of play that is to take place. For instance, place a few puzzles out on the puzzle table rather than leaving them in the rack.
Limit the number of children who can play in a popular area so there is less competition over desired toys. Place four water shirts near the water table to indicate four children can use these materials at one time. Or arrange two chairs at the computer station to show that two children can use the computer at once.
Show where certain materials are to be used. For example, lay a hulahoop on the floor to indicate to the children where to stay with a punch ball.
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