Supporting Behaviour Part 1 - Introduction

Behaviour is how children act especially in relation to others.

Responsible behaviour is when a child is "well behaved" and makes "good choices".

Challenging behaviour might be if a child is disrupts the class, hits out at other children, doesn't listen or makes unsafe choices. You should always ask yourself what is the behaviour trying to say? There are many reasons for children's behaviour. The child could be:

• Tired

• Hungry

• Missing his mum or dad

• Going through a tough time at home - parents getting divorced or fighting or sick

• Sad because their pet died

• Struggling with a disability like autism, a physical disability or a learning delay

• Struggling with their emotions

In early childhood it is important to be POSITIVE and UNDERSTANDING when you are supporting children's behaviour. Children need positive reinforcement when they show responsible behaviour and they also need positive support to redirect (like moving a child away from what is making their behaviour get worse and get them to focus on something else) or diffuse (like getting them to stop) challenging behaviour. Sometimes they just need someone to listen to them and let them know they are safe. See It's OK to Cry blog.

You should try not to:

1. Tell children off

2. Say "don't do that" constantly but put a positive spin on your request eg: "don't hit" might become "keep your hands to yourself"

3. Use praise all the time like "well done" or "good boy" but try to explain to the child what you liked about their behaviour or what was a bit challenging about their behaviour.

TASK: Imagine a child named Peter is putting their hands in the paint pots and putting hand prints all over the wall. Thinking about points 1 - 3 above, what would you say to Peter and do to help redirect this behaviour. Discuss this with your coach or your mum and write down your answers in your notebook.

In the Blog Post - Encouraging Good Behaviour Part 2, you will learn about the difference between Disruptive and Concerning Behaviour and in Part 3, you will learn some Top Tips on how to Encourage Good Behaviour.