CCEI4003: Positive Guidance, Part 3: The Terrific Twos! Positive

Reinforcement and Setting Limits

Handout

Welcome to CCEI4003

One mistake people sometimes make when they hear the phrase positive guidance is that the

practitioner is basically going to let children do whatever they want, whenever they want, and then

offer praise to the children no matter what happens. In fact, positive guidance is simply another way

of approaching the age-old question, how do you teach children to be independent and make good

decisions? After all, those are two of the most basic goals of childrearing, in addition to providing

shelter, nutrition, nurturing, etc.

Course Objectives:

By taking notes on the handout and successfully answering assessment questions, participants will meet the following objectives as a result of taking this course:

Identify developmental characteristics and milestones of typical two-year-olds

Identify effective positive guidance strategies and behavior management techniques

Define positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement

Identify the importance of “ignoring the ignorable” and offering praise

Identify the importance of behavioral boundaries, I-messages, providing developmentally appropriate information, logical consequences, contingency statements, and choices

References:

Nelson, Jane (2007). Positive Discipline: The First Three Years, 2nd Edition. Ballatine Books, Fair Oaks, California

Nelson, Jane (2002). Positive Discipline for Child Care Providers. Prima Publishing, Roseville,

CA.

Beaty, Janice. Skills for Preschool Teachers, 9th Edition (2012). Pearson.

Herr, J. Working with Young Children, 7th Edition, 2012. Goodheart-Wilcox Company.

Marion, Marion (2006 ). Positive Guidance and Discipline Strategies: Description and

Explanation. Merrill

Papalia, Olds, Feldman (2013). A Child's World: Infancy through Adolescence, 13th Edition, McGraw-Hill.

Aguirre-Cox, Maria Victoria (2006). Positive Guidance. Victoria’s INK: San Antonio, Texas

Aguirre-Cox, Maria Victoria (2009). Positive Guidance. Victoria’s INK: San Antonio, Texas

Barakat and Clark (2007). Positive Discipline and Child Guidance. Human Development and Family Extension: University of Missouri, Columbia.

Kaiser, Barbara. Challenging Behavior in Young Children (2011). Pearson.

Feeney, Stephanie, et al. Who Am I in the Lives of Children? 9th Edition. Pearson, 2013.

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Terrific Twos

List characteristics of two-year-olds:

Are two-year-olds “terrible” or “terrific”? Explain.

Two-Year Milestones

List developmental milestones in each of the following areas:

Physical

Gross Motor Skills:

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Fine Motor Skills:

Cognitive

Social

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Emotional

Positive Guidance Basics

Positive guidance means:

Guidelines for understanding and using positive guidance:

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Show, Don’t Tell!

The Power Struggle

Ignoring the Ignorable

What does it mean to ignore the ignorable?

What behaviors can be ignored?

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What cannot be ignored?

The Process of Reinforcement

The main idea at the root of the Process of Reinforcement is the notion that __________________

_________________________________________________________________________________.

You can think of reinforcement as a three-step process of When-Does-Get:

Here are some examples of statements that reinforce, or draw attention to, inappropriate behaviors. We can call these negative reinforcers:

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Your main goal is to give attention to behaviors you want repeated, such as:

Here are examples of statements that draw attention to appropriate behaviors. We’ll call these positive reinforcers:

What Is Ignorable?

Have Patience

What happens if a caregiver tries to ignore a whining child, but the child simply will not stop? Often, after a few minutes, the caregiver responds—not by giving the child what he wants but by simply saying “Please stop whining. That is not how we get the things we want.”

What has the child learned? In this case, the child has probably learned that, if you whine long and

loud enough, the caregiver will eventually pay attention to you. To a toddler, this may send the signal that there is still a possibility that the whining will pay off.

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You can ignore ALL behaviors that _______________________________________________________________.

Here are some behaviors that are usually ignorable:

Don’t Forget the Praise!

Setting Limits

At what point does an “inside voice” become an “outside voice”?

Is it okay to run inside?

When it is okay to be mad about something? (Answer: Whenever something happens that makes you angry.)

When it is okay to hit someone or throw something because you are mad? (Answer: Never.)

When is it okay to throw food? (Answer: Very rarely.)

These are just a few of the countless situations in which young children encounter limits, also known as the boundaries of acceptable behavior.

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Defining Boundaries

Behavioral boundaries are essential for effective classroom management and high-quality child care. Behavioral boundaries help to:

Boundaries can be:

Why must boundaries be developmentally appropriate?

Strategies for Setting Limits

Use the available space to record important information about each of the following strategies:

Use I-Messages

An effective I-message has three steps:

1.

2.

3.

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In the early childhood setting, I-messages help children understand:

Provide Appropriate Information

It is essential to provide adequate information _____________________________________________________.

One (Patient) Step at a Time

Case Study

Using Information Wisely

Toddlers want a certain degree of independence, and yet they are also eager to please their caregivers. Information can be given incrementally—little by little—in order to positively encourage a toddler to make an appropriate decision.

At ABC Child Care Center, the children have had 30 minutes in center play and the teacher, Ms. Spivey, has announced three times that center time is about to end. When it is time to end center time, Ms. Spivey begins singing the class’s usual transition song. Most of the children join in and sing along as they clean up whatever they were playing with. However, Sebastian has chosen to continue to play. He is busy pretending to cook dinner in the kitchen center.

Ms. Spivey is glad to see Sebastian so focused on his play, but it is time to change activities. As her assistant guides the rest of the class through the transition, Ms. Spivey approaches Sebastian. In

situations like these, she uses a three-phase communication method.

1. First, she says, “Hi Sebastian. I see the pots are on the floor.” Sebastian looks up briefly when Ms. Spivey speaks, but then he continues playing.

2. Ms. Spivey smiles and uses a more direct prompt. “Do you remember where the pots belong?” she asks. Most children will get the message and start to clean up at this point, but Sebastian is still slow to respond. 3. Finally, Ms. Spivey says, “The pots belong on the shelf, Sebastian. Can put them back all by yourself?” Sebastian nods and starts to put the toys away.

Despite their desire for independence, sometimes “terrific two-year-olds” need caregivers to guide them one step at a time.

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Fair and Logical Consequences

Consequences vs. Punishment

Is it possible to teach children about cause and effect without resorting to threats of punishment? Explain.

Imagine the scenario from the two-year-old’s perspective. The young child wants the glass beside him. Why? Because, at this age, he can:

Use Contingents

The word contingent is like dependent. If one action is contingent, it cannot occur until another

action has taken place. For example, if you throwing a baseball with your friend, you cannot catch the ball unless your friend throws it to you; your ability to catch the ball is contingent upon your friend’s ability to throw it.

Young children understand the concept of contingents. In fact, it is very simple and usually involves “if-then” and “when-then” statements:

If you finish your vegetable then you may have a cookie.

When you finish picking up the toys then we can play outside.

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Why are contingency messages important?

Is a contingency message the same as a bribe? Explain.

Offer Choices

Developmentally, two-year-olds are ready to make choices.

Let us review those developmental characteristics of the “terrific two”:

Cognitively:

Language:

Gross Motor:

Fine Motor:

Socio-emotional:

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Self-Help:

Developmentally, choices are exactly what a two-year-old needs!

Choices must be _________________________________________________.

Never offer a choice that _________________________________________________________.

If you work with two-year-olds, remember:

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