How to Promote Positive Behavior in Toddlers

 

One of the most important aspects of a child's nursery experience is encouraging positive behavior. We have many tools at our disposal to assist children in growing and becoming more emotionally intelligent. Promoting positive behavior in the early years is critical for preparing children for a more formal educational setting at school.

You have a lot of responsibilities if you work in a nursery or early years educational setting. Children must learn positive behaviors and social skills, as well as a solid foundation in literacy and numeracy.

How do kids learn about good behavior?

Young children learn much more effectively by watching and participating in their education rather than being told. This means that you should always be modeling positive actions and behaviors.

There are three primary ways to actively encourage positive behavior:

1. Play – During structured or free play, children can demonstrate positive social and emotional skills.

2. Interaction – Participating in activities such as games allows you to model good social behaviors.

3. Discussion – Talking with students in situations such as story time can help them understand positive behaviors.

Structures for positive reinforcement are also required. When you tell a child that they are wrong or naughty, you are not providing them with any constructive feedback. You should tell them when they've been good and what they did well.

How can we encourage positive behavior?

There are nearly 1.1 million early years education places like Wimbledon daycare nurseries for children in the United Kingdom. For young children in these settings, the government has established a framework known as the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). It advises you as a nursery school teacher on what a child should be taught, including positive behavior.

It takes careful planning and strong execution to teach these positive outcomes to young children. Nursery school is an important time for children to learn about these aspects of themselves because they have a peer group around them as well as trained educational practitioners like yourself to guide them through their learning.

The EYFS framework includes guidelines for providing students with opportunities to develop positive behaviors.

Empathy and comprehension

Empathy and understanding of others can help a child become more resilient and open to others. It may take some time for a child to learn to see the world through the eyes of others, a concept known as the theory of mind (ToM). It will be easier for children to figure out when you, as a teacher, model empathy and talk about feelings.

Children must understand and recognize their emotions. This will assist them in recognizing themselves in others. During a creative session, you can encourage your students to think about their feelings and express those emotions through colors and shapes, and then ask them to explain how their work relates to a feeling they have.

Communication that is unambiguous

Communication with young children is not always easy. You must demonstrate clear communication to them so that they will understand how to confidently ask for what they want, such as going to the toilet or needing assistance with their work.

When you ask a child to do something, make sure your instructions are simple. Rather than "tidy away the books," "replace the books on the shelves with the other books" will yield a more predictable result. When speaking, make an effort to look the child in the eyes whenever possible.

Rewarding behavior

We've already established that children enjoy being rewarded for their efforts. Being yelled at and punished is ineffective, especially with young children. Encouraging good behavior always produces better results.

You can make a rewards chart for your students in your classroom. Make it abundantly clear what a reward can be given for, such as completing work on time, saying please or thank you, assisting others, and so on. Give a point, a sticker, or something similar for each parameter, and every week, award a certificate to the student with the highest score in the class.