Your Preschooler Isn't Bad

The wayward child at school and at home. In the year that I hoped to have all good little preschoolers, wouldn't you know - I had interviewed and was delivered one wayward child. This little one had broken every rule and disregarded good behavior since after day three of class. Not until he had bitten the last child and teacher that I had to take another technique in getting to understand this little person. The first five minutes of every group activity was fine. As a matter of fact, he was the sweetest child in the group. When anyone needed help with something he was always the first to give a hand. He would practice manners and give a smile to show he understood that it will make the other person feel better. But something went wrong after the 5 or 10 minute window would pass.

"Some children need more attention than others"technique may not work. In Childhood Education classes they somewhat instruct you as the teacher on how to handle a rowdy child by calling out their name first to answer questions and making sure the child is near you at all times so that they may be a helper, in hopes that the child will be distracted from making inappropriate decisions. Little ones like to be with their friends, they soon figure out that if they want to sit next to their friends then they would have to practice proper behavior.

But not for this little person, the more attention he received the worse he became and every one in the school counted him as a bad child. This I wasn't going to accept, so I started to evaluate him while another teacher was teaching and I noticed he would shake a little when he heard loud noises and when he could not stand it any more he would lash out and hit or bite another child. When they were in an activity that was quiet, he would act better and answer questions boisterously. And immediately I remembered something I read about anxiety disorders in children. That gave a different perception on his behavior.

More knowledge was the key to his adjustment in class. I made sure to discuss this with the parents and they immediately researched the information and put some things into place to work with a doctor and some techniques at home. And there were three things that I needed to concentrate on for him: avoid over-stimulating activities, making sure there was healthy snacks in place and letting him sleep at least an hour and a half before waking him. He became my star student and was missed every time he was absent.