Free Social-emotional Resources to Share with Families

Child Care Aware® of Central Missouri has been utilizing the free resources available from The Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Intervention (TACSEI) to help child care professionals manage challenging behaviors for several years.  Their website provides a variety of useful tools at no cost to you.  One new resource provides free printable handouts you can share with families to promote social-emotional skills at home.

The Backpack Connection Series helps parents stay informed about what their child is learning at school, and each one gives specific ideas on how to use the strategy or skill at home.   The handouts cover emotions such as jealousy, frustration, anger, and disappointment as well as challenging behaviors like biting.  There are also pages available on routines like bedtime and skills like sharing.

For example, the handout on smooth transitions offers these helpful tips:

• Use a timer, instrument, or funny noise to alert the child about the coming transition.
• Let the child choose a special toy to take with him to the new activity or place.
• Use a visual schedule to show the child the plan for the day.
• Use a special song during transition times.
• Give the child a job to do during the transition. 

To view and print the Backpack Connection Series or other useful resources, visit TACSEI’s website, www.challengingbehavior.org.

We are Here for You!

Maya is in the corner of the room kicking at a shelf and singing loudly. The rest of the children are at circle time, but are restless and laughing at Maya. It is becoming more and more difficult to ignore her behavior.

The new toddler in your program has bitten three children in the last two days. He is lightning quick and you can’t seem to intervene in time to stop the behavior.

James, a four year old in your classroom can’t seem to settle down and complete an activity. Instead, he seems to delight in knocking over the block tower, grabbing paint brushes, or throwing sand on the playground.

Do any of these scenarios sound familiar? Are you struggling with burn-out and looking for some support or new resources for dealing with everyday behavior issues?

We are here for you!

We can offer a sympathetic ear to listen, provide educational materials, give you tips for that parent conference or provide information about community resources. We can also come to your program to observe as an objective pair of eyes and then work with you to brainstorm a variety of classroom strategies. And best of all -- our help with challenging behaviors is free!

Contact us today at 800-243-9685, and ask to speak with an Inclusion Specialist.

Simple Changes to Improve Children's Behavior

Dealing with challenging behaviors is difficult! However, more often than not, we can make changes that will positively affect children’s behavior.


Consider the following excerpt:

“If a child doesn’t know how to read, we teach.

If a child doesn’t know how to swim, we teach.

If a child doesn’t know how to multiply, we teach.

If a child doesn’t know how to drive, we teach.

If a child doesn’t know how to behave, we….. …..teach? …..punish?


Why can’t we finish the last sentence as automatically as we do with the others?”

Below are some tips that can assist you in making challenging behavior manageable:

• Develop a list of classroom rules. Because everyone is expected to follow the rules, everyone should be involved in setting the rules, including children. Limit the number of rules to three or less. State the rules positively telling children what to do as opposed to what not to do.

• Limit your use of the word “no.” The word “no” quickly loses its effectiveness over time and should be reserved for emergency situations when safety is at stake. Instead focus on redirection and setting up a safe, child friendly environment where the word “no” will rarely need to be used.

• Provide children with a consistent schedule and routine. When children know what to expect, their anxiety is decreased. Plan for transitions by giving children verbal countdowns and providing picture schedules for visual learners. When changes to your routine are necessary, inform children ahead of time.

• Model, model, model! Read books and scripted stories promoting social/emotional development. Involve children in coming up with solutions to problems. Role-play problem solving with another staff member or even a puppet to engage children.

There are lots of great resources for social/emotional development from the Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) curriculum for you to utilize at: http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/index.html

Child Care Aware® of Central Missouri also has Early Childhood Specialists available for technical assistance and on-site consultation. You can contact Trinette Brewer by e-mail at trinette@mo.childcareaware.org, Barb Vigil at barb@mo.childcareaware.org, or Lori Meisner at lorim@mo.childcareaware.org, or call us at (573) 445-5437 or (800) 243-9685.

Taking a Bite out of Biting

Biting is a frustrating and painful behavior for parents and caregivers to manage. Between the ages of one and two (and sometimes longer), children use their mouths to explore and learn about the environment. They also have very limited verbal skills during this stage. As a result, biting may occur for several reasons: exploration, expressing emotions, and/or attention seeking. Some children may not bite at all, and others may be frequent and persistent biters.

Here are some suggestions for ways to minimize biting:

Look at your program's environment, schedule, routines, and expectations of children and staff. Try to minimize: congestion, confusion and disorder, children waiting, frustration, boredom, commotion, competition for toys and materials, and competition for adult attention.

Avoid large groups, and break the children up into smaller groups. Try to spread out activities to avoid children “bunching” up.

Look for ways to increase the promotion of the children’s sense of security and stability:

- Maintain a predictable schedule and ensure that children understand and anticipate the progression of the day.

- Ensure prime times with the child’s primary caregiver.

- Ensure warm, cozy, semi-secluded “safe places to be.”

- Avoid staffing changes. Develop and maintain individual and group rituals.

Look for ways to engage children more effectively in the environment:

- Analyze the developmental appropriateness of children’s choices.

- Provide duplicates of popular toys and multiple options for activities.

- Consider whether to increase the motor and sensory choices available.

Look for ways to calm children after periods of excitement, such as relaxed transitions, calming music, and calming physical contact with caregivers.

Analyze grouping of children to avoid combinations that might lead to conflict or biting. Avoid grouping “biters” and “victims” together. Also avoid grouping children who will compete for toys.

If you would like more information about biting or any other behavior issue, please contact one of the Inclusion Specialists at Child Care Aware® of Central Missouri at 800-243-9685.

Information obtained from: ExchangeEveryDay a free service of Exchange Magazine, January 6, 2006

Biting in Child Care: Why It Happens and How to Stop It

Biting is a common occurrence when groups of toddlers spend time together, and it's one of the concerns both teachers and parents contact us about often.  Most of the time, children are biting because they haven't yet learned more appropriate ways to get their needs met.  By spending a little time carefully observing the child and noting when, where, and how the biting usually happens, you can often figure out how you can stop this upsetting behavior.

Ask yourself these questions:

When does this child bite?  If it's close to meal time, he might be biting because he's hungry.  If it's before nap, she might be biting more when she's tired.  If it's during free play, the child might be having trouble asking for what he or she wants.

What is the child's mood like when he or she bites?  Focusing on the child's mood can also help determine the cause.  He or she might be expressing anger or frustration.  The child might also simply be taking in sensory information from his environment and learning about cause and effect.

Does this child bite when there is less supervision?  This is often the case.  While biting can happen even with the closest adult supervision, if caregivers stay near children, they can often intervene before biting takes place.

Does this child bite one person in particular?  If so, focus on the interactions the child is having with this person when trying to figure out the cause of the biting.

How much language is the child using?  Young children often bite because they don't yet have the language skills to express themselves in more acceptable ways.  If you determine lack of language skills to be a cause of biting in your classroom, it's important to help the child learn to "use his words" to tell others what he wants and needs.

Once you've determined the reason the child bites, you can begin to work on a plan for reducing the number of incidents.

Some strategies to reduce biting in the classroom:

• Offer a variety of activity choices that are developmentally appropriate for the children in the room.
• Teach children to use words to express emotions.
• Make sure the child who bites is always close to an adult.
• Change the classroom schedule as necessary, possibly moving up meal times or rest times, or breaking up unstructured periods.
• Have multiples of favorite toys available.
• Make sure the room is arranged so children have plenty of space to move and play.
• Spend quality one-on-one time with the child when he or she is behaving well.

For more information on biting and other challenging behaviors, check out So This Is Normal Too?: Teachers and Parents Working Out Developmental Issues in Young Children by Deborah Hewett.