Discipline at daycare is vital for young children as their time at your facility shapes their character. Experienced child-care professionals know that modeling good behavior at this age is very important.
It requires reinforcement of rules and regulations, setting limits, and penalties for bad behavior. It’s equally important to praise good behavior. Your positive words and rewards motivate young learners to follow the rules instead of rebelling.
However, daycare management can be challenging between tantrums and occasional rebellion in class.
This guide shares practice discipline strategies for daycare to help you keep everything in control.
Here’s what you should do.
The Basics: How to Promote Positive Discipline at Daycare
The American Academy of Pediatrics instructs parents and childcare providers to “avoid physical punishment and verbal abuse” when disciplining children. That’s because aversive behavior creates more conflicts and only achieves short-term goals.
Instead of harsh punishments, help young children learn rules through positive discipline. Such an approach promotes self-discipline and emotional regulation in little learners. It is also more respectful than belittling them in front of their peers.
Daycare providers must realize that children “do well if they can.” According to Psychology Today, young learners need you to teach them how to handle stress and emotions if you want them to behave well.
It’s about modeling good behavior and setting boundaries to keep out-of-control children in check.
The Rules: Discipline Strategies for Daycare You Should Try
Discipline at daycare requires staff to set clear rules and regulations. Plan daycare management policies and ensure every teacher enforces them in class. That way, young learners under different teachers won’t get confused about which instruction to follow.
Here are other things to keep in mind:
1. Show and Tell Little Learners
Young learners have abundant energy that they need to direct toward positive behavior. It can be challenging at first but not impossible. Use the first day to start instructing them on the dos and don'ts of classroom behavior.
Guide them gently and redirect their attention if they misbehave. Also, organize your daycare room to make the rules easy to follow.
You can do this by:
● Posting visual reminders that prompt young learners to follow the rules
● Use a visual flow chart to discuss how students should behave in specific situations
● Ensure there are bins and boxes with labels/illustrations that tell students where everything must go
● Practice 1:1 disciplining by quietly talking to a naughty child and explaining what they are doing is wrong instead of shouting at them in front of peers
In addition, learn to lead with a question. Are the kids being too loud? Ask them why you need to be louder to be heard. Tell them you don’t want to do that. Children will automatically lower their voices.
2. Explain the Consequences Before Enforcing Them
One of the most common discipline strategies for daycare revolves around the “dirty corner” or “time out box.” Children that misbehave need to sit in a corner with their back to the class to think about what they did wrong.
Timeouts work like a charm. (In most cases)
However, you must consider why a child isn’t following rules. Maybe a child doesn’t know that their actions are wrong. Always give little learners the benefit of the doubt. Give them a warning and explain why they should stop before sending them to a corner.
Also, sometimes children grow restless if they finish an activity before others or need a more challenging task. Have a backup at hand to divert their attention towards something productive.
3. Reward Good Behavior
Differentiate between good and bad behavior by rewarding children that follow the rules. You can do this with praise, award certificates, or create a reward chart that tracks their progress. This tactic creates healthy competition amongst peers and helps them learn by following each other.
Moreover, be specific when you praise them. Don’t just say, good job. Tell them that you appreciate that they put the toys away or threw the trash after an arts and crafts activity.
Praises, stickers, and rewards will motivate young learners to practice discipline at the daycare.
Bonus Step: Collaborate with Parents
Discipline at daycare requires effective collaboration with parents and guardians. Notify parents about misbehavior and create a structured plan of how they can reinforce rules at home. This can be tricky, but having daycare forms and implementing effective parent-centered communication strategies can help.
Learn to convey the right message without conflict to foster a positive learning environment for young children.
In a Nutshell
Discipline at daycare requires patience and planning. We recommend setting boundaries through collaborative planning. Train your staff to adopt positive discipline strategies for daycare instead of punishing the child.
Modeling good behavior starts with you. Showing little learners what to do and how to do it and reinforcing those ideas through rewards promotes self-discipline. Plus, when you react calmly, they will too.
Lastly, don’t hesitate to notify parents and create a united front in managing bad behavior.
Good luck!
Need more advice?
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