In this follow-up to "Guidance for Every Child," author Dan Gartrell, EdD, expands on the advice broached in that book -- that children need guidance rather than discipline. Guidance is teaching for healthy emotional and social development. On a day-to-day basis as conflicts occur, guidance is teaching children to learn from their…

An authority on neuroscience (the study of the structure and functioning of the brain) and human relationships, Daniel Siegel (2001) begins his classic work, "The Developing Mind: How Relationships and the Brain Interact to Shape Who We Are," with a basic concept: the brain is an open system that physically changes throughout life in response to…

During the first week of a Head Start program in September, Jamal, almost 5 years old, punched another child in the stomach. An assistant looked after the hurt child. Charlane, the teacher, approached Jamal, saying, "There is no hurting children in this class." She marched him to a time-out chair where Jamal sat with his head down. The following…

Rules are not helpful in the adult-child community. They are usually stated in the negative: "No," "Don't," etc. The way they are worded, adults seem to expect children to break them. Even when they are not totally negative, like "Be nice to your friends," rules have an "or else" moral implication that adults carry around in their heads. When…

Guiding children in finding social acceptance is on of the most important parts of the early childhood teacher's job. Opening the column with an anecdote from a pre-K teacher, Gartrell discusses what teachers can do when children cause conflicts on purpose and how teachers might prevent such conflicts.

Children with only months of life experience and brain development are just beginning to learn social problem solving. No wonder young children frequently make mistakes! Teachers tend to complain about tattling more than any other behavior. To many teachers, tattling is irksome, but there is more to this behavior than meets the eye. In this…

Maintains that early childhood educators should employ a child guidance approach rather than punishment in disciplining young children in the classroom. (BB)

Questions the use of the Canter model of assertive discipline in preschool and the primary grades because of its impact on the self-concepts of children, the learning atmosphere of the classroom, and the sensibilities of the professional teachers. (BB)

As early childhood teachers apply principles of guidance rather than punishment in their classrooms, they face the challenge of avoiding a slippage into traditional discipline practices and transcending the punitive aspects of discipline. Guidance is designed to teach children democratic life skills and therefore goes beyond discipline. Teachers…

This position statement for administrators, teachers, providers, and caregivers for young children discusses developmentally appropriate guidance techniques for children from birth to 8 years of age. The seven principles discussed are: (1) Children are in the process of learning acceptable behavior; (2) An effective guidance approach is preventive…

This instructional booklet is part of Learning Package #4 on the teacher's role in children's self concept development used in conjunction with the Child Development Training Program at Bemidji, Minnesota. The booklet is divided into four chapters which discuss: (1) the importance of the teacher-child relationship in relation to self-fulfilling…