5 Meaningful Ways to Help Childcare Staff Manage Challenging Behaviors

It’s no secret that challenging behavior in early education settings — and increased staff turnover as a result — is on the rise. To help childcare leaders support teachers and enable them to best serve children who struggle with self-regulation, behavior management expert Sheila Lewis from The Sunshine House joined HINGE Advisors for a webinar highlighting several effective strategies rooted in both research and real-life experience.

1. Evaluate developmentally appropriate practices in the classroom.
   “Any time you have challenging behaviors in the classroom, the first thing to look at is the classroom,” says Lewis. Are you offering developmentally appropriate activities that stimulate children? Are the activities too easy, causing children to get bored, or are they too hard, making them frustrated? Are materials not just available but accessible? Are appropriate classroom management techniques being used to manage the children’s schedule, or is there too much wait time? A whopping 85% of behavior issues can be supported by environmental changes.

2. Focus on social-emotional development.
   Children are their best selves when they can understand their emotions and have interactive activities that allow them to express their feelings. Lewis says children need the adults around them to give them the skills and strategies to do this. She also encourages teachers to think about children’s “emotional bank” and how they can give them more emotional deposits, such as affirmations and positive guidance.

3. Build a behavior protocol process.
   Guidance policies required by the state are written based on organizational philosophies. Lewis advises that a specific behavior protocol tells teachers what to do when a student is having a behavior issue that disrupts programming on a regular basis. This should entail:
   - Coaching teachers to recognize and discuss consistent behavior issues early.
   - Implementing a documentation process that outlines the ABCs (antecedent, behavior, consequence) to find behavior patterns.
   - Observing the environment, the interaction, and the child.
   - Communicating with families early.

4. Partner with families.
   “Getting families involved is vital. Parents need to hear from you not only when something’s wrong. They need to hear and connect with you when something is right,” says Lewis. She suggests encouraging classroom participation and guiding teachers to engage families in meaningful communication. Instead of simply saying that a child had a good or bad day, coach them to share more specific information, like “He rocked at small group time,” or “She struggled somewhat to follow directions today.” This dialogue can help reveal what may be contributing to a behavior issue — Did grandma recently move out of the house? Did a beloved family pet pass away? — allowing teachers to guide children empathetically.

5. Implement training, technical assistance, and coaching.
   Training teachers on positive guidance and developmentally appropriate practices is critical. However, training alone will not give teachers the support they need. Lewis challenges leaders to think about additional technical assistance they can provide. Is there an agency you can call in to help teachers with implementation? Can you set up coaching sessions?
   
   “Teachers need a voice. They to need tell someone about what they’re experiencing,” she adds. Providing the opportunity to dissect what’s going on in the classroom with another professional and discussing strategies for moving forward can have a big impact on what actually happens in practice.

For more insight, check out the full webinar on our YouTube channel.

Interested in learning more about setting your school up for success? Contact us today at info@hingeadvisors.com.