Don Earl Parent Blog

January- Transitions Transitions in preschool can be very challenging and stressful for both the child and adult. It is important to remember to keep transitions to a minimum and also to provide children with clear expectations. One of the best ways to help make transitions smooth is by providing children with a warning. They are often times engaged in an activity and stopping to move on to a new activity can be disruptive. So providing a warning that this is going to happen will hopefully help minimize behaviors. For example, “In five minutes we are going to stop and clean up for circle time.” This allows children time to finish what they are working on and prepare for what is coming next. It is important to make sure you stick to the time frame and directions given. Another way to help young children transition is to make it fun. One way to do this might be to play a clean up song or sing a song. Other ways to make transitions fun might include using different movements. For ...

The Child Mind Institute breaks down the many causes of aggression in children. Some of the causes include mood disorders, psychosis, frustration, impulsivity, conduct disorder, injury, and trauma. It is important to understand where a child’s aggression is coming from before you can treat it. The most common type of aggression found in children ages 4 and 7 is hostile aggression. Hostile aggression can be shown as overt aggression, which entails physical harm or as relational aggression, which entails damaging peer relationships or spreading rumors. Some children will move beyond aggressive behavior and learn how to handle conflict. For those children that continue to use physical aggression there are some steps that caregivers can take to teach young children that violence and aggression are unacceptable. Caregivers should not model violent or aggressive behavior in front of young children. This includes responding to a child engaging in aggressive behavior. It is important to st...