Discipline and Behavior Management Policy
Discipline is not always synonymous with punishment. The goal is to the teach self-control. This is to teach the child to live usefully and happily with themselves and others. Good disciple does not involve intimidation, fear, or superior force. Good discipline results in a child who conducts his or herself in an appropriate manner.
We have many alternatives in approaching discipline and try to use these in dealing with your child:
1. Set clear limits and appropriate consequences
2. Praise – “Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative"
3. Embrace the child when he or she is out of control
4. Redirect your child
5. Use eye contact to break the momentum in a chain of misbehavior
6. Accompany the child away from the group.
Each disciplinary problem will be documented (as needed) and will be handled as follows:
First time: Talk with the child about what happened and how it made them feel, how it made their friends feel. Do they like feeling that way? Restate the rules.
Second time: Redirect the child from the group or materials they may be misusing to a different center or activity. Restate the rules.
Third time: Separate the child from the group and send them to a quiet place for a special time out or thinking place in the room.
Fourth time: Take the child to the office to sit for a while. Let the director talk with the child about what has happened.
Fifth Time: Request a conference with the parents, director, and teachers.
Section 1800 of the Child Care Requirements (April 1, 1999) states:
No child shall be subjected to any form of corporal punishment by the owner, operator, director, or staff of any day care facility. For purposes of the Rule, “staff” shall mean any regular of substitute caregiver, any volunteer, and any auxillary personnel, such as cooks, secretaries, janitors, maids, vehicle drivers, etc.
1. No child shall be handled roughly in anyway, including shaking, pushing, shoving, pinching, slapping, biting, kicking, or spanking.
2. No child shall ever be placed in a locked room, closet, or box.
3. No discipline shall ever be delegated to another child.
4. Discipline shall in now way to related to rest or toileting.
a. No food shall be withheld, or given, as means of discipline.
b. No child shall ever be disciplined for lapses in toilet training.
c. No child shall ever be disciplined for not sleeping during rest time.
Time Out
Time out is removal of a child for a short period of time (3-5 minutes) from a situation in which the child is misbehaving and has not responded to other discipline techniques. The time out space, usually a chair, is located away from the classroom activity but within the teacher’s sight. During time out, the child has a chance to think about the misbehaviour which led to his or her removal from the group. After a brief interval of no more than five minutes, the teacher discusses the incident and appropriate behaviour with the child. When the child returns to the group, the incident is over and the child is treated wit the same affection shown the other children.
