Blog - Nursery Talk

Behaviour management

We understand that children’s behaviour will largely depend on the environment around them. A child in a setting that is stimulating with access to a range of appropriate activities will feel happy and relaxed resulting in good behaviour.

At Boys & Girls Nursery the children receive regular praise and positive reinforcement.  They are given regular times to interact with others through structured activities and free play.

Our Pre-Schoolers all help write their room rules so they all understand how to behave appropriately. These include ‘We are kind to our friends’, ‘We listen to each other’, ‘We use indoor feet and voices’ – all very positive phrases.

It doesn’t matter how involved in activities children are, they will all have tantrums at some point. When this happens we try to distract them and take them away from a situation. A staff member explains to the child, in an age appropriate way, why they are being removed from the situation and the type of behaviour that is expected of them. Positive reinforcements are used at all times to calm them down.

Children will never be excluded from an activity due to bad behaviour or be segregated completely from their friends at any time. Shouting is not acceptable in our nursery as we are very aware that this only aggravates the situation.

The nursery and the parents work together to reinforce positive behaviour both at home and at nursery. This can include designing sticker charts and rewards that parents can also implement at home.

Here are some tips for behaviour management at home:

• Never repeatedly discuss the incident
• Praise and reward positive behaviour
• Ignore negative behaviour by using distraction
• Try to use positive commands and directions (walking shoes/ gentle hands)
• Use simple commands – try not to over explain a situation
• If discipline is required (‘time out’ for example) make sure it is age-appropriate