Sheri Johnson

Implement Positive Guidance Strategies

Positive guidance is about helping children develop the principles, attitudes and skills that they will need to become competent, caring, confident and responsible people as well as establishing a solid foundation for their future. Positive guidance strategies will help children develop self-regulation so they can begin to control their own urges, change their behaviors, and follow directions even when parents or caregivers arent around. Positive guidance strategies begin with us as adults setting good examples for children. We must model kindness and respect. Setting good limits and clearly communicating these limits. They include teaching more appropriate behavior, giving hints for the new behavior, giving choices, and commending children in their improved behavior. It is not about chastisement or punishment. Positive guidance can also include changing something about a situation, and ignoring behavior when it is appropriate to do so. We should learn to recognize signs of stress, anxiety, and high emotions in young children and try to prevent overstimulation and we should use calming techniques such as deep breaths or counting to ten. A large part of positive guidance strategies is helping children maintain their self-esteem during discipline encounters. Developing reasonable boundaries that focus on important things can help children self-regulate and setting limits clearly as well as communicating appropriate behavior and reasons for that behavior. We should be stating boundaries effectively, having a clear and direct communication. We need to help children willingly accept good limits. We should make sure to communicate classroom limits to every person who works in our classroom as well as giving the information to parents either verbally or with handouts, newsletters and/or postings.