A child’s behaviour is influenced by a range of factors. Some of the factors are inborn, such as children being born with different temperaments – some children are more irritable and short-tempered than others, and some are naturally calmer and more relaxed. Factors within a child’s social and physical environment also influence their behaviour.
To understand an individual child’s behaviour, it is important to develop a holistic understanding of the factors influencing their behaviour. Educators can use various techniques to help them manage concerning and challenging behaviours.
By the end of this topic, you will understand:
- How to identify factors of a child’s environment that may impact their behaviour
- How to identify appropriate responses to challenging behaviour
- How to gather and use information about a child’s social and physical environments to get a better understanding of their behaviour
- How to critically reflect on your own practice and how it might influence a child’s behaviour
- How educators can support prosocial behaviours among children
- How to use appropriate strategies to redirect and guide children’s behaviour
- How to describe the foundations of building resilience in children.
A child’s behaviour indicates to us how they feel – it is a form of communication. When a child exhibits challenging behaviour, it is an indication that they are not coping well in their environment. It is vital for educators to always examine why a child is displaying a specific behaviour and try to determine what emotion the child is trying to express.
Watch
Watch the following 17-minute video to learn about understanding challenging behaviour in young children:
Child behaviour is influenced by internal and external factors. Internal factors include the child’s:
- Sex/gender
- Health
- Genetic makeup
- Temperament (inborn traits such as distractibility, intensity and adaptability)
- Personality (the interaction of temperamental traits with the environment)
External factors include the child’s social and physical environments in both their home and community.
The following table includes examples of external factors that can influence children’s behaviour:
|
Home |
Community |
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|---|---|---|
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Social environment |
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Physical environment |
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The factors that impact children’s behaviour interact in a complex and dynamic way. For example, a child’s temperament can influence a parent’s parenting style, which in turn influences their child’s behaviour. A parent’s parenting style can also be influenced by the supports available to them – social isolation can influence how a parent responds to a child.
The complex interconnected factors that impact child development and child behaviour were originally identified by Urie Bronfenbrenner and outlined in his ecological systems theory of development.
This theory emphasizes the importance of studying children in multiple environments, known as ecological systems, in the attempt to understand their development. According to Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, children typically find themselves enmeshed in various ecosystems, from the most intimate home ecological system to the larger school system, and then to the most expansive system which includes society and culture. Each of these ecological systems inevitably interact with and influence each other in all aspects of the children’s lives.11
Challenging behaviour is defined as behaviour that compromises the child’s own or another child’s physical, emotional or educational safety. Typical challenging behaviours include:
- Tantrums
- Biting
- Pushing, smacking and other forms of physical aggression
- Throwing dangerous objects
- Breaking rules (e.g. running inside)
- Refusal to follow directions from staff
- Verbal abuse (to other children or staff)
- Swearing
- Running around the room or hiding (avoidance)
- Screaming or unsociable loudness
- Snatching
- Consciously distracting others
- Shy or not engaging with others
- Following educators around
- Unsettled when separating from parent
- Not eating or sleeping
The reasons for challenging behaviour include:
- Changes at home
- Abuse or neglect
- Illness
- Age/stage of development (language and socioemotional development)
- Behaviour is not seen as problematic/ challenging in their home environment
- Child has limited time with family/parents
- Inappropriate expectations
- Boredom
- Power struggles
- Room setup
- Resources within the room (too many or not enough)
- Strategies used to manage behaviour in the educational setting
All children have challenging behaviour from time to time. (Sometimes adults also display challenging behaviour…) Individual children can demonstrate challenging behaviour, but challenging behaviour can also occur in groups. For example, a group of children can demonstrate aggressive behaviour towards another child or another group of children.
When a child demonstrates challenging behaviour, look for what the child is trying to tell you. Consider what the child’s needs and skills are and how you can meet their needs and teach them the right thing to do.
For example, toddlers usually find it hard to share toys and take turns using a resource. To avoid challenging behaviour, it is advised to have a sufficient number of resources available for children. Often, large open spaces invite children to run around: setting up smaller play areas can limit children’s movement and stop them from running around without purpose.
WATCH
Watch the following 7-minute case study video for some useful tips and strategies to understand challenging behaviour and address it more efficiently:
Check your understanding
Watch the following 3-minute video, then answer the following questions about the video:
- What strategies did the teacher use that made the situation worse?
- What was the child trying to express?
- She did not engage in active listening.
- She stood over the child.
- She did not explain the reasons for her actions or give the child time to comprehend what she was saying.
- She took his behaviour personally.
- She did not identify how he felt when he needed time to himself.
What was the child trying to express?
The child is trying to express his disappointment and shock with the dropping of the peaches. He wants to choose to pick up and eat the peach off the floor.
Dealing with challenging behaviour
There are two (2) main types of strategies for dealing with children’s challenging behaviour:
- Preventative – happens before the behaviour occurs
- Responsive – happens after the behaviour occurs
Different types of behaviours require different responses, as outlined in the following table:
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Behaviour Type |
Response |
|---|---|
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Physical aggression |
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Tantrums |
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Verbal abuse/swearing |
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Shyness |
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Other strategies you can use to manage challenging behaviours include the following:
|
Strategy |
How/When to Use Strategy |
Example of Strategy in Use |
|---|---|---|
|
Distraction |
When a child is getting irritable or having difficulties sharing and taking turns, point out something interesting or pull a funny face – this helps to distract the child. |
Two-year-old Maya is playing with a truck in the sand pit and does not want to share the toy with Andrew. When Yindi asks Maya to give Andrew a turn, Maya hands it over reluctantly and then looks as if she is going to cry. Yindi shows Maya the red plastic plane sitting in the sand. ‘Look Maya!’ Yindi says. ‘A plane!’ Maya smiles and reaches out for the plane as Yindi flies it towards her. |
|
Moving away |
Moving a child away from another child if they are at risk of being hurt or they are putting other children at risk. 1 |
Three-year-old Jonah has very intense tantrums that sometimes involve hitting and kicking. When Jonah starts to have a tantrum in the reading nook, Alma moves two other children away from the area so they do not get hurt. |
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Re-engaging |
After a child has demonstrated challenging behaviour that is disruptive to themselves or others, help the child re-engage in learning by commenting on and celebrating positive behaviours. |
When Jonah recovers from his tantrum, Alma asks him if he would like to continue looking at the book he had before. He says that he would, so Alma gives him the book. When Jonah lets Maya sit down beside him to look at the book, Alma says, ‘Great job, Jonah – I love the way you’re sharing that book with Maya.’ |
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Mediation |
When there is a conflict between children, mediate by actively listening to each child, encouraging the children to hear each other and inviting the children to come up with solutions to the problem. |
Four-year-olds Arohina and Pia are playing dress-up, and both want to wear the pirate costume. They start arguing with each other. Alma bends down so she is at the children’s height and asks both girls what happened. She asks the girls to look at each other and repeat back what the other said. Then she invites both girls to come up with a solution. |
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Giving choice |
Give the child two choices: the desired behaviour and a behaviour that is less preferred but still acceptable. For example, when a child is not listening in group time, give them the choice to sit with the group and listen or move away and play elsewhere. |
Four-year-old Pia snatches a doll’s picnic basket from three-year-old Ariyo. Ariyo starts to cry. Yindi gives Pia two choices: She can ask Ariyo if she can play with the doll’s picnic basket with him, or she can play with another toy. |
Moving a child away as a form of punishment or consistently moving children to spaces away from play areas are both inappropriate forms of discipline as these strategies don’t allow children to learn how to cope with similar situations.
In the following table, you can see some more efficient strategies:
|
Strategy |
How/When to Use Strategy |
Example of Strategy in Use |
|---|---|---|
|
Role modelling |
Show children the behaviour you would like them to demonstrate by doing it yourself, such as wearing a hat outside, or asking for an item instead of snatching. |
Alma wants all the children to sit down while they are eating their fruit. Alma calls out to Jade – who is still playing at the water fountain – ‘Jade, I’d like you to come and sit down now.’ Then Alma sits down beside Kela and Pia. |
|
Giving time |
Encourage a child to find a space near an educator to calm down and regain self-control. This could include sitting next to the educator on a chair. |
Four-year-old Logan yelled at and pushed four-year-old Agustin and then swore at Yindi when she told Logan to stop. Yindi encourages Logan to go and sit beside Alma in the reading nook so he can calm down. |
|
Natural consequence |
Let a child experience the natural consequence of their actions. For example, if they hurt another child, the other child will not want to play with them. |
Four-year-old Jade refused to come and sit down and eat morning tea with the other children. Now she is hungry. ‘I know you’re hungry,’ Alma says to Jade, bending down so she is at the same eye level as the child. ‘Remember when I asked you to sit down for morning tea so you could eat some fruit, but you didn’t? That might be why you’re feeling hungry now. Lunch will be ready in half an hour, Jade. Would you like to get yourself some water while you’re waiting?’ |
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Deal with it right away |
Deal with the behaviour when it occurs and make the consequences immediate. Consequences that are felt tomorrow or next week are less effective than consequences that occur in the moment. For example, if a child snatches a toy, you must deal with this right away and not 20 minutes later. |
Yindi sees Logan throwing sand at Akiyo. Yindi gives Logan two options: stop throwing sand or find another activity to do. She says, ‘If you keep throwing sand at other people, you will have to play somewhere else.’ She also reminds Logan of the rules about the sand pit. Ten minutes later, Yindi sees Logan throwing sand in Pia’s face. ‘Logan,’ Yindi bends down to Logan’s eye level, ‘it’s not okay to throw sand at other people. You could hurt them. Because you were throwing sand at Pia, you’ll need to play somewhere else.’ |
‘Giving a child time’ is not the same as a time out because an educator is with the child while they are ‘cooling down’.
Tip
Here are some other tips for preventing and responding to challenging behaviour:
- Figure out if the child responds to gentle or firm encouragement.
- Use praise as much and as often as possible.
- Be honest with the child.
- Ensure there is always a consequence for behaviour.
- Remember that behaviour can come in phases.
- Remember that challenging behaviour is a teaching moment.
- Avoid power struggles.
Resource
To learn about inappropriate forms of discipline in educational settings, visit ACECQA’s website and read the article ‘Inappropriate Discipline’.
Example
Here is an example of behaviour support policy and procedure from Little.ly Early Learning Centre.
To understand the factors that influence the behaviour of an individual child you will need to:
- Gather information about the child’s environments
- Use the information collected to inform a holistic understanding of the child’s behaviour
- Reflect on your own pedagogical practices
Gathering information about a child’s environment
To understand a child’s behaviour, you need to identify the factors that influence their behaviour. This involves gathering information about their education and care in your centre, in their home and in any other environment where they spend a significant amount of time (e.g. grandparents’ home, early childhood intervention services).
You can gather information about a child by:
- Observing them
- Collecting information from:
- Their parents and family members
- Your colleagues
- Other professionals involved in the child’s education and care, such as child and maternal health nurses and allied health professionals
Gathering information from parents and family members is especially useful because they can provide a unique insight into the child’s history, cultural background, temperament and abilities.
When you are observing a child, your assessment needs to be objective. This means that you should focus on only what you see and hear, and not what you think or feel about the child’s behaviour. Some of the things you could look out for during your observation include:
- The situation in which the child exhibits the specific behaviour
- Any factors that make the behaviour better or worse
- The amount of time the behaviour lasts
- What happens before and after the child exhibits the behaviour
Observing a child in more than one activity or setting and on multiple separate occasions will help you develop a more accurate picture of the child’s behaviour. Children may behave differently in different contexts and on different days.
Using information to inform a holistic understanding of a child’s behaviour
Your assessment of a child’s behaviour should incorporate all the factors that might be influencing their behaviour, including internal factors, such as the child’s stage of development, temperament and personality; and external factors in their social and physical environment. You can then apply your professional expertise to interpret all the information you have gathered. This process of using information from multiple sources to understand a child’s behaviour is known as a ‘holistic approach’.
Reflective practice is a form of ongoing learning that involves engaging with questions of philosophy, ethics and practice. Its intention is to gather information and gain insights that support, inform and enrich decisionmaking about children’s learningAustralian Government Department of Education and Training
Reflecting on your own pedagogical practices
To gain insight into how your practices influence children’s behaviour, it is important to engage in critical reflection. Reflective practice involves learning from everyday situations and problems by examining what happened and why. It is an ongoing practice that requires you to:
- Think deeply about issues or events
- Be honest about your practice, including those aspects that are positive or need improvement
- Listen to and learn from other people
There are various teaching approaches that are considered age-appropriate for teaching during the early years.
For example:
- Inquiry learning: It involves children in planning and carrying out investigations, proposing explanations and solutions, and communicating their understanding of concepts in a variety of ways.
- Event-based approach: Children plan and enact events in real-life contexts drawing on their experiences and knowledge. An event-based approach may include investigations, problem-solving and play.
- Project approach: A project approach is an in-depth exploration of a topic that may be child or teacher-initiated and involve an individual, a group of children, or the whole class.
- Explicit instruction: A structured and systematic approach to teaching academic skills. There is an emphasis on checking for understanding and achieving active and successful participation by all children.
- Play-based learning: Provides opportunities for children to actively and imaginatively engage with people, objects and the environment. As children re-create experiences and enact new play possibilities, narrative and oral language skills are developed.
- Direct teaching/instruction: Direct teaching/instruction is a step-by-step, lesson-by-lesson approach to teaching which is scripted and follows a pre-determined skill acquisition sequence.
- Blended approach: Elements from more than one approach are combined in response to the teaching and learning intent within and across learning contexts.
You can read more in detail about teaching approaches in this article 'Age-appropriate pedagogies in the early years, Approaches in action' by The Queensland Government.
When selecting an approach, educators need to consider:
- children's age, interests and capabilities
- their own interests, skills, capabilities and philosophies
- community contexts and the service’s philosophy.
When working in a children’s education and care environment, you will notice that sometimes you need to alter your teaching approach based on the age-group you’re working with or due to group dynamics.
Case Study
Andrew is a new room leader in the preschool room. The majority of children have just moved up to the preschool room. Andrew has decided to use a more structured teaching approach based on explicit instructions until the children get to know him and get familiar with the room’s routine and rules. Once children settled in and learnt the rules, Andrew felt more comfortable combining the project approach with inquiry-based learning. This has also aligned with the service’s philosophy.
Note
No matter what teaching approach you are following, you should ALWAYS use a positive language with children and make every effort to build positive and respectful relationships with them.
There are also a number of early childhood philosophies that may influence your teaching style:
| Play-based | Play-based programs believe that children are thinkers, reflecting about their world. |
| Cognitive-based | Teachers plan experiences based on children’s interests and appropriate educational concepts. |
| Montessori | Montessori’s philosophy is based on her direct observations of children, and integrating their development with their learning. The focus is on play and work, as children like to model adults and be involved in real-world tasks. The philosophy sees children as capable of self-directed learning, who can independently choose resources to use in their learning. The first learning materials a child is likely to encounter in the Montessori environment will be used for practical life activities. These include pouring different materials, using utensils such as scissors and tongs, cleaning, preparing snacks, laying the table and washing dishes, arranging flowers and gardening. The aim is to develop independent skills and to build their gross and fine motor control and hand-eye co-ordination. Montessori resources are specifically designed, often sensory. They are to encourage matching, rhyming, sequencing, sandpaper letters and numbers for finger tracing, cutting, writing and drawing, sewing, weaving and woodworking. Resources help children learn through repetition and self-correction. A child manipulating a puzzle can see their mistake if the pieces don’t fit together and self-correct as they go. Many Australian early learning services are inspired by Montessori, but not all will be Montessori-registered (anyone can open a Montessori service as the name “Montessori” was never copyrighted). |
| Reggio Emilia | This style focuses on the freedom to express and explore ideas using movement, active listening, and hands-on activities. Teachers in Reggio Emilia design curricula that follow children’s interests and learning. Teachers assume different roles including researcher, role model, observer, documenter, photographer and student. A teacher may see that children are interested in nesting birds in the tree outside their classroom. The teacher may first establish what the children already know about the birds. Then the teacher may offer children the opportunity to draw the birds in the nest, create sculptures of the nest and read children books about bird species. The teacher could also photograph the children engaged in learning about the birds and do further research themselves. The learning journey is then displayed at the centre. Reggio Emilia schools are renowned for their aesthetics. Each resource is purposefully placed in the classroom to invite children to explore and create with it. Resources can include items such as PVC piping, boxes, fabrics, buckets, stones, blocks and clay. Classrooms are bright and open, designed to allow children to move freely between spaces. |
| Steiner (Waldorf) | It is focused on self-directed learning, based on children’s interests. Steiner education encourages self-motivated learning that supports and encourages problem solving, critical thinking, creativity and social skills. When learning is self-directed, children’s motivation doesn’t come from rewards. Instead, they are engaged because they find it satisfying. A Steiner childcare centre or preschool engages children in self-directed play, and in the arts. Children draw, paint, model, tell stories and do practical things like cooking, cleaning and gardening. There would be more arts and craft in a Steiner-inspired setting than a mainstream one. Steiner teachers role model rather than instruct and play with children, facilitating their learning. |
Here and here you can read more about the individual early childhood philosophies.
Your pedagogical practice and philosophy may influence children’s behaviour. For example:
- The Reggio Emilia approach has a significant impact on children's behaviour in several ways:
- Empowering autonomy: The philosophy values children as active participants in their learning. It encourages them to make choices, express their ideas, and take ownership of their actions. This empowerment fosters a sense of independence and self-confidence, leading to positive behaviours such as decision-making skills and self-regulation.
- Collaboration and social skills: The emphasis on collaboration and group projects promotes social interaction among children. They learn to communicate, negotiate, and cooperate with their peers. This collaborative environment cultivates empathy, respect, and positive social behaviours, including sharing, taking turns, and resolving conflicts peacefully.
- Curiosity and inquiry: The Reggio Emilia approach nurtures children's natural curiosity and encourages them to ask questions, explore, and investigate. This approach to learning fosters a growth mindset, where children become eager learners who are motivated to discover and understand the world around them. As a result, they exhibit behaviours such as curiosity, enthusiasm for learning, and a willingness to take risks.
- Reflection and self-expression: The philosophy promotes reflection and self-expression through documentation and various forms of communication. Children are encouraged to reflect on their experiences, express their thoughts and emotions, and revisit their work. This practice supports their emotional development and encourages positive behaviours such as self-awareness, self-reflection, and the ability to effectively communicate their ideas and feelings.
- Appreciation for diversity: The Reggio Emilia approach values and celebrates each child's unique qualities, experiences, and cultural backgrounds. This inclusive environment fosters a sense of acceptance, appreciation for diversity, and empathy towards others. Children learn to respect and value differences, leading to behaviours characterized by inclusivity, kindness, and respect for others.
- The Montessori approach has a profound impact on children’s behaviour, shaping their development in the following ways:
- Independence and self-reliance: The Montessori philosophy places a strong emphasis on fostering independence in children. Through the use of specially designed materials and child-sized furniture, children are encouraged to engage in self-directed learning and take responsibility for their own actions. This approach cultivates behaviours such as self-reliance, problem-solving skills, and a sense of personal agency.
- Order and organization: Montessori classrooms are structured and organized, with materials arranged in a logical and orderly manner. This environment helps children develop a sense of order, discipline, and responsibility for their surroundings. They learn to tidy up after themselves and maintain a neat and organized space, leading to behaviours characterized by tidiness, responsibility, and respect for their environment.
- Concentration and focus: The Montessori approach values the importance of uninterrupted work periods and allows children to engage in activities at their own pace. This encourages deep concentration and focus, as children immerse themselves in activities of their choosing. As a result, children develop sustained attention spans, improved concentration, and the ability to complete tasks independently.
- Respect for oneself and others: The Montessori philosophy emphasizes the importance of respect for oneself, others, and the environment. Children are taught to treat materials carefully, consider the needs and feelings of their peers, and resolve conflicts peacefully. This focus on respect nurtures behaviours such as empathy, kindness, and cooperation, fostering a positive and harmonious social environment.
- Love for learning: Montessori classrooms are designed to promote a love for learning by providing hands-on materials that spark children's curiosity and engage their senses. This approach fosters intrinsic motivation as children pursue their own interests and make meaningful discoveries. They develop a lifelong love for learning and exhibit behaviours such as enthusiasm, curiosity, and a thirst for knowledge.
- The Steiner (Waldorf) approach has a significant impact on children's behaviour, influencing their development in the following ways:
- Imagination and creativity: The Steiner approach places a strong emphasis on nurturing children's imagination and creativity. Through activities such as storytelling, arts and crafts, and imaginative play, children are encouraged to explore their creative potential. This fosters behaviours characterised by imagination, innovation, and the ability to think outside the box.
- Rhythm and routine: Steiner classrooms follow a predictable daily rhythm and routine. This structured environment provides a sense of security and stability for children, supporting their emotional well-being and behaviour. The consistent rhythm allows children to develop a sense of order, adaptability, and self-discipline.
- Connection with nature: The Steiner approach values the connection between children and the natural world. Outdoor activities and nature-based experiences are integral parts of the curriculum. This emphasis on nature fosters behaviours such as respect for the environment, curiosity about the natural world, and a sense of stewardship for the Earth.
- Holistic development: Steiner education focuses on the holistic development of children, addressing their physical, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual aspects. This approach recognizes the interconnectedness of these dimensions and aims to nurture well-rounded individuals. Behaviours influenced by this holistic approach include empathy, self-awareness, and a balanced understanding of oneself and others.
- Play and hands-on learning: Steiner classrooms prioritize play and hands-on learning experiences. Children engage in unstructured play and participate in activities that engage their senses and promote active learning. This approach encourages behaviours such as curiosity, exploration, and problem-solving skills.
- Community and social engagement: Steiner education emphasizes the importance of building a strong sense of community within the classroom and beyond. Children engage in collaborative projects, festivals, and group activities, fostering a sense of belonging and social responsibility. Behaviours influenced by this approach include cooperation, teamwork, and respect for others.
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Critical reflection will help you decide which aspects of your pedagogical practice should be repeated, extended upon or changed. You can use what you learn from critical reflection to develop a plan for how you can enhance your skills. You should do this in collaboration with your supervisor.
Activity: What do you believe in?
Use the following questions to help you think about your beliefs regarding teaching young children:
- How do you view young children?
- What is the child’s role in their development and learning?
- What do you believe about how young children learn?
- How do you view your role as an educator?
- How will your views influence your teaching?
- What kind of environment do you hope to create? How does this relate to your basic beliefs about young children and learning?
- What do you hope young children will become?
- What do you want them to achieve, accomplish, learn, feel, etc.?
Think about your own personal values and beliefs and try to formulate your own personal philosophy. This may change over the years, but starting to write your personal philosophy is a great way to understand what influences your teaching.
- Sample educational philosophy statement
- Educator philosophies
- Educator’s philosophy statement
- Here’s an article about how to write a personal philosophy
Watch
Watch the following 4-minute video for an explanation of critical reflection:
The inquiry cycle
A range of tools and strategies can help you undertake critical reflection. One of these tools is the inquiry cycle. Each of the four steps in the inquiry cycle process, along with an example of how it might be used, are provided in the following table:
Inquiry Cycle Steps
Example of the Step Being Used
1. Being alert to or aware of an issue
Alma is aware that four-year-old Marco consistently ignores her instructions.
2. Analysing the issue of interest
Alma takes note of an instance when Marco ignores her instructions to put a hat on before he goes outside.
- Alma analyses the situation by:
- Asking her colleagues for their perspective on why Marco does not listen to her instructions
- Raising the issue in a sensitive and respectful way with Marco’s parents, asking them what they have noticed outside of the centre
- Reading information from a reputable website about the approaches other early childhood educators use to give effective instructions to children
3. Acting on the issue of interest
Alma uses the information she has gathered to decide upon an action: She needs to be much clearer when she gives Marco instructions and avoid presenting her instructions as requests.
4. Assessing the outcome of the action
After Alma has practised the new approach, she reflects upon whether it improved the outcome. She speaks with her colleagues, as well as Marco’s parents, about the outcome, sharing what she has learned.
She speaks with her supervisor about how she can further enhance her skills in this area and develops a plan involving mentoring and professional development.
Here are some opportunities to enhance your skills through reflection:
- Self-assessment: Reflect on your strengths and areas for improvement, then identify the specific skills you would like to enhance.
- Seek feedback: Request feedback from your supervisor regarding your performance and areas where you can improve.
- Reflect on experiences: Explained in the inquiry cycle process above.
- Professional development opportunities: Stay updated on professional development opportunities available to you, such as workshops, courses, or conferences related to early childhood education or specific skills you want to enhance.
- Set SMART goals: Collaborate with your supervisor to set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals that align with your skill development.
- Seek mentorship or guidance: Engage in mentorship or seek guidance from experienced colleagues or professionals in the field.
- Regular check-ins and progress reviews: Schedule regular check-ins with your supervisor to discuss your skill development progress.
Prosocial behaviours are behaviours that a child voluntarily undertakes to benefit another person.
Prosocial behaviours include:
- Sharing
- Helping others
- Compromising
- Comforting a child who is upset
- Including other children in play
It is important to note that prosocial behaviours are voluntary. If a child apologises to another child because they are told to do so by an adult, the behaviour is not prosocial.
Prosocial behaviour is evident in young children but changes in frequency and in its expression with age:
- Infants as young as 12 months will inform adults of unseen events by pointing these out and will also offer instrumental help by assisting adults complete thwarted tasks, such as picking up an out-of-reach object.
- At around 2 years, children start learning that other people think, feel and experience things differently from themselves. Prosocial behaviour develops when children see other people’s thoughts, feelings and experiences as important. For example, a toddler is able comfort people in distress, for example, by hugging someone who is hurt, and sharing resources with those who express a need for food or a toy.
- By the age of 4, children become more sophisticated in thinking about their own and others’ actions. Whereas infants expect equality in the partition of goods, as children acquire more complex social understanding, resource division may come to be unequal, as they take factors such as effort, need, group membership, etc. into consideration when distributing goods.
- During early and middle childhood, children in industrialized countries also begin to associate regularly with peers and less frequently with parents. As children begin to understand the emotions of their friends and peers, and the expectations of schools and teachers, they begin to engage in prosocial lying to protect another’s feelings or, in some cultures, to appear modest.
- Prosocial behaviour tends to decline in early adolescence, partly in relation to hormonal and other physiological events of puberty, but then recovers. A new form of prosociality, civic engagement and volunteering, emerges as adolescents become more socially independent. Participating in church groups, playing or coaching sports, and involvement in school clubs, which require maintenance of prosocial activity over time, contribute to a sense of agency, that one’s acts can make a difference in the lives of others, and the development of identity. Volunteering in adolescence is linked to later civic engagement.
- Adults have access to more material resources, knowledge, independence, and, particularly with older and retired adults, more time, than in other stages of life. Exceptional individuals become moral exemplars, demonstrating exceptional moral commitment or heroic sacrifice. However, classic social psychology research on phenomena such as bystander effect, wherein adults in a crowd are less likely to help, show that adults are not automatically more prosocial than children and adolescents.12
The fundamental foundation of prosocial behaviours is warm relationships and secure attachments. Educators can help to promote prosocial behaviour by developing warm, secure relationships with children by responding sensitively to their needs and actively listening to them. Other ways educators can promote prosocial behaviours include:
Communicating expectations clearly
Children are more likely to develop prosocial behaviours when adults clearly communicate their expectations rather than forcing prosocial behaviour upon them. When trusted adults clearly communicate to children the behaviours they expect – and which behaviours they do not want to see – children are more likely to be helpful and caring than if behavioural expectations are less clearly defined.
In an early childhood setting, your expectations of children’s behaviours will be based on the service’s policies. You will need to communicate these policies to the children in ways they can understand.
Children can better manage their own behaviour when they understand the reasons behind your expectations, so you may need to explain why a certain rule is in place. When a child is behaving in an inappropriate way, encourage them to think about what they have done and empathise with the person or people affected by their behaviour. You need to adjust these explanations to suit a child’s age and stage of development.
Providing instructions in a positive and supportive way
Instructions are different to requests. When you request that a child does something, you are asking them to do something. When you instruct a child to do something, you are telling them to do something.
Request: ‘Can you put your shoes on, please?’
Instruction: ‘Put your shoes on, please.’
Instructions need to be clear, brief and appropriate for the child’s age and stage of development. For example, when instructing a toddler to put on their shoes, you might say, ‘Shoes on!’ but when instructing a five-year-old to put on their shoes, you might say, ‘Please put your shoes on now.’
It is important to provide instructions in a positive way. For example, rather than saying, ‘Sit properly,’ you could say, ‘Please sit in your chair while we’re eating.’ Make sure you are telling the child exactly what to do. An instruction such as ‘sit properly’ is less clear than ‘please sit in your chair while we’re eating’.
Using clear verbal statements to reinforce positive choices
Give children praise and encouragement when they make positive choices. Remember, when you praise children, you need to be explicit about what you are praising. Tell them that you like what they are doing or how they are behaving, and remember to praise them when they make an effort.
Using non-verbal communication techniques to reinforce behaviour and positive choices
You can use non-verbal communication – such as gestures and facial expressions – to positively reinforce and guide children’s behaviour. For example, you could give a child a ‘thumbs up’ when you see them waiting patiently for their turn on a slippery slide. If a child is demonstrating behaviour that is inappropriate, you can shake your head or signal ‘stop’ with your hand.
Prompting prosocial behaviour
You can prompt prosocial behaviour by politely requesting that children be generous and helpful. Prompts should be clear and explicit, especially when you are communicating with toddlers. For example, if you are encouraging two-year-old Callum to share his ball with Jasmine, you might say, ‘Callum, Jasmine would like to play with the ball too.’ This is more likely to promote prosocial behaviour than waiting for a child to share or forcing them to share.
Avoid ‘hollow gestures’, such as forcing a child to say sorry. These hollow gestures do not help children consider other people’s feelings.
Other ways to support children to enhance their emotional development and build their pro-social skills:
- Support children to label their feelings and emotions.
- Teach children language to share and engage with others.
- Teach language to enter play.
- Encourage children to think about others.
- Read stories about sharing and other prosocial skills.
- Practise gratitude.
- Run fundraisers to enhance children’s knowledge about other people in need.
- Visit aged care facilities.
- Buddy program with the younger children.
Little.ly Early Learning Centre – Promoting prosocial behaviour
Yindi is working on her ability to promote prosocial behaviour among the children she works with. She recognises that a key aspect of this is helping children understand the reasons behind specific rules. When she sees Anoush throwing a ball inside, rather than simply reminding her of the rule about throwing balls inside, Yindi explains the rule. ‘When you throw balls inside, you could break something or hurt someone,’ Yindi says to Anoush in a calm and gentle tone. ‘That’s why we have a rule about not throwing balls inside.’
Supporting the development of prosocial behaviours involves the use of effective and appropriate strategies for redirecting and guiding children’s behaviour.
When you redirect a child’s behaviour, you give them alternatives to inappropriate behaviour. When you guide a child’s behaviour, you help them understand and learn the skills they need to manage their own behaviour. The use of appropriate behaviour guidance strategies helps to ensure children are not always relying on the educators to tell them how to behave.
To guide children’s behaviour, use a strength-based approach, which involves supporting a child’s existing strengths and capacities rather than focusing on problem behaviour and the things they cannot do. However, a strength-based approach is not about focusing on only the positive or ignoring a problem. It is about finding out what works for a child to address challenging behaviour. For example, if a five-year-old child is easily distracted and finds it difficult to sit still, a strength-based approach might involve finding out what activity the child can do without being distracted. A child who cannot sit still when listening to a story might be able to concentrate on a different type of task, such as a tactile learning task.
Tip
Some strength-based techniques you can use to guide a child’s behaviour include:
- Providing positive feedback on a child’s strengths
- Encouraging children to apply their strengths in different ways
- Giving children opportunities to make meaningful learning choices
Another way of redirecting a child’s behaviour is through distraction. You can use this strategy when a child is irritable or frustrated. Distract the child by pointing out something interesting or playing a simple game. Distraction works when a child is getting to the point where they may get upset or angry. It does not work when a child has hurt someone or having a tantrum.
Watch
Watch the following 5-minute video for an explanation of how early childhood educators can redirect the behaviour of preschool-aged children:
When you are trying to defuse situations of conflict or stress, avoid power struggles – let children know you are on their side and aiming for win–win solutions. You might need to negotiate and compromise for this to work.
Make sure you use positive language, gestures and facial expressions as well as a gentle, calm tone of voice when you are discussing children’s behaviour with them or trying to redirect their behaviour. For example, use praise and encouragement when a child chooses a more appropriate behaviour and use a ‘gentle touch’ to prevent inappropriate behaviour.
You also need to ensure that when you guide a child’s behaviour, you do it in a way that preserves and promotes their self-esteem and wellbeing. You can do this by thinking before you react to a behaviour and asking yourself: What is the best way to respond? How can I guide this child’s behaviour at the same time as maintaining their dignity and rights?
In some circumstances it may be appropriate to involve children in developing limits or consequences for inappropriate behaviour. However, insisting that young children apologise for or explain their behaviour is not an acceptable way of involving children in the process of deciding upon consequences.
What is resilience?
Resilience is a person’s ability to manage the ups and downs of life and bounce back from the challenges they experience. Resilience helps children deal with the challenges they will experience during childhood and later in life.
Resilience is not something a person is born with, nor is it a character trait. Resilience is influenced by multiple factors, including individual factors, such as a child’s temperament, and environmental factors, such as family relationships and educational settings.
Building resilience in children
Beyond Blue has identified four (4) key foundations for helping children build resilience:
1. Build, strengthen and promote supportive relationships – Children’s relationships with other people, including other children and adults, are key to their resilience.
Tip
The techniques outlined in this unit for helping children develop prosocial skills will play a key role in their ability to build and maintain relationships with others which, in turn, can help them build resilience.
You can also build, strengthen and promote supportive relationships by encouraging a welcoming, friendly and safe environment for children and their families and role-modelling empathy and compassion.
2. Focus on autonomy and responsibility – Give children opportunities for independence. Help them learn how to solve problems and give them opportunities for free play.
Tip
Some of the ways you can promote children’s autonomy and responsibility include providing them with opportunities for meaningful choices, encouraging them to express their views and listening to them when they talk about their views, beliefs and ideas.
3. Focus on managing emotions – Children need to develop the ability to manage and respond to their emotions in a healthy way.
Tip
The techniques outlined in this unit for labelling and managing emotions will help children learn how to manage their emotions which, in turn, can help them build resilience.
4. Create opportunities for personal challenge – Give children opportunities to build their confidence and manage obstacles, achievements and failure.
Tip
Give children opportunities to experience everyday challenges, such as using a set of monkey bars they have never used before, and encourage children to participate in ‘free play’.
Resilience is a widely misunderstood concept, so education is central to the process of building children’s resilience within the community, as the previous diagram shows. As an educator, you can play a key role in educating parents and other key people in children’s lives about the importance of each of these four foundations.
Children need opportunities to fail and to understand the feelings that are associated with failure. An inability to tolerate failure can make a child less resilient and may also discourage them from trying new things.
Check your understanding
Watch the following 4-minute video about building resilience in children, then reflect on what you have learned from this video:
- Why is it good for children to fail?
- What could you do as an educator to give children more opportunities to fail?
- How could you help them tolerate failure?
- Why is it good for children to fail?
It is good for children to fail so they learn that failure is not a sign of inability or weakness and that it is a normal part of life, and they will recover from it. They need to learn what failure feels like at a young age to work through how they can make themselves feel better after failure, which will allow them to cope with life’s ups and downs more easily as they grow up. It also helps them develop self-efficacy, which refers to learning what you can do about yourself and for yourself in situations of failure and disappointment.
- What could you do as an educator to give children more opportunities to fail?
- Allow the children to play games where there is only one winner.
- Play board games and do this in real time so you can be with the children. Real-time means ‘in that moment’ – playing a game in person and having the educator supervising the game and managing the child’s frustration and disappointment right then and there as it happens in ‘real time’, instead of playing a game on a screen, such as on an iPad or computer.
- Stay by the child when a child has lost a game and is managing the feeling of losing.
- Set up challenging experiences that you know the child will need to practise to perfect, such as the long monkey bar.
- How could you help them tolerate failure?
- Cheer children on in their attempts to do something, but do not reward them or do it for them if they fail. Have a good relationship with the child, be supportive and encouraging when they face failure and disappointment in life.
Resource
More information about building resilience among young children is available at the following links:
- Building Resilience in Children Aged 0–12: A Practice Guide by Beyond Blue Ltd.
- ‘Building Resilience in Children’ from Beyond Blue Ltd.
Check your understanding
Children need opportunities to take appropriate risks. Taking appropriate risks helps children build resilience.
Find out what ‘appropriate risk’ means in an early childhood setting and identify TWO strategies you could use in a service to give children more opportunities to take appropriate risks.
For example:
- allowing children to play on something high up, such as on playground equipment or ladders
- allowing children to play at high speeds – this can include running or riding on bikes
- allowing children to use risky equipment, such as knives and forks, hammers and nails, and other construction-type materials
- allowing children to play where they do not feel supervised – stay close but do not be over them during play.
Use the following questions to check your knowledge. You can check the correct answer by clicking on the 'Answer' button:
1. List a few ‘internal’ and ‘external factors’ that can influence a child’s behaviour.
Internal factors include the child’s:
- sex/gender
- health
- genetic makeup
- temperament (inborn traits such as distractibility, intensity and adaptability)
- personality (the interaction of temperamental traits with the environment).
The following table includes examples of external factors that can influence children’s behaviour:
| Social Environment |
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| Physical Environment |
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2. Name sources of information you can use when gathering information about a child’s behaviour.
You can gather information about a child by:
- observing them
- collecting information from:
- their parents and family members
- your colleagues
- other professionals involved in the child’s education and care, such as child and maternal health nurses and allied health professionals.
3. What are the four (4) stages of the inquiry cycle process?
- Be alert to or aware of an issue.
- Analyse the issue of interest.
- Act on the issue of interest.
- Assess the outcome of the action.
4. Identify a few techniques an educator can use to promote prosocial behaviour.
For example:
- communicating expectations clearly
- providing instructions in a positive and supportive way
- using clear verbal statements to reinforce positive choices
- using non-verbal communication techniques to reinforce behaviour and positive choices
- prompting prosocial behaviour.
5. What is a strength-based approach, and how can it be used to redirect or guide a child’s behaviour?
A strength-based approach involves supporting a child’s existing strengths and capacities rather than focusing on problem behaviour and the things they cannot do. However, a strength-based approach is not about focusing on only the positive or ignoring a problem. It is about finding out what works for a child to address challenging behaviour. For example, if a five-year-old child is easily distracted and finds it difficult to sit still, a strength-based approach might involve finding out what activity the child can do without being distracted.
6. What is resilience? Name a few techniques an educator can use to help build a child’s resilience.
Resilience is a person’s ability to manage the ups and downs of life and bounce back from the challenges they experience. Resilience helps children deal with the challenges they will experience during childhood and later in life.
Some techniques an educator can use to help build a child’s resilience:
- Build, strengthen and promote supportive relationships – Children’s relationships with other people, including other children and adults, are key to their resilience.
- Focus on autonomy and responsibility – Give children opportunities for independence. Help them learn how to solve problems and give them opportunities for free play.
- Focus on managing emotions – Children need to develop the ability to manage and healthily respond to their emotions.
- Create opportunities for personal challenges – Give children opportunities to build their confidence and manage obstacles, achievements and failure.
