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(Unit 3) Topic 2: Interactions and Guidance

2 Clock Hours of Early Childhood Education

Taking Care of Yourself, and Knowing the Limits of Your Expertise

Topic 2 Page 19

What can you do when you are upset and cannot remember that off-track behavior is a signal for help?

You might feel overwhelmed or exasperated at times, or you might unexpectedly experience unresolved hurt from your own childhood. Some of us might experience strong feelings about children’s actions that arise from those childhood experiences. If you feel overwhelmed and have reactions such as: “I’m going to teach this child a lesson” or “This kid will see who’s boss,” or similar thoughts, STOP. Get help.

Get help in the moment—don’t try to pretend you have patience. Find a co-worker, your supervisor, or the custodian. “Can you help?” is a fine thing to ask. You can help them another time when they need it.

If you are alone with the children, slow down, call a friend, or even just sit down and try to relax on the floor. It makes you less threatening, gets you out of the tight spot you have stumbled into, and makes you accessible to the children.

Make sparing use of time-out to protect (not to punish or “teach”) the child.

Inform yourself about resources within the community that can help the family, the child, and you. You can make use of the resources within our communities to increase the support to children and families.

Yes, we adults need emotional release. The challenge is to find healthy releases without taking it out on children. We are important people, and working with children is very rewarding and very emotional work.