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(Unit 3) Topic 2: Interactions and Guidance ​

2 Clock Hours of Early Childhood Education

Environmental Factors that Impact Children’s Behavior

Parents
​Parents are one of the most important influences on a child's behavior.  Everything from the way that they approach physical touch to the way that they discipline their child can affect his overall behavior. While it seems like a hefty responsibility to carry, remember that a child also has his own personality, likes, dislikes and tendencies. Parents influence his behavior, but they are not entirely responsible for his disposition.

Attachment
“Attachment is a sense of connection between two people that forms the foundation for a relationship” (Preusse). The development of an attachment relationship between the parent and the child is a critical factor in the child’s development and behavior. A secure attachment between the child and parent is essential in creating a foundation for the child’s social/emotional development. Attachment relationships influence the child’s ability to self-regulate, express feelings, cope with stress, and feel accepted.

​Topic 2 Page 3

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Media
A child's TV choices have a hefty influence on how he acts when he walks away from the set. The American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry notes that children watch an average of 28 hours of TV each week, and those who view violence are more likely to be aggressive in their real lives. Television can influence the way a child acts, particularly when he can't discern between what's real and what's not on TV.

Violence
Many children encounter violence in their family or neighborhoods. According to Kaiser and Rasminsky (2007) when children are directly exposed to violence their perspective of the world and their values may change. The presence of violence in children’s lives can affect their ability to learn, establish relationships with others, and cope with stress.

Poverty
Poverty has an impact on children’s lives, development, and behavior.  Low-income families may experience higher levels of stress. ​ ​Stress has been found to negatively impact children’s development and behavior. 

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Quality in early childhood programs is, in large part, a function of the interactions that take place between the adults and children in those programs. These interactions form the basis for the relationships that are established between teachers and children in the classroom or home and are related to children’s developmental status. How teachers interact with children is at the very heart of early childhood education. (Kontos and Wilcox-Herzog 1997, 11).​

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