Positive Guidance Policy
At PCDS, we strive to develop meaningful relationships with each child. We want each child to feel loved while developing a strong sense of self-confidence.
To manage behavior in a positive way, we use the following methods:
- Positive reinforcement
- Redirection
- Offering appropriate choices
- Praise and encouragement of good behavior instead of focusing only on unacceptable behavior
All disciplines used are:
- Individualized and consistent for each child
- Appropriate to the level of the child’s understanding
- Directed toward teaching the child acceptable behavior and self-control
Discipline techniques that are NEVER used:
- Corporal/Physical punishment
- Yelling, abusive, or demeaning language
- Shaming, humiliation, deprivation of food, drinks, nap, or bathroom privileges
It can be quite a shock to find out that your child has been bitten by or has bitten another child. Biting can happen in the best of families and in the best of a child care program. Young children are very egocentric. They want what they want when they want it! Most often, biting occurs when children are toddlers and two-year-olds and don’t quite have the ability to actually say what it is they want, need, or feel. With the inability to verbalize their wishes, they often resort to biting.
Children also learn through imitation, and sometimes, a bite may occur because a child has seen others doing it. There are a few things we do to try to prevent biting. We model kindness, caring, and gentleness so that these behaviors may be imitated by the children. We get to know our children well so that we can sense when tension is in the air and try to redirect a behavior before it happens. We help children use their words to solve problems and work things out. In spite of our preventive efforts, sometimes a bite will happen. When a bite occurs, we attend to the injured child first. The injured child receives comfort and kindness. We make it firmly clear to the biter that biting hurts and that we do not bite our friends. It is our policy to keep the name of the biter confidential. It serves no constructive purpose to provide this information. Each participant in the biting incident will receive a Bite Incident Report in their daily folder to inform the parents of the issue.