Module I: Guiding Children’s Behavior and Moral Development

Chapter 1 (Part 2)

Child Guidance: Developmentally Appropriate Practice

Guidance
Guidance may be defined as the process of advising another person on
academic, vocational, or psychological issues. Guidance aims to help someone
navigate the decision-making processes they may find difficult to achieve on their own.
DARE, comprises the four steps in the decision-making model for child guidance. The
steps are:

1. Define;
2. Assess;
3. Respond; and
4. Evaluate.

These four-steps can be used in the classroom to guide children in taking the proper
and logical decisions and accordingly behaving in the proper manner in the classroom.
The teacher aids the child in learning these four steps, explaining each one and how it
works. The child learns how to identify a problem, for example, whether they want to
join a group of children in a collaborative artwork. In this scenario the child:

1. Defines the problem as the presence of a child in the group they do not like
because they are prickly.
2. Assesses the child and finds that they are in a good mood when they have
crayons to use in coloring, but they are prickly otherwise. The child considers
their option regarding whether or not to join the group. They notice that the child
has some crayons for coloring, and they are in a good mood.
3. The child decides to join the group.
4. The child evaluates their experience in the group. They enjoyed working with
child. Both children had fun coloring.

Best Guide for Teaching Kids The Decision Making Process Steps

Have you ever been in a store with a child and asked them to pick out
a treat?

It can be like pulling teeth! Granted, they have many racks of chips,
cookies, and other assortment of empty calories to choose from.
 Then factor in the healthier options you want to direct them towards. I
get why the decision can be hard for them. To be completely honest, it’s a
tough decision for me too.

Being indecisive about snacks is one thing. However, kids have to

make a wide range of decisions on a daily basis.

These decisions include things such as choosing how to behave, what

friends to spend time with, or what clothes to wear.

It can get pretty overwhelming if children  aren’t armed with the right
tools to make good decisions.

Teaching kids how to make decisions is a valuable  life skill for

children  to have. As kids get older, the kinds of decisions they make become
increasingly more complicated.

For example, some kids have to decide what college they want to go to,
if they want to go to college at all, or what career path they want to take.

When children learn the decision making process steps, they make
more responsible decisions. This prepares them to make big decisions that
impacts their future.

Common Types of Decision-Makers

Making responsible decisions doesn’t come naturally to everyone. It’s a

skill that many must be taught. Let’s take a look at three common ways
people make decisions. They are:

No Decision

Children fall into the ‘No Decision’ trap when they let their peers or someone
other than a trusted adult make decisions for them. They let others tell them what to do
instead of making their own decisions.

Many times this happens because children are afraid they will make the wrong
decision. They doubt themselves and look to others to decide for them.

Kids who fall into the ‘No Decision’ category need to be reminded that it’s OK to
make mistakes. Making mistakes provides an opportunity for learning and growth.
Snap Decisions

Snap decisions happen when children make decisions without properly analyzing
the situation. They don’t consider the consequences of their actions and they react to
what’s going on.

There are times when snap decisions are OK. Like say choosing between chips
and yogurt. That’s not a life altering decision for most people (unless of course you have
food allergies or nutritional concerns).

Generally speaking, making a choice between the two foods doesn’t require you
to weigh the pros and cons. It’s not a decision that you have to think through in depth.

However, it’s not a good idea to make a snap decision about where you want to
go to college. There are many variables and options to consider.

College is an investment and you want to make sure you make the best choice
for you.

Kids prone to making snap decision benefit from learning to stop and think before
taking action.

Responsible Decisions

Responsible decision makers think about the consequences of their actions and
how it will affect them and the people in their lives.

It’s important that children learn to make responsible decisions on their own.

Sometimes kids need guidance from trusted adults to make good choice.
However, there will come a time when they need to rely on themselves to make the right
choice.

This is when knowing the decision making process steps comes in handy.

How To Raise Good Decision Makers

What Are The Decision Making Process Steps?

The decision-making process steps teaches children how to identify the problem,
gather information, and come up with possible solutions to a problem.
 When children follow the decision making process steps, they are able to make
deliberate and thoughtful decisions.

Since we expect kids to make good choices the majority of the time, we need to
teach them the decision making skills that will allow them to do exactly that.

Step 1: Identify The Problem

In this step the problem is analyzed. Questions children can ask

themselves include:

 What exactly is the problem?

 Why should this problem be solved? Is it important?
 Who does this problem affect?
 Is there a deadline on how much time I have to solve this
problem?

Step 2: Gather Relevant Information

Next, children will figure out what information is needed in order to

make their decision. Some information will be gathered through self-
assessment. They’ll have to ask themselves:

 What do I want?
 What do I need?
 What are my values?

In addition they might have to get relevant information from books,

videos, online, other people, etc.

Step 3: Brainstorm Solutions

During this step, children, children begin listing possible solutions.

Initially, they might think that coming up with multiple solutions makes no
sense. However, doing this allows them to think about the problem from
different angles.

Step 4: Identify Possible Consequences

Now children will examine each option in the  Step 3 to determine if any
of the alternatives would solve the problem identified in  Step 1.
 As they go through this process, certain options will ‘feel’ better than
others.

Next, they will prioritize the different options and list them in order
based on the solution they believe will best solve the problem.

Step 5: Make A Choice 

Once children thoroughly evaluate the alternatives, they are ready to

make a choice. The choice may be the solution at the top of their priority list
in Step

It could also be a combination of some of the alternatives they

explored.

Step 6: Take Action

Now children are ready to take action and implement the decision they
believe best solves the problem.

Having a plan of how they are going to follow through with their
decision is helpful.

Also, children can determine if they need help to implement their

decision or if they want to do it on their own.

Step 7: Evaluate The Outcome

In this final step, children consider the results of their decision. They
make a determination as to whether or not their decision solved the problem.

If it did not solve the problem, they can opt to try one of the other
options they brainstormed in Step 3.

f they believe non of those alternatives will work, they can go back
to Step 2 and gather more relevant information.

How adults influence children- modeling, direct instruction, coaching, giving

feedback, managing the child’s environment, stating expectations, encouraging
children.
Modeling Behavior for Children Has Long-Lasting Effects
Developmental psychologists have always known children learn by imitating
adults.
Now, a new study of Australian preschoolers and Kalahari Bushman children
finds that a particular kind of imitation — over-imitation, in which a child copies
everything an adult shows them, not just the steps that lead to some outcome —
appears to be a universal human activity.

Researchers believe the work sheds light on how humans develop and transmit
culture.

Scientists “have been finding this odd effect where children will copy everything
that they see an adult demonstrate to them, even if there are clear or obvious reasons
why those actions would be irrelevant,” says psychologist Mark Nielsen, of the
University of Queensland in Australia. “It’s something that we know that other primates
don’t do.” If a chimpanzee is shown an irrelevant action, they won’t copy it — they’ll skip
right to the action that makes something happen.

But it’s not clear that the results found in child psychology research apply to all
people, Nielsen says. This research is usually done with children who live in Western
cultures, whose parents are well-educated and middle- to upper class. And these
parents are constantly teaching their children. But parents in indigenous cultures
generally don’t spend a lot of time teaching.

“They may slow what they’re doing if the child is watching, but it’s not the kind of
active instruction that’s common in Western cultures,” says Nielsen. So he teamed up
with Keyan Tomaselli, an anthropologist at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban,
South Africa, who has worked for decades in Bushman communities in southern Africa.

Their study is published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for

Psychological Science.
For the experiments, the children were shown how to open a box — but in a
complicated way, with impractical actions thrown in. For example, the adult would drag
a stick across a box, then use a stick to open the box by pulling on a knob — which is a
lot easier if you just use your fingers.

Most of the children copied what the adults did, even if they’d been given the
opportunity to play with the box first and figure out how it worked. This was just as true
for Bushman children as for the Australian children.

But aren’t the children just following the rules of what appears to be a game?
“That kind of is the point,” says Nielsen.

“Perhaps not a game, but certainly, when I demonstrate the action, it’s
purposeful. So from the mind of a child, perhaps there’s a reason why I’m doing this.”
This willingness to assume that an action has some unknown purpose, and to copy it,
may be part of how humans develop and share culture, he says.

“Really, we see these sorts of behaviors as being a core part of developing this
human cultural mind, where we’re so motivated to do things like those around us and be
like those around us.”

According to HealthyChildren.org’s website, “Children learn by watching

everyone around them, especially their parents. When you use manners and good
coping strategies, you teach your children to do the same:”

“Point out sharing among adults. Children often feel that they are the only
ones who have to “use your manners,” “share,” and “take turns.” So, when adults share,
point it out to your children. For example: “Daddy is sharing his drink with Mommy.
Good job sharing, Daddy!””
“Model good ways to calm down. Teach your children how to calm down when
they are upset or frustrated. For example, if you are frustrated about sitting in traffic, you
might say: “Mommy is really frustrated right now. Please help me calm down by taking
10 deep breaths with me.””
“Teach children to say how they feel. If you are really frustrated, you might
want to say, “You are driving me crazy right now.” Instead, try to express your actual
feelings: “Mommy is really frustrated right now.” This teaches children to say what they
feel instead of making critical or hurtful statements. Then help your children do this
when they are upset. For example: “It looks like you are feeling sad.”

How to encourage good behavior in your child

Children quickly learn how to behave when they get positive, consistent guidance
from you. This means giving your child attention when they behave well, rather than
just applying consequences when your child does something you don’t like.

Here are some practical tips for putting this positive approach into action.

1. Be a role model

Use your own behavior to guide your child. Your child watches you to get clues on
how to behave – and what you do is often much more important than what you say. For
example, if you want your child to say ‘please’, say it yourself. If you do not want your
child to raise their voice, speak quietly and gently yourself.

2. Show your child how you feel

Telling your child honestly how their behavior affects you helps your child see their
own feelings in yours. And if you start sentences with ‘I’, it gives your child the chance to
see things from your perspective. For example, ‘I’m feeling upset because there’s so
much noise and I can’t talk on the phone’.
 3. Catch your child being ‘good’

When your child is behaving in a way you like, give your child some positive
feedback. For example, ‘Wow, you’re playing so nicely. I really like the way you’re
keeping all the blocks on the table’. This works better than waiting for the blocks to
come crashing to the floor before you take notice and say, ‘Hey, stop that’.

This positive feedback is sometimes called descriptive praise because it tells

children specifically what they’re doing well. Try to make five positive comments for
every negative comment. And remember that if children have a choice between no
attention or negative attention, they’ll often seek out negative attention.

4. Get down to your child’s level

When you get close to your child, you can tune in to what they might be feeling or
thinking. Being close also helps your child focus on what you’re saying about their
behavior. If you’re close to your child and have your child’s attention, you don’t need to
make them look at you.

5. Listen actively

To listen actively, you can nod as your child talks, and repeat back what you think
your child is feeling. For example, ‘It sounds like you feel really sad that your blocks fell
down’. When you do this, it can help young children cope with tension and big emotions
like frustration, which sometimes lead to unwanted behavior. It also makes them feel
respected and comforted. It can even diffuse potential temper tantrums.

6. Keep promises

When you follow through on your promises, good or bad, your child learns to trust
and respect you. Your child learns that you won’t let them down when you’ve promised
something nice, and your child also learns not to try to change your mind when you’ve
explained a consequence. So, when you promise to go for a walk after your child picks
up their toys, make sure you have your walking shoes handy. When you say you’ll leave
the library if your child doesn’t stop running around, be prepared to leave straight away.

7. Create an environment for good behavior

The environment around your child can influence their behavior, so you can  shape
the environment to help your child behave well. This can be as simple as making sure
your child’s space has plenty of safe, stimulating things for your child to play with. Also
make sure that your child can’t reach things they could break or that might hurt them.
 8. Choose your battles

Before you get involved in anything your child is doing – specially to say ‘no’ or ‘stop’
– ask yourself if it really matters. By keeping instructions, requests and negative
feedback to a minimum, you create fewer opportunities for conflict and bad feelings.
You can use family rules to let everyone know what’s really important in your family.

9. Be firm about whining

If you give in when your child is whining for something, you can accidentally train
your child to whine more. ‘No’ means ‘no’, not ‘maybe’, so don’t say it unless you mean
it.

10. Keep things simple and positive

Instructions should be clear, short and appropriate for your child’s age, so your child
can understand and remember them. And positive rules are usually better than negative
ones, because they guide your child’s behavior in a positive way. For example, ‘Please
shut the gate’ is better than ‘Don’t leave the gate open’.

11. Give children responsibility – and consequences

As your child gets older, you can give your child more responsibility for their own
behavior. You can also give your child the chance to experience the natural
consequences of that behavior. For example, if it’s your child’s responsibility to pack for
a sleepover and your child forgets their favorite pillow, the natural consequence is that
your child will have to manage without the pillow for the night.

At other times you might need to provide consequences for inappropriate or

unacceptable behavior. For these times, make sure that you’ve explained the
consequences and your child has agreed to them in advance.

12. Say it once and move on

If you tell your child what to do – or what not to do – too often, your child might end
up just tuning out. If you want to give your child one last chance to cooperate, remind
your child of the consequences for not cooperating. Then start counting to three.

13. Give your child the chance to succeed

Set your child up to behave well, and then praise them for it. For example, give your
child some simple chores or things that your child can do to help the family. Praising
your child’s behavior and effort will encourage your child to continue. And giving your
child a lot of practice doing a chore helps them get better at it, feel good about doing it,
and want to keep doing it.
 14. Prepare for challenging situations

There are times when meeting your child’s needs and doing things you need to do
will be tricky – for example, when you are shopping, in the car or at an appointment. If
you think about these challenging situations in advance, you can plan around your
child’s needs. Give your child a five-minute warning before you need them to change
activities. Talk to your child about why you need their cooperation. Then your child is
prepared for what you expect.

15. Maintain a sense of humor

It often helps to keep daily life with children light. You can do this by using songs,
humor and fun. For example, you can pretend to be the menacing tickle monster who
needs the toys picked up off the floor. Humor that has you both laughing is great, but
humor at your child’s expense won’t help. Young children are easily hurt by parental
‘teasing’.

Summary

In most instances of guidance, adults will need to combine approaches or use a

variety of strategies as they respond to children’s behavior. It is important to remember
that no one strategy will work in every situation, or with every child. At different levels of
development, strategies must vary. However, the more options for guidance that
caregivers have to choose from, the more successful they will be in meeting the
challenge of living and working with young children.

A Quick Guide

Keep rules simple and easy to understand. Repeat the rules often.

Say what you mean. Choose your words carefully and keep sentences short and
simple. Focus on what you want children to do rather than what not to do.

Give clear, simple choices. Give children a choice only when there is a choice.

Show respect. Look children in the eyes, and talk with them, rather than “at’ them.
Talk to children about inappropriate behavior in private, rather than in front of others.
Remind them of the reasons for rules and discuss what they can do differently.

Encourage. Tell children what they’re doing right, use praise as a teaching tool, and let
them know why you are proud of them. Give positive attention for good behavior rather
than negative attention for inappropriate behavior.
Teach children how to resolve conflict and solve problems. Help children recognize
and name feelings, identify problems, and come up with ideas for solving the problem,
and try possible solutions.

Teach children how to correct their behavior. If a child draws on the wall, give her a
wet cloth to clean the wall. Even if the child cannot successfully clean up the entire
mess alone, participating in clean-up teaches her that actions have consequences.
Over time, experiencing natural and logical consequences helps children learn self-
regulation.

Set a good example. Children watch you all the time. They see how you talk to other
children and adults. They see how you cope with anger or frustration. They watch how
you deal with sadness and joy. They listen to how you say “I’m sorry.” The way you handle
the ups and downs of life teaches children a lot about how to behave and get along with others.

Invitation to Reflect

The following questions from Think, Feel, Act and How Does Learning Happen? can

be used as a guide to support your reflection on “behavior guidance “guiding children’s
behavior.
1. Consider a child whose behavior you find “difficult”. What possibilities might exist
if you were to view the child’s behavior and intentions from the child’s point of
view and from the child’s desire for relationships?
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2. What changes can I make to my daily routines and practices to focus more on
relationships and connecting with children?
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3. What is your ideal ratio of correction: direction: connection?

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4. Children’s present and future well-being is influenced by their ability to self-

regulate. How can your program move from a focus on the adult managing
children’s behavior towards a stronger focus on supporting children’s developing
self-regulation capacities?
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5. How can you connect with community partners to better support the mental
health and well-being of families and children?
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 The rubric below will be used to grade the students' work.

CRITERION STANDARD

Topic-Responsiveness 10 – discusses the issue clearly and replies to all components o

the activity;

8 – properly discuss the topic, but may answer more effectively to

Score:_____/10 some areas of the task than others

7 – discusses the subject, but may gloss over some details.

5 – shows a lack of understanding of the issue or omits crucia

components of the activity

4 – indicates a lack of understanding of the task or a relevan

response to the issue.
Communication of Ideas 10 – delves deeper into the issues, demonstrating a solid
understanding of the material; goes beyond the apparent or
discussion (module)

8 – demonstrates thought depth and complexity

Score:_____/10
7 – may approach the issue in a basic or repetitive manner; does
not show adequate grasp of the text

5 – lacks concentration, thinks in a jumbled or unsophisticated

manner, or fails to explain concepts
4 – is unorganized, unfocused, irrational, or nonsensical
Organization 10 – is well-organized (i.e., stays on topic), with well-supported
ideas and justifications.

8 – is well-organized and developed, with relevant justifications

and instances

Score:_____/10 7 – is well-organized and developed, with arguments and instances

to back up main points.

5 – is disorganized and/or underdeveloped; lacks textual support

4 – is underdeveloped; offers little or no useful assistance

Control of Mechanics, Sentence 10 – is often free of grammatical, usage, and sentence structure
Structure, Grammar, Spelling mistakes.

8 – has a few mechanical, use, and sentence construction issues.

7 - may contain some faults, but exhibits overall command o

Score:_____/10
 mechanics, language, and sentence structure.

5 – is hampered by a slew of grammatical, usage, and sentence

structure mistakes.

2 - has significant and persistent faults in word choice, mechanics

usage, and sentence structure.

References:

https://study.com/academy/answer/what-are-the-four-steps-in-the-decision-making-
model-for-child-guidance-how-can-you-use-this-in-a-classroom.html

https://www.kiddiematters.com/problem-solving-activity-free-printable/

https://psychcentral.com/news/2018/05/27/modeling-behavior-for-children-has-long-
lasting-effects/14139.html

https://raisingchildren.net.au/toddlers/behaviour/encouraging-good-behaviour/good-
behaviour-tips

https://www.childcarevictoria.org/wp-content/uploads/guiding-childrens-behaviour-
booklet-2016.pdf

https://thrc.ca/reflections-on-quality-guiding-childrens-behaviour-through-connection/

Prepared by:

Fatima A. Dela Cruz

Instructor