Behaviour Management Guidelines
Purpose of Policy
To ensure all staff are aware of and adhere to The Children's Storefront
Behaviour Management Guidelines with respect to the children participating in
the program.
Rationale
Supporting families in raising children to become happy, well adjusted,
productive, secure members of society who successfully deal with problems in
interpersonal relationships. As well as learning self-discipline and inner control,
they must also learn positive, constructive ways to interact with other people.
The role of staff is to guide parents and caregivers in supporting a child’s sense
of well being while providing opportunities for him or her to learn appropriate
ways to interact with others.
To ensure a child’s safety and wellbeing, and to foster social and emotional
development, it is necessary at times to impose limits or set standards of
acceptable behaviour. Adults should be guided by knowledge and understanding
of a child’s growth and development.
As in all areas of child development, the development of self-control and social
skills follows a sequence from birth to adulthood. Within this sequence, infants
and toddlers require more adult intervention and closer supervision and
guidance. As children grow older they are able to exercise more self-control and
have a greater understanding of concepts such as health, safety, and respect for
others and property. Therefore, external controls can gradually be removed as
the child develops a sense of responsibility for his or her own behaviour.
A Problem-solving Approach: Intervention Strategies
Children need the opportunity to explore their environment and discover their
abilities. This inevitably involves testing limits and experimenting with social
interactions. This experimentation occasionally results in behaviours that are
unacceptable. When these situations occur it is necessary to assist the child by
imposing limits or identify acceptable limits of behaviour (and to guide parents
and caregivers to do so).
Children are by nature problem-solvers and intervention strategies must reflect a
problem-solving approach that guide a child to think the problem through and to
develop a solution. This process involves asking children to identify their issues,
to think of alternatives, to predict consequences, and to make decisions. The
process must of course be geared to the developmental level of the child. The
role of staff is to communicate with parents and caregivers, to establish limits, to
ensure the health and safety of participants, and to follow through with logical
consequences when reasonable expectations are not met.
What Can Staff Do?
Planning program space and routines that are appropriate to families.
Establishing expectations that are reasonable and consistently applied.
Providing opportunity for individual and group play that take into account the
needs of all children and stimulate curiosity.
Developing positive communication with parents and caregivers.
Behaviour Management Intervention Strategies
All behaviour management strategies should be teaching opportunities where
facilitators can help children to identify and express emotions appropriately.
Building strong, healthy relationships with families will help staff know what works
best for each participant.
Strategies for effectively managing behaviour of infants and toddlers should be
through the use of redirection.
Strategies for effectively managing behaviour of preschool, kindergarten and
schoolage children should be through the use of problem solving and conflict
resolution. Support children to work through problems or anger by helping them
to verbalize their issues. Children will remember the strategies if they are a part
of the solution.
Strategies/ Approaches/ Tips:
Start with prevention; reasonable adult expectations, consistent application of
rules and a developmentally appropriate environment and program can prevent
many behaviour problems.
Anticipate problems; intervene positively before they happen.
Encourage and praise appropriate behaviours.
Allow the child choices when possible; if a choice is not possible, then state that
clearly (i.e. “puzzles stay on the puzzle table”).
Prepare children for transitions by telling them about changes in activities (i.e. if it
is nearly lunch time and the arts and crafts table will be cleared for eating).
Set reasonable limits that are clear and consistent.
Act with caution, care and respect when enforcing limits.
Introduce the child to an alternative situation/ activity and allow them to return to
the original situation/ activity when the child feels able to act/ play appropriately.
Do not wait for problems to occur before acting.
Do not limit directions to what the child cannot do. Give specific directions.
Do not give choices when there are no choices available.
All children test limits; do not view inappropriate behaviour as an interruption or
developmentally inappropriate.
Do not set unreasonable, excessive limits.
Do not remove a child from a situation or activity without giving them the
opportunity to change their behaviour.
Staff are not to use unacceptable behaviour management techniques, such as:
 Corporal punishment
 Using harsh or degrading measures or language which would humiliate a
child or undermine the child’s self-confidence.
Staff will discuss difficult situations with the Executive Director and the affected
parents/ caregivers in order to work together in the family’s best interests.
De-escalating Volatile Situations
In some situations, staff may be asked by parents or caregivers to assist them in
dealing with a child in extreme distress. This distress may result in behaviour
which may put either the child, other children or program participants, or staff at
risk.
Staff will encourage parents and caregivers to take a proactive approach to
helping children to manage behaviour. From time to time, however, emergency
situations may arise that require staff to physically support a child who is in
imminent danger of compromising the safety of themselves or others. When
responding to emergency situations, staff will ensure:
 If other children are present, they should be escorted away from the
situation. Parents and caregivers may be asked to take other children to
the other program floor while the situation is being managed.
 Whenever possible, staff should elicit the presence of other staff or
management to provide physical support or guidance as appropriate.
 When the child is calm he/ she can be supportively reintroduced into the
program with the guidance of staff and the parent or caregiver. It is
important to support and supervise the child during this transition.
 In the case of a serious occurrence, the Executive Director will report the
incident to the Children’s Services Serious occurrence line and the
Children’s Services Consultant.
 If a child alleges they have been injured during the process the Storefront
will comply with the Child Abuse Reporting Policy.
 Staff and the Executive Director may work with the parents and
caregivers to discuss the incident and determine strategies to support the
child, including the recommendation of additional supports from outside
agencies.
Monitoring Behaviour Management Practices:
Behaviour Management Monitoring Practices have been developed to ensure
staff receive regular feedback on their behaviour management techniques.
In the event of an observation or allegation against a staff member, the Executive
director will meet with the staff member and the appropriate measures will be
taken. These may include (but are not limited to):
 Coaching
 Support
 Counseling
 Setting expectations for improvement/ conduct
 Discipline (written warning, suspension, termination of employment)