angela

Working with children who have no boundries at home. One boy, for example had no disapline at home and was quite awful in class. He lashed out at others; hit, kicked, threw things at others, screamed out mean things and took things away. He had no remorse. I was frustrated because I could see he needed consistantcy, rules, and positive reinforcement. Over a period of four months of hard work (on my end) I was able to sucessfully transform his behavior from nightmarish to angel. When he acted out, I pointed out the problem, stated why, asked him to apologize (never push a child to do it they'll retaliate; just suggest it) had him sit off to the side and had "calming down" time. If he refused to clean up, I gave him the choice to clean up one of two areas that he had played in. And I made sure he did. But praised him as much as I corrected. It's all about comunicating what is ok behavior and what is not, and why in simple terms they can understand, without treating them like children, but like adults and yet being a fun, caring and listening friend. ( the siller the better) It all comes down to that. Listening. You listen you learn what they need, they listen and they learn what you need. Believe me it really works!...