Child Guidance is Essential for their Development
Guidance should be viewed as a partnership between an adult and a child. Generally, guidance should be a continuous process and should not be left for a time when a child makes a mistake. Children at the pre-schooling age need guidance to enable them to adapt well to the changing dynamics of life since they are being prepared for school. The lack of positive guidance strategies has contributed immensely to the current state of poor children’s performance in schools.
Background
The development of children relies on responses received from adults towards the behaviors exhibited by the children. Adults should learn to uphold a positive response to the behaviors exhibited by children. Generally, children at pre-schooling age have not developed firm decision-making abilities and require positive guidance to shape their general development. The best guidance skills that an adult can have is creating appropriate expectations from children to avoid cases of disappointment and overreaction. Generally, positive guidance involves making children feel loved and needed to avoid resistance or negative outcomes.
Tips and Strategies
Children always want to feel loved and protected. The responsibility of an adult is, therefore, to ensure that children do not feel threatened or unloved. The tips provided here will be useful to any adult with the responsibility of guiding pre-schooling children.
First, have appropriate expectations from children’s behaviors. The primary benefit of having appropriate expectations is to create a positive environment around children. A caregiver should always recognize that they are dealing with children and that mistakes are common (Lindsay et al. 2017). Also, having high expectations may make children feel threatened and might hinder them from living towards their potential abilities.
Secondly, it pays to create experiences that engage children entirely. Children should not be allowed to get bored, over-stimulated, or dis-interested (Borriello & Liben, 2018). The lack of positive engagement may motivate children to engage in undesirable behaviors. Adults who are responsible for children should, therefore, act as teachers and ensure that children are handling materials positively and according to their needs.
Moreover, guidance should be built around the relationship with the children. Capitalizing on the relationship between an adult and the children is essential in developing guidance strategies. Generally, neutral time and energy should be spent around children to observe their needs and requirements as they grow. For example, a caregiver may decide to spend time listening, playing, and talking to the children while assessing their expectations.
Children need to be appreciated and motivated, with their feelings being noticed. Generally, children may be unable to communicate their feelings. However, an adult should be in a position to address any suspicious activities among children. Also, children should be appreciated whenever they make an achievement or portray a positive behavior. Making positive comments on the child’s behavior encourages them to maintain positive behavior or even improve.
Local Community Resources
Several organizations are available to provide support services concerning the development of children. As a parent or an adult with the responsibility of guiding children, support from such organizations is crucial. The first organization is the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) the supports the care of children below the age of eight years on matters concerning education and development. NAEYC can be reached through the address, 1313 L St. NW, Suite 500, Washington, D.C., or contacted through 20005, (202)232-8777, (800)424-2460 and emailed at help@naeyc.org.
The other organization is the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC) that helps care providers in developing development strategies. NAFCC can be reached through the following address, 1743 W Alexander St #201 Salt Lake City, Utah 84119 or through Phone at 801-886-2322 and through Fax at 801-886-2325.
For Further Information
https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/for-families
References
Borriello, G. A., & Liben, L. S. (2018). Encouraging maternal guidance of preschoolers’ spatial thinking during block play. Child development, 89(4), 1209-1222.
Lindsay, A. C., Greaney, M. L., Wallington, S. F., Mesa, T., & Salas, C. F. (2017). A review of early influences on physical activity and sedentary behaviors of preschool‐age children in high‐income countries. Journal for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing, 22(3), e12182.