The Children’s Nook Discipline Policy

Children’s behavior is often influenced by their developmental stage, environment and/or frustrations. A constructive guidance and discipline approach will be used to monitor and adjust children’s undesirable behavior.

Children’s Nook will help children learn to develop socially acceptable and appropriate behavior by encouraging the development of self-control, self-confidence, positive self-esteem and sensitivity to others. The basic techniques of our approach fall in two categories-prevention and guidance.

Prevention measures are planned in advance so undesirable behavior is limited. They include:

1. Arranging the physical environment to encourage appropriate behavior and to foster independence in children.
2. Developing a balanced schedule that provides for a variety of activity levels, indoor and outdoor play, individual and group time, self-selected and teacher directed activities.
3. Planning activities that foster children’s different learning styles and provide a challenge yet success for the child.
4. Establishing consistent, fair limits with children to help them control their own behavior.

Constructive guidance and discipline strategies are tailored to meet the individual differences in children. Guidance techniques include:

1. Helping children to understand the logical consequences of their actions in a no punitive manner. Ex. If a child writes on the wall, he would be expected to wash it off.
2. Redirecting children engaged in an inappropriate behavior to an acceptable activity.

Ex. A child who is throwing water in the water table may be asked to see how much water a certain container will hold.

3. Ignoring inappropriate behavior is not overly disruptive or harmful to others.
4. Reminding children of expected behavior by stating the pre-established rule.

Ex. We walk in the classroom and run outside.

5. Helping children to resolve problems through expression of feelings, thinking of alternative solutions and possible effects of taking those alternatives.
6. Time out is used not as a punishment but a time to calm down, get control and talk about feelings and move on to the problem solving process.
7. Positive reinforcement includes praise and encouragement for positive behavior or behavior change.
8. Modeling appropriate behavior for children.
9. Carrying out all discipline techniques in a calm, but firm manner that reassures the child that it is the behavior that is unacceptable and not the child.
10. Restraint may be used when reasonably necessary to prevent a child from harming him or herself or to prevent a child from harming other persons or property.

Please note the staff at Children’s Nook is prohibited from:

1. Hitting, shaking, biting, pinching, or inflicting any form of corporal punishment.
2. Restricting a child’s movement by binding or tying him/her.
3. Inflicting mental or emotional punishment such as humiliating, shaming or threatening a child.
4. Depriving a child of meals, snacks, rest or necessary toilet use.
5. Confirming a child in an enclosed area such as a closet or locked room.

Any person using any of the above forms of punishment will be dismissed.

Signature_____________________________________________ Date____________________

(Mother or Legal Guardian)

Signature_____________________________________________ Date____________________

(Father or Legal Guardian)