Child Care Center of FPC Asheville

We believe in using positive discipline to guide, encourage, and support children. Positive discipline helps children learn how to interact with others and develop self control. It begins with adult behavior: good limit-setting and clear communication of these limits. This includes teaching more appropriate behavior, giving cues for new behavior, giving choices, and supporting children in their new behavior.

Staff will manage typical discipline encounters with helpful, positive solutions such as redirection, distraction, active listening, “I-messages”, conflict resolution, and recognizing and helping the child to deal with strong emotions. We strive to recognize signs of anxiety and stress and to help children learn calming techniques.

Our staff is trained to create a positive, secure, and consistent environment for children to learn necessary social and life skills. Positive discipline is designed to teach children to become responsible, respectful, and resourceful.

We desire to help children feel a sense of connection and belonging. We are kind and firm at the same time, showing respect to the child. We consider what the child is thinking, feeling, and learning and encourage them through the process. Positive discipline is effective long term because it teaches the child important life skills such as respect, concern for others, problem solving, and how to cooperate with others.

Effective communication and problem-solving skills focus on the solution rather than punishment. We strive to encourage children by noticing their efforts and improvements, not just their successes. Our goal is to help children develop positive self esteem and learn self discipline.

Praise and positive reinforcement are effective methods of the behavior management of children. When children receive positive, nonviolent, and understanding interactions from adults and others, they develop good self-concepts, problem solving abilities, and self-discipline. Based on this belief of how children

We:

1.   DO praise, reward, and encourage the children.
2.   DO reason with and set limits for the children.
3.   DO model appropriate behavior for the children.
4.   DO modify the classroom environment to attempt to prevent problems before they occur.
5.   DO listen to the children.
6.   DO provide alternatives for inappropriate behavior to the children.
7.   DO provide the children with natural and logical consequences of their behaviors.
8.   DO treat the children as people and respect their needs, desires, and feelings.
9.   DO ignore minor misbehaviors.
10. DO explain things to children on their levels.
11. DO use short supervised periods of “time-out” *
12. DO stay consistent in our behavior management program.

We:
1. DO NOT spank, shake, bite, pinch, push, pull, slap, or otherwise physically punish the children.
2. DO NOT make fun of, yell at, threaten, make sarcastic remarks about, use profanity, or otherwise verbally abuse the
children.
3. DO NOT shame or punish the children when bathroom accidents occur.
4. DO NOT deny food or rest as punishment.
5. DO NOT relate discipline to eating, resting, or sleeping.
6. DO NOT leave the children alone, unattended, or without supervision.
7. DO NOT place the children in locked rooms, closets, or boxes as punishment.
8. DO NOT allow discipline of children by children.
9. DO NOT criticize, make fun of, or otherwise belittle children’s parents, families, or ethnic groups.

*Time Out:  Time Out is the removal of a child for a short period of time (3 to 5 minutes) from a situation in which the child is misbehaving and has not responded to other discipline techniques.  The “time-out” space, usually a chair, is located away from classroom activity but within the teacher’s sight.  During “time-out,” the child has a chance to think about the misbehavior which led to his/her removal from the group.  After a brief interval of no more than 5 minutes, the teacher discusses the incident and appropriate behavior with the child.  When the child returns to the group, the incident is over and the child is treated with the same affection and respect shown to the other children.