Behavior Guidance
We believe that behavior guidance for young children involves understanding, planning, positive reinforcement, redirection, intervention, and (occasionally) separation. Kinderplatz promotes harmony through maintaining a safe and healthy environment free of trauma, harassment and abuse. We use positive attention to build a bond with each child in our care, and teachers respect children as individuals.
Teachers strive to implement the teachings of Dr. Dan Gartrell, who has written (among many inspiring works):
Teachers who use guidance think of young children as being months old instead of years-old. A three-year-old only has 36 months of life experience. A big five-year-old only has sixty months. Young children are just beginning to learn difficult life skills (like expressing strong emotions in non-hurting ways), that adults with years of experience still are working on.
Guidance is helping children learn from their mistakes rather than punishing them for mistakes they make, and helping them learn to solve their problems rather than punishing them for having problems they cannot solve. Guidance helps children to understand that they have the ability to learn and grow as worthy little people.
— Dr. Dan Gartrell