Kids and Sexuality

By Brenna Hicks, LMHC

I find it interesting that this is a topic that comes up so frequently. Several years ago, I led parenting workshops at some of the local libraries. After the four to six months of my topics, the children’s program director took suggestions for new topics. Many of the recommendations were related to sexuality in some manner, including puberty, what is normal development, etc. I also have been inundated with questions lately about children discussing or talking about seemingly sexual behaviors.

I suppose I should not be surprised, as our society is becoming more and more sexualized, therefore exposing children to sex at an earlier age. However, even in the most protective of homes where children have been shielded from sexual innuendo and experiences, kids will still do or say things that can seem pretty alarming. The most common concern typically revolves around what is normal behavior regarding burgeoning sexual interest and understanding, including behaviors. So, here are the basics of what is normal and what to expect as your child grows.

Curiosity:
Around the age of three, children begin to express interest in sexuality. It may be in the form of questions (“Where do babies come from?”) or behavior (exploring their genitals more frequently). You may observe that a simple answer will satisfy them or their own exploration will be enough. Some children will require more detailed explanations or continue to pursue self-discovery. Masturbation is also normal, especially when tired or upset. As long as this behavior is not obsessive (rubbing genitals on chairs, people, etc.), it is part of the sexual development process.

Change in Play:
You will probably notice your children becoming more interested in playing sexually based roles in play from three to four years of age (Mommy or Daddy), rather than gender-neutral roles. This is due to their understanding that men and women are different, look and act differently, and serve different functions. It is also normal for kids to begin to play doctor around this time, while sometimes exposing themselves or asking others to expose themselves to do a “check up”. This is also normal, but should be handled delicately if one or more parent becomes concerned. You can safeguard against play getting out of hand by staying close to your children and not allowing more than a two year age difference in a child of the opposite sex. (A four year old girl can play with a boy ranging from two to six).

Modesty:
Around age four, children begin to understand that there is a difference between public and private behavior. This is especially important while using the bathroom, changing or bathing. They learn that while it is okay to be naked with certain people, it is not okay to be naked with others. Their sense of modesty and understanding of what is acceptable increases.

Outside Influence:
Around the age of five (and up to seven), children are typically given a bit more freedom in their play. Parents are not as concerned that they must be supervised at all times, and are more lax about who they can play with. This, of course, brings in outside influence and new ideas about sex. Every child has been told or seen certain things about sexual behaviors, and kids love to share their knowledge. So, when your child comes home and tells you that Susie showed him her underwear, you need to recognize that Susie may have been acting in conjunction with her experiences that underwear is not a private article of clothing.

Reluctance to Share: 
Between the ages of five and seven, kids become more unlikely to feel comfortable talking to you about sexual ideas and questions. They learn that it is sometimes embarrassing or awkward, and begin to feel more ashamed of experiences and thoughts regarding sexuality. Unfortunately, they will still be receiving information from their peers, that may or may not be what you want them to know.

Sexual Language: 
Around the age of seven, children begin to move away from the elimination talk (pee, poop, potties, etc.), and move into more sexually based lingo. This is also a normal part of testing what is appropriate and what should not be said in public. Remember that often these types of words are spoken solely to test how you, the parent, will respond. Keep your reaction calm and neutral, reminding them that those words are not to be used around other people. Encourage them to use those words to ask you any questions that they wish in your home.

Ooops!: 
Once your child has already seen, heard or experienced something you wish you could have protected them from (XXX websites at a friend’s house, an exposure from a neighbor, a classmate’s too personal of touch), safeguard against panicking or making a big deal out of it. Remember that you are operating from experience with sexual implications, your child is not. He or she has no emotional connection to the experience, apart from what they thought or felt in the moment. There is no bigger understanding of breasts, vaginas or penises being sexual elements of the body. Children are able to take an experience for what it is worth, and can be told that it should not happen again without being made to feel that something happened that was “wrong”.

Apart from what is normal for kids, there are a few things on which experts agree regarding how to handle sexuality in kids.
First, 
remain open to any questions at any age, even if you think it is too early for them to be asking. Answer the question simply and in terms that kids can understand. Be an “askable” parent.
Second, 
do not shy away from sexual body parts or try to change the subject when topics come up. If you teach your children the names of body parts, include genitals. Kids know they exist, so they should know what to call them. Be a “teaching” parent.
Finally, 
keep in mind that if you choose not to discuss sexuality with your children, they will learn it from somewhere else. In that scenario, you have much more to worry about than how you phrase your response to “How does a baby come out of it’s Mommy’s belly?”. Be a “proactive” parent.

As an aside – make sure you discuss openly and frequently that only Mom, Dad and the doctor are allowed to touch your child in his or her private areas. Teach them to say no, and to leave any situation that they know does not feel right. Play with other children is one thing, molestation is another.

4 Things Not to Do When Your Young Child has a Tantrum

by Dr. Joan Simeo Munson

Does your head ever spin from all the suggestions you get about how to manage your young child’s temper tantrums or out-of-control behavior? Your in-laws tell you you’re spoiling your child, your best friend thinks you’re being too strict, and the other parents you know all seem to follow a different playbook.

Related: How to take charge as a parent and get control back.

Knowing how to effectively handle your young child or toddler can feel overwhelming at times.There’s so much advice about what we should do that it’s easy to start feeling confused and unsure of your own parenting skills.

Too often parents work under the faulty assumption that if they can simply explain things to a tantruming child, the child will fall in line and stop misbehaving.

The truth is, there is no “magic,” one-size-fits-all way to parent your toddler. The true expert of your child is you. Believe me, I understand that it can be hard to trust your parenting gut when your toddler is having a tantrum in the middle of the grocery store! But part of becoming the most effective parent you can is to begin to develop parenting skills that combine your intuition, your strengths, and the values most important to you. What I tell all parents of young kids is the following: As you navigate through your parenting years, you’ll try some methods that will work and you’ll put them in your toolbox. You’ll quickly discard the methods that don’t work. And along the way, you’ll figure out what works best for your family.

Part of finding your way is learning what not to do when parenting your tantruming child. This can be confusing, since so much parenting advice is based on what you should be doing—but the truth is, figuring out what pitfalls to avoid is just as important.

Here are my top four “Don’ts” when dealing with your toddler mid-tantrum:

1. Don’t be inflexible. Toddlerhood may represent the most stubborn, inflexible time in the life of a child. Too often parents do not recognize this as a normal part of their child’s development, and are frustrated as their child increasingly seems irrational and out of control. In response some parents tend to clamp down on their child, hoping that by being a stronger disciplinarian their child will become less willful. Unfortunately, when you do this, you are creating a battle of wills, a tug-of-war between you and your child in which no one wins. The key instead is to be more flexible, giving the strong-willed child more choices, not fewer. This may sound counter-intuitive, so here’s an example of what I mean:

Four-year-old Bradley had a hard time getting ready for pre-school each morning. He would lie on the floor, fight with his mother over what to wear and could never seem to get in the car on time. His mother realized that, as a strong-willed child, Bradley needed to have more of a say in what he was doing. After identifying the areas in which he struggled, his mom created a plan that included giving Bradley choices. The night before school, she and Bradley laid out his clothes for the next day and his mom would ask, “Do you want to wear jeans or sweat pants?” In the morning at breakfast, she’d ask, “Waffles or cereal?” When it came time to get in the car, she’d say, “Do you want to bring Superman or Legos with you today?”

Giving your child a sense of control on issues that are not that important in the long run allows your child a sense of autonomy in a world that is very structured and rule-oriented. Simple choices on a daily basis make it less likely that your child will want to fight you on the big stuff.

Related: Doing too much for your kids? How to teach them to be more responsible for themselves.

2. Don’t be too flexible. Confused yet? Don’t be. Just as it’s important to give your strong-willed child choices, this can backfire if you become so flexible that your child doesn’t know what to do. Here’s an example:

Carly was 3 1/2 years old and had always been a great sleeper as a baby. Her parents would rock her and lay her in her crib, and she would sleep through the night. Since getting her big girl bed, Carly began to fight her bedtime, get up in the middle of the night, and wake her parents. At a loss for how to get Carly to sleep, her parents gave her too many choices. If Carly wanted to read a book at 3:00 a.m. they read with her. If she wanted some juice, they’d bring it to her. If she wanted to sleep with them, but then change her mind 20 minutes later, they’d walk her back to her room. They allowed her to dictate the terms of her bedtime and sleep schedule instead of getting control of the situation. A better option would be to set the guidelines for Carly before bedtime, saying something like, “Tonight we’ll read two stories, have one song, then it’s time for bed. If you wake up in the middle of the night, I will walk you back to bed and you will stay there”. After Carly’s parents enlist her help in making her room as comfortable and cozy as possible, she will know what is expected of her for future bedtimes.

Toddlers need someone to be in charge, and that’s you. While you can benefit from giving your child choices, you will also benefit from setting loving boundaries so your child can feel safe and satisfied in the choices she has made.

3. Don’t reason with a defiant toddler. Toddlers are irrational by nature, and as a parent it’s important to simply accept this fact. Too often parents work under the faulty assumption that if they can simply explain things to a tantruming child, the child will fall in line and stop misbehaving. As a result, many parents talk over the developmental level of their toddler. The outcome is simply more screaming and misbehaving by the child—and more frustration on the part of the parent! A rule of thumb is to try using approximately as many words as the age of your child.

For example, if your two-year-old bites, you say, “No biting” and remove her from the situation. If your 5-year-old starts having a tantrum in the middle of the store, you say, “We don’t cry over toys,” and you leave. The point is, a long, drawn-out speech by you solves nothing—and your young child or toddler will just tune out. The best way to deal with a defiant toddler is to take swift, immediate action that involves the smallest number of words possible.

Since we as adults communicate (hopefully) in rational, mature ways with other adults, we assume that we can do the same with our toddlers. Bear in mind, though, that your toddler lacks the maturity at this stage in their development to be reasonable most of the time. Brevity and calmness are a parent’s best friend at this stage.

Related: How to give your child consequences that will really work.

4. Don’t scream back. Toddlers between the ages of two and six are notorious for losing their tempers and screaming at the nearest human. The main reasons for this are a lack of maturity, an inability to express themselves verbally, and frustration over not being able to process the situation in front of them. Here’s an example of what I mean:

Sam, a funny, strong-willed 5-year-old became frustrated while trying to put together his new Lego set. No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t understand the instructions, which were a bit over his head. Not knowing how to proceed, he did the first thing that came to his mind: he picked up his Lego set and threw it at his 3-year-old sister’s head, screaming at his mother all the while. His mother, while horrified and angry in the moment, stayed calm. She took him by the arm and told him “We don’t scream or throw toys,” and led him to his room for a cooling-off period.

Besides handling the situation calmly and effectively, Sam’s mom modeled for him how he can react in the future when he becomes frustrated and angry. Toddlers don’t know what to do when faced with a rush of emotion, so they do what comes naturally: they have a fit! This type of behavior is perfectly normal for all toddlers, but it is imperative that they learn early that while it’s normal, it won’t be tolerated in your house. Your job is to show your child the right way to react; staying calm and consistent is the best way to teach them.

By the way, if you find that you are having a hard time controlling your own temper, seek out support in the form of friends, other parents with same-age children, or by taking a parenting class at your local rec center or church. Having a support system during these difficult years of child-rearing can be a life saver.

Related: Stay calm with your child--even when he's pushing your buttons.

Toddlers are interesting little beings, filled with passion, humor, curiosity, and willfulness. They are just beginning to understand the bigger world around them, to navigate the daily routines of their home and school life, and to test boundaries to see what the outcome may be. As your child leaves babyhood and enters the independent stage of their development, it’s important for you too to grow as a parent and to recognize that your parenting style needs to change along with your toddler. Parenting a baby, while difficult at the time, may seem downright easy when faced with a screaming three-year-old. It’s really important at this age for you to take an inventory of what works and what isn’t working when dealing your young child or toddler. By trusting your instincts and implementing rules that you are comfortable with, you will be doing all the right things to help not just your child, but your entire family.

Read more: http://www.empoweringparents.com/4-things-not-to-do-when-your-young-child-has-a-tantrum.php#ixzz2Jc2fDwXs

Practical Ways to Help Three Year Old Children at Home

Category: Montessori at Home

Three year old children are now able to have more control with their fine motor skills and have more understanding and heightened curiosity about the world. Parents as the educators can pass on values with small activities and help the child increase their self confidence in their daily lives.

The following are a few general examples to be implemented in the home.

(Not) Watching TV

• Read a bedtime story every night even if it is only a short one. Make it a routine as it will also help children settle down at night.
• Tell true stories at bed time instead of reading for variety of bedtime routine.
• Borrow children’s books from your local library to add variety to the collection of books read.
• Avoid using the TV as a babysitter. Limit the amount of time spent watching TV and videos etc. Set limited times when your child is allowed to watch TV.
• Teach your child how to turn off the TV. Allow them to self-regulate as to when it is enough to be sitting in front of the TV.
• Turn TV off when family are having meals. This is setting a good example of when to watch TV and allows for dinner conversation.

Outdoors

• Take time to walk at your child’s pace when outdoors/in public.
• When outdoors, spend time talking and looking at things along the way. Name things along the way to help your child’s vocabulary.
• Use this time to share news regarding things that are related to family/friends, people and things that are important to you and your child.
• Remind children to wear hats and sunscreen before going out to play.
• Practice kerb drill when walking.
• Help your child to know the meaning of traffic light colours.
• Encourage the child to put each activity or toys away when completed or finished playing with them.
• Encourage the child to be physically active as it leads to a feeling of well-being and helps promote good muscle tone and strong heart and helps deals with stress. It also helps them sleep better.
• Encourage the family to exercise together dancing to favourite music, swimming at the closest aquatic centre or in your pool, kicking a ball at the park or in your backyard bushwalking, etc.
• Encourage respect for the environment.
• Involve the child in caring for the garden. Allow them to plant a small herb garden. Use the herbs to add taste to foods. This can also encourage them to eat the foods since they were involved in the preparation of the food.
• Children can do small tasks that help develop respect for the environment by carrying the household compost to the compost bin or carry out the papers to the recycling bin.
• Discourage waste for example, remind children to use one piece of paper for drawing and to use the other side as well. A chalkboard is less wasteful.

Forming good eating habits

• Encourage the child to eat using child size cutlery. This can help them eat independently and gain confidence.
• Encourage healthy eating habits to lessen the chance of diet related diseases by offering some children prefer raw vegetable. Offer sticks of carrot or celery. Offering a variety is good.
• Plenty of wholegrain cereals such as breads, rice, pasta and noodles.
• Lean meat, poultry and fish.
• Offer milk, yoghurt and cheese.
• Encourage children to drink water instead of juice or cordials or soft drinks contain sugar, preservatives intake.
• Choose foods low in salt.
• Expect the child to try new food but don’t insist that they eat it if they don’t like it.
• Introduce foods repeatedly and they might one day change their mind and give it a try or even like it.
• When at the dinner table ask questions and show interest in your child’s day.

How to encourage self esteem

• Tell them that you love them.
• Take time to listen to them and talk to them.
• Spend time with them.
• Help them to find the solutions to problems.
• Encourage them to follow their interests.
• Display their work in the home.
• Celebrate their achievements and milestones even small ones.
• Allow your child to choose between two appropriate sets of clothing.
• Allow ample time for the child to dress themselves in the morning.
• Encourage child to carry their own backpack, bag or personal belongings.
• Help them to learn their surname address and phone number.
• Observe the child and become aware of their interests, so that you can provide challenge.
• Be friendly with error and remember that learning happens when a child is able to attempt a new activity with encouragement from adults.
• When dealing with errors in grammar, no need to correct but one may repeat the sentence correctly to avoid humiliation for the child. It will keep the experience positive rather than having the feeling of being corrected / rebuked.
• Give the child positive feedback and resist saying you did that the wrong way. Correct by setting the good example.
• Remember it is the process of learning that is important not the product.

Activity Ideas

• Encourage a love of music as music is wonderful to help with stress as a way of relaxation.
• You could give the child access to a saucepan and wooden spoon or other kitchen paraphernalia that are safe.
• Implements that are kept in a special place in the kitchen to be used for percussion, (tapping sticks, tubes etc.)
• Pick your child up and dance with them in the kitchen (if it’s big enough).
• If your lifestyle permits take a child to group music lessons which are fun (Yamaha do them using keyboard) children pick up music skills very quickly if you start at about 4-5 years.
• If the child has a 2nd language spoken in the home, take them to Saturday language school.
• Use everyday activities such as driving to school/day care to play games such as “I Spy” to help children learn their sounds.
• Encourage children to play board games such as Junior Scrabble and Junior Monopoly. They will need a lot of help initially but this will help them to learn to take turns. Board games teach children a range of skills such as counting and word building and are good alternative to watching TV.
• A chalkboard and chalk is an ideal way for children to practice drawing and writing as errors are so easy for them to erase.
• Provide children with a variety of simple toys not an overwhelming number of elaborate expensive ones. Pack things away and rotate them so children can manage to tidy their toys away with very little help.
• Children this age would enjoy puzzles, simple construction toys, simple musical instruments, play dough, plasticine, crayons, country pencils, puppets and books.
• They love to create cubbies using old cardboard boxes, etc. Save old cardboard boxes for creative activities and such.

Preschool & Kindergarten Math Games

By PBS PARENTS

Browse through these games for ages 4 and 5 and check out Math Tips for Parents for ways to adjust these preschool and kindergarten math games.



Pattern Matcher
These silly pictures make patterns that repeat.Can you find the patterns that repeat the same way?




Animal Lost & Found
Help owners find their lost pets. Count eyes, ears and other body parts to help make a match.




Building Sandcastles
Ready to play in the sand? We give you some wet sand and shapes and you match the shapes with their outlines to build different castles.



PBS KIDS Online Games
Children will enjoy more fun math-related games featuring their favorite PBS KIDS characters. Check them out.

Preschool Concentration Games

By Emily Pate, eHow Contributor

Drawing is one of many activities that requires and nurtures creativity and concentration

1. Building concentration and focus is important for early childhood development, as these skills will be necessary throughout their education. For preschoolers, improving concentration often involves engaging them in games and activities geared toward their age group. There are some games they can play that maximize concentration growth.

   
   

   Memory Match Game

   • Memory is a game which improves concentration and, of course, memory. Students start out with a deck of memory game cards. You can find these in different styles and themes, such as zoo animals. Lay out all the cards face down next to each other. Each student picks out two cards and turns them over. If the cards match, that student puts them aside. If not, the cards get turned face down again. Trying to remember where previous cards are improves memory and concentration.

   Opposites

   • This game requires no supplies, however you could incorporate visual flashcards. According to David Anderson at Centre College, children (particularly the 65 percent who are visual learners) often absorb more information when they have something visual to correlate an idea with. During rug or down time, take a few minutes to give students a word, like "happy". Have them give you words that mean the opposite of that word (sad, angry). Since there are multiple words that can be correct, it will also help with vocabulary and language development.

   Missing Numbers

   • The missing numbers game involves counting numbers and leaving some out. For example, you might count to 10 and leave the numbers three and seven out. Have your students shout out the missing numbers. If they don't catch it, you can point out that you missed a number and move on.

   Tongue Twisters

   • Reciting tongue twisters requires students to concentrate on their vowel and consonant sounds, rely on their memory to remember the words and helps with speaking skills. Try twisters like, "She sell seashells by the seashore" or "rubber baby buggy bumpers". You can recite these as a group, or let each student recite the twister three times as fast as she can.

   Story Recalling

   • After reading a story to your students, ask them a few questions about the story. Ask them to remember certain details, "Why was this day special for Anna?" If your students have trouble remembering, re-read a short passage that directly answers the question. They'll make the connection, and it should help improve focus and concentration for them, especially during story time.

   Traditional Pastimes

   • Activities such as completing puzzles, drawing and playing boardgames all help build concentration levels, since they require creativity and focus. Engaging your students in a wide variety of activities like this will also help them make connections and apply knowledge learned in one activity to problem-solving in another.

Read more: Preschool Concentration Games | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/list_6716662_preschool-concentration-games.html#ixzz2J4FXbtin

Common Signs of Preschool Dyslexia

State: Arizona Department of Education

Preschool: The following difficulties may be associated with dyslexia if they
are unexpected for the individual's age, educational level, or cognitive abilities. To verify that an individual is dyslexic, he/she should be tested by a qualified testing examiner.

·         May talk later than most children

·         May have difficulty pronouncing words, i.e., busgetti for spaghetti, mawn     lower for lawn mower

·         May be slow to add new vocabulary words

·         May be unable to recall the right word

·         May have difficulty with rhyming

·         May have trouble learning the alphabet, numbers, days of the week, colors, shapes, how to spell and write his or her name

·         May have trouble interacting with peers\

·         May be unable to follow multi-step directions or routines

·         Fine motor skills may develop more slowly than in other children

·         May have difficulty telling and/or retelling a story in the correct sequence

·         Often has difficulty separating sounds in words and blending sounds to make words

Grades K-4: The following difficulties may be associated with dyslexia if they are unexpected for the individual's age, educational level, or cognitive abilities. To verify that an individual is dyslexic, he/she should be tested by a qualified testing examiner.Has difficulty decoding single words (reading single words in isolation)

·         May be slow to learn the connection between letters and sounds

·        May confuse small words - at - to, said - and, does - goes

·        Makes consistent reading and spelling errors including:

1.               Letter reversals - d for b as in, dog for bog

2.               Word reversals - tip for pit

3.               Inversions - m and w, u and n

4.               Transpositions - felt and left

5.               Substitutions - house and home

6.               May transpose number sequences and confuse arithmetic signs (+ - x / =)

7.               May have trouble remembering facts

·         May be slow to learn new skills; relies heavily on memorizing without understanding

·         May be impulsive and prone to accidents

·         May have difficulty planning

·         Often uses an awkward pencil grip (fist, thumb hooked over fingers, etc.)

·         May have trouble learning to tell time

·         May have poor fine motor coordination

The Importance of Teacher-Child Relationships in Head Start

An Office of the Administration for Children and Families Early Childhood Learning & Knowledge Center (ECLKC)

Overview Providing experiences that allow children to become autonomous and independent is a general description of one of the key roles adults play in the early childhood years. The quality of teacher-child interactions and relationships impacts child outcomes in various ways in early childhood and the primary grades. Positive teacher-child relationships may serve as "buffers" or protective factors for children.2,3,4 For example, positive, caring and supportive adult relationships (e.g. parent, mentor or others) have been associated with children being able to defy the odds of living in poverty.5,6 Positive teacher-child relationships have been linked to many positive child outcomes in the early school years such as being involved in school and low levels of aggression.7,8 For primary age children, negative teacher-child relationships have been associated with lower scores on standardized tests, language arts and math grades, less school engagement, increased classroom misbehavior, high levels of aggression and social withdrawal.4,9,10 The complex developmental tasks of relationship building, self-confidence and self-regulation are best accomplished during the preschool years. Building social skills and healthy emotional relationships in young children is much easier than trying to remediate later adjustment problems. The current knowledge base about child development and learning reinforces practices and approaches that integrate cognitive learning and social development. These include: Close teacher-child relationships and quality classroom practices are related to higher social skills of preschoolers.11,12 Researchers have found that teachers who provided positive communication, warm affection and opportunities for children to be in charge, tended to have students with high levels of social skills such as completing work, tolerating frustration, and interacting with peers.13 Close teacher-child relationships in preschool and kindergarten have also been found to predict lower symptoms of anxiety, depression and social withdrawal in first grade.1 High conflict teacher-child relationships in kindergarten and first grade have also been linked with lower social skills in the areas of responsibility, cooperation, self-control and assertion in first grade.1 Preschoolers who have close relationships with teachers tend to know more letters, have higher math scores and advanced language and literacy skills while in preschool.11 Researchers have also found that close teacher-child relationships and quality classroom practices are related to better language and cognitive skills among preschoolers.12 Children who had close teacher-child relationships in preschool and a structured and disciplined environment at home had higher reading skills than children whose parents were not as firm.3 Close teacher-child relationships were related to better receptive language for all children, but this was even stronger for children of color than for white children. Further, the connection between positive teacher-child relationships and children’s language was even stronger for preschool children than early elementary school children.3 What programs can do to help build positive teacher-child relationships The early years (birth through five years of age) represent a crucial stage of development when adult-child relationships can have a significant impact on emerging social, behavioral, and readiness skills. Most importantly, children learn better when they feel emotionally secure and close in their relationships with caring adults, including teachers.14 To improve interactions and foster the development of positive relationships, directors and education managers can: Create a warm, nurturing, welcoming physical environment that fosters the development of trusting relationships15 Understand that trust is foundational to positive interactions and the development of relationships15 Establish a working environment that reflects respect for individual teachers and children Model communication that is direct, supportive, and respectful of parents, teachers, and children Re-visit the Head Start Child Outcomes Framework and emphasize practices and approaches that integrate cognitive learning and social development Promote the understanding that social competence is culturally determined Identify strategies that accommodate and support culture and language backgrounds of staff, families and children Understand that meaningful relationships require content Practitioners can: Provide learning environments that are positive, sensitive, responsive and include frequent individualized interactions Structure the physical environment, equipment and materials in ways that promote quality social interactions among children, parents and teachers Implement an engaging curriculum that includes opportunities for each child to participate Respect and validate children’s cultural and language backgrounds Plan and implement experiences that are of interest to children and include content that promotes and sustains the development of positive child-child and adult-child relationships Provide classroom routines that are consistent and predictable Use effective well-timed transitions that include warnings about transitions that preview what is going to happen next, and communicate clearly what is expected of children Provide positive attention that encourages each child Find ways to validate how children are feeling and what they are experiencing Be actively engaged in learning new things with children Identify ways to reinforce children’s positive behaviors and learning Maintain high expectations related to children’s behavior and learning across all developmental domains identified within the Head Start Child Outcomes Framework and state and local curriculum standards Endnotes Pianta RC, Stuhlman MW. Teacher-Child Relationships and Children's Success in the First Years of School. School Psychology Review 2004;33(3):444-458. [back]  Pianta RC. Manual and Scoring Guide for the Student-Teacher Relationship Scale. Charlottesville: University of Virginia; 1996. [back]  Burchinal MR, Peisner-Feinberg E, Pianta R, Howes C. Development of Academic Skills from Preschool Through Second Grade: Family and Classroom Predictors of Developmental Trajectories. Journal of School Psychology 2002;40(5):415-436. [back]  Hamre BK, Pianta RC. Early Teacher-Child Relationships and the Trajectory of Children's School Outcomes through Eighth Grade. Child Development 2001;72(2):625-638. [back]  Werner EE. Risk and Resilience in Individuals with Learning Disabilities: Lessons Learned from the Kaui Longitudinal Study. Learning Disabilities Research and Practice 1993;8(1):28-34. [back]  Werner EE, Smith RS. Overcoming the Odds: High Risk Children from Birth to Adulthood: Cornell University Press; 1992. [back]  Meehan BT, Hughes JN, Cavell TA. Teacher-Student Relationships as Compensatory Resources for Aggressive Children. Child Development 2003;74(4):1145-1157. [back]  Murray C, Waas GA, Murray KM. Child Race and Gender as Moderators of the Association Between Teacher-Child Relationships and School Adjustment. Psychology in the Schools 2008;45(6):562-578.[back]  Ladd GW, Birch SH, Buhs ES. Children's Social and Scholastic Lives in Kindergarten: Related Spheres of Influence? Child Development 1999;70(6):1373-1400. [back]  Howes C, Hamilton CE, Matheson CC. Children's Relationships with Peers: Differential Associations with Aspects of the Teacher-Child Relationship. Child Development 1994;65(1):253-264. [back]  Howes C, Burchinal M, Pianta R, Bryant D, Early D, Clifford R, Barbarin O. Ready to learn? Children's Pre-Academic Achievement in Pre-Kindergarten Programs. Early Childhood Research Quarterly 2008;23:27-50.[back]  Peisner-Feinberg ES, Burchinal MR. Relations Between Preschool Children's Child-Care Experiences and Concurrent Development: The Cost Quality, and Outcomes Study. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly 1997;32(1):451-477. [back]  Brophy-Herb HE, Lee RE, Nievar MA, Stollak G. Preschoolers' Social Competence: Relations to Family Characteristics, Teacher Behaviors and Classroom Climate. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 2007;28:134-148. [back]  Pianta RC. Enhancing Relationships Between Children and Teachers. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; 1999. [back]  Howes C, Ritchie S. A Matter of Trust: Connecting Teachers and Learners in the Early Childhood Classroom. New York, NY: Teachers College Press; 2002. [back] See also:      The Importance of Teacher-Child Relationships in Head Start (ACF-IM-HS-08-21) See PDF version:      The Importance of Teacher-Child Relationships in Head Start [PDF, 89KB] [Attachment for Information Memorandum] The Importance of Teacher-Child Relationships in Head Start. ACF-IM-HS-08-21. HHS/ACF/OHS. 2008. English.