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How to Teach Self-Control to Preschoolers

Many children have difficulty adjusting from the home to a school environment. Children transition from being the center of attention at home to sharing attention and a classroom with many others. Teaching self-control is vital to a child's development. Self-control helps children overcome their wants in a positive and healthy way; rather than acting out disruptively. A preschool teacher must have patience and understanding of the child's mindset to properly improve impulsive and undesirable behavior. Preschool teachers should also learn that children respond better to praise and encouragement than punishment and anger.

Instructions

    • 1

      Study concepts in child psychology that focus on children's development in the classroom environment. For example, research how children react when their wants and desires are not fulfilled. Psychology and child development departments at universities often have articles and fact sheets available on their websites.

    • 2

      Remove children from their peers when they display unwanted behavior. For example, calmly tell the child they are in time-out for a certain period of time.

    • 3

      Explain to all of your students exactly what you expect from them with keywords; such as sharing and respect. For instance, have the children sing songs, watch videos and memorize phrases that emphasize good behavior.

    • 4

      Praise children when you see good behavior. For example, if you see a child sharing a toy with a classmate, bring this to the attention of the classroom in a positive way. Rewarding good behavior by public praise encourages all the children to emulate desired behavior.

    • 5

      Show attention as equally as possible among your students. A positive environment for all children can help prevent unwanted behavior.

    • 6

      Plan activities for the children that allow for them to think through hypothetical scenarios. For example, perform a classroom scenario with puppets where a child refuses to share with another. Ask your students to identify the bad behavior in the skit and how they would correct it.

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