As children cope with the ongoing pandemic situation, childcare providers are reporting more challenging child behaviors they have dealt with more frequently in the past months. While dealing with challenging child behaviors comes with the job, these behaviors can be mitigated, if not reversed, using evidence-based strategies.

Read on and find out the most challenging child behaviors most encountered by childcare providers below.

Physical aggression

Young boys are more predisposed to assert their dominance through physical aggression. Snatching away a toy they want to play with from a peer or pushing them out of a swing or bike, it is a way for boys to meet their needs and wants in a childcare setting. Physical aggression, however, can escalate to scratching, kicking, spitting or even fist fights when ignored.

Noncompliance

In a childcare setting, there are a lot of commands and requests made to children to get them moving along. However, early childhood educators are seeing a rise in noncompliance to even basic commands that put more stress on teachers and strain their relationship with the children in their care.

Defiance

On the other side of noncompliance, defiance occurs when children not only disobey but ignore their teacher’s rules. Sometimes even when they know not to do something, they continuously test, if not challenge, the boundaries and rules set forth by their teacher. Sometimes, they even do it in front of their peers to assert their independence and status. This leads to other children following suit and practice belligerence. If left unchecked, it could undermine the authority of the teacher and send a wrong message to the children that their will to do anything is more than enough justification to do whatever pleases them.

Arguing

Being cooped up for the past two years with limited opportunities for socialization has made children rusty, if not delayed, in their social skills. Having had less practice with interacting and cooperating with peers and other people, children are more frequently getting into arguments due to a failure in effectively communicating what they need or want from their peers. Whether it’s asking for a chance to play with a toy or politely refusing to join in playing with their friends, it can be a bit more difficult for them to express their thoughts and feelings without having had enough practice doing so in the past two years.

Relational aggression

If physical aggression uses physical force to coerce peers, relational aggression happens when a child uses their language skills to get what they want. Children who use relational aggression are usually more advanced in their language skills. They are more likely to know and understand the weight of their words and its effect on their peers. Due to their advanced oral language skills, they are more likely to be on good terms with their peers and teachers, too.

In our next blog, we will discuss how early childhood educators and childcare providers can best deal with these challenging behaviors using evidence-based strategies. These strategies not only help childcare providers create a more harmonious childcare setting but also help mold their children’s social-emotional well-being.