Mistaken Behavior

1. Read the following scenarios, and answer the questions.

• The children playing in the block center are building tall structures.Part of their play involves waiting for the tower to crash or knocking down the structure and rebuilding it.

Would you intervene? Why/why not?

• By the time Kyle, age 5, got to the new rope ladder in the playground, the line of children waiting for a turn was discouragingly long and he just couldn't wait. He plunged past the waiting children and started to climb the ladder while the children in line wailed their indignation. His caregiver, Sarah, reacted quickly and firmly. She pulled him away, explaining that he would have to wait in line like all the others.

• Was Kyle misbehaving?Describe why or why not.
• Was Sarah's response appropriate? Describe why or why not.

• Nine month-old, Dani, loves to throw food on the floor. He tosses it, then he looks at you, then he giggles.

Is Dani misbehaving?Why/why not?

Describe what you might do/say.

• Five-year-old Jeff yells at other children whenever they make him upset, saying things like, "I'm gonna knock you out with a Karate chop, cause I'm the strongest." Or, "Don't mess with me man!" In these situations, he frequently stands in a boxing stance, legs apart with his fists clenched.

What is a possible explanation for Jeff's behavior? Describe the reason for your choice.

2. Provide one behavior you have observed for each of the following:

1. Experimentation
2. Socially motivated

Aggression

1.Read the following scenarios, and answer the questions.

• i. It was crowded in the cubby area of Jolene's play room. Ethan, age 4, hung up his coat then turned around and crashed into Anthony. Anthony reacted by yelling at Ethan and shoving him.

Was Ethan behavior aggressive? Describe why (including the type of aggression) or why not.

Was Anthony's behavior aggressive? Describe why (including the type of aggression) or why not.

• Four-year-old Cameron is riding a trike on the playground bike path. He sees a child move to the sand box where he had just finished building a road-way. He leaps off his trike and tackles the child. He hits the child. An adult comes over to intervene. She comforts the child and scolds Cameron. Cameron goes to the sand box and continues construction on his road-way.

1. What form of aggression did Cameron use?
2. What was a possible reason for Cameron's behavior?
3. What could the caregiver have said to Cameron?

• As the children enter the room from the playground, most sit down in the group meeting area. Raffi, a quiet "younger three," sits in the circle near the door. Wade, almost four, approaches the group, then lies down and sidles along the floor toward Raffi. Wade kicks at Raffi, who turns around and protests, "Stop!"

Rhonda, the caregiver, busy getting the group ready for a story, doesn't seem to notice the conflict. Wade continues pushing his foot hard into Raffi's back. Holding his back, Raffi begins to cry. Rhonda leads Raffi to the other side of the circle, finds him a place to sit, and returns to reading the story. When Wade notices Rhonda move Raffi while she is ignoring him, he again crawls around behind Raffi. Again, Wade pushes his foot into Raffi's back. (adapted from Gartrell, 2007).

1. What form of aggression did Wade use?
2. What was the reason for Wade's behavior?
3. Comment on the caregiver's response. What might she have done differently?

• You are talking with Colton, an older two-year-old boy, about something he has seen on the playground. Robin, another child in your group walks up to you and Colton pushes her down. Robin immediately stands up and starts to walk away.

1. Why is Colton's behavior aggressive? ii.What type of aggression is it?
2. What is Colton's goal?
3. Describe what you would say (include the words and phrases as you would say them to the children) and do in this situation.

• Your out-of-school group has gathered for a group time. Sarah announces "On Sunday it's my birthday...well, actually it's next week, but Sunday is my party." Sarah blurted excitedly,"I have a bunch of special invitations my mom made, and we're going to have my party at a movie theatre in a special party room, and we're all going to see a movie too!" Sarah proudly walked around the group handing her invitations out to the other children. All except one. When Sarah reached Eric, she looked at him briefly, narrowed her eyes, and walked by without handing him an invitation. Immediately the other students began whispering, and Eric's face turned bright red. (Adapted from Ripley, D. and O'Neil, S., 2009).

1. Why is Sarah's behavior aggressive? ii. What type of aggression is it?

iii.What is Sarah's goal? iv.Describe what you would say (include the words and phrases as you would say them to the children) and do in this situation.

v. What could you do to ensure this doesn't happen again?

2. Provide one example of children's aggressive behavior that you have observed for each of the forms aggression.Identify the guidance strategy, or strategies, that could be used for each example.

1. Accidental
2. Expressive
3. Instrumental
4. Relational aggression

Challenging Behavior

1. Summarize the ways children's challenging behavior affects their social, emotional and cognitive development both short and long-term.

1. Describe why it is important to effectively deal with challenging behavior early.

1. Different theories (social learning theory, social information processing model) offer explanations for aggression. Describe how understanding these theories will influence how you understand, prevent, and respond to children's challenging behaviors?

1. Describe how children's instrumental or proactive aggression is learned and increased.