Rationale
One of the major challenges that teachers face is to create and maintain a climate within the child care setting where children are happy and productive and where stress and confrontation are limited. Teachers seek to achieve this goal in many different ways, depending on the ages and characteristics of the children and the number of children they are responsible for. Infant caregivers recognize the importance of creating an environment that is basically quiet and soothing. Toddler caregivers recognize the importance of arranging and equipping the room to invite cooperative play and minimize disputes over toys. Preschool teachers find it helpful to develop group rules that emphasize responsibility and define acceptable behaviors. A second challenge that all teachers face is to identify ways of redirecting behaviors that are negative and nonproductive. Again, the techniques that teachers use depend on the ages and characteristics of the children. The one rule of thumb for all child caregivers is that the guidance techniques they use must be positive. The goal of guidanceis not to punish bad behavior but to help children learn ways of achieving their own goals while respecting the rights of others.
The third objective of positive guidance is probably the most important. This is to help children develop the skills to manage their own behavior and to cope with stressful and challenging situations. As with all skills, this involves modeling and demonstration, practice, and opportunities to learn from both mistakes and successes. New research has shown that emotional intelligence is a key predictor of school readiness and of life success. Emotional intelligence involves the ability to handle stress without falling apart, to know right from wrong, to control impulses and exert self-discipline, to keep working in the face of challenge, to recognize one's own feelings and those of others, and to empathize with and take care of others. These abilities begin to take shape in the first years of life. Teachers and caregivers of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers play a critical role in guiding their development.