For some parents of children with behavioural problems, child care is not just important because it allows the parent to go off to work or school, but it also allows an all important respite from the challenges of raising a child with special needs.
Get a medical diagnosis
If your child has a medically diagnosable condition, it can be a good idea to get a formal diagnosis. This can open the way to getting a formal care plan and additional (subsidised) resources for child care. This could include having an extra assistant in the room or a specific therapy aide who works alongside the child and helps them to deal with the more challenging aspects of their behaviour. In many cases, role play, modelling and one-on-one play can help to modify existing behaviour into behaviour that might be more suitable for group situations (including, eventually, schooling).
Find a child care centre with experience in these issues
It is a good idea when interviewing child care centres to ask them how they deal with similar issues and if they have dealt with children with behavioural problems before. Some centres have carers with skills and expertise in these areas and these carers can be a valuable resource in managing your child in a group setting. Carers who aren't as experienced can sometimes become overwhelmed and this can often lead to a vicious cycle if the children pick up on the carers stress and become more agitated themselves.
Use a consistent approach
It's important to use a consistent approach to behaviour management between child care and home. This could include using positive reinforcement and rewards charts for good behaviour and removal of certain privileges, such as screen time, for bad behaviour. Keep an open relationship with carers so that you can follow up on specific issues at home; for example, if your child is having difficulties managing toileting or eating at child care, you can then focus on these areas at home.
It's important to remember that the child care setting is a group setting so they may not be able to have the same rewards system as at home (as they would need to give all children the same rewards), but with open communication, positive actions at child care can be rewarded at home.
Child care can be a valuable resource for parents of behaviourally challenged children, giving the parents some respite while allowing the children to observe appropriate behaviour in their peers and get the experience and support of experienced child care educators.
Share28 September 2016
I'm always on the lookout for new and exciting resources to liven up my childcare education program. These days, it's important that children are always learning at childcare, but it's equally important that children have fun. I like to find topics that match up with the topics that my kids are passionate about. If they are obsessed with trains, then I'm going to make sure we do a whole program on trains to keep them engaged and interested. If you are also a childcare educator or teacher who is looking for new resources for education programs, then please keep reading.
