Home Discipline Affects Daycare Behavior

When your child starts daycare, she will have to follow standards of behavior and discipline that are different from the ones she is used to at home. The change can be tough and, in some cases, even traumatic.

The inability to differentiate between acceptable and unacceptable behavior can leave a child confused and defensive. This in turn, can result in withdrawal and outbursts of petulance. The solution to this problem is not to imitate the school standards at home.

What needs to be done is to help the children perceive clearly the differences between the two environments and switch to appropriate behavior accordingly. This requires both the child and the parents develop a few skills of adaptation. A good awareness of the basics of discipline is the necessary first step.

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 Following the rules

Discipline does not equate to punishment. Although required at times, punishment is a negative strategy while discipline is a positive one. The latter is based on talking sympathetically, listening and setting examples to the children in such a way that they:

• know what behavior is required in different situations (formal, informal, social, domestic) and places (daycare, home, a friend’s house) and so on;

• can learn to manage their own behavior, which is the basis of the critical life skill of learning to co-exist with others;

• are able to express their feelings and opinions in an acceptable manner.

·     The basis for this development is that the rules at home are clearly defined and explained and that the parents lead by example.

The starting point

There can be no one-size-fits-all approach to discipline. What follow are a few guidelines on how to start, but parents must adapt these ideas to their own family situations.

• A good starting point is setting a few basic family rules such as speaking nicely to others, taking care of personal belongings, keeping things clean and so on. Once these rules become part of the normal routine, more can be added in stages.

• Children are natural mimics and have an innate ability to copy what adults do. Parents can set good examples, exploit the mimicking potentials of the children and encourage them to imbibe acceptable standards of behavior.

• There should be a clear statement of limits and of consequences. If limits are crossed through bad behavior like hitting another child, the punishment may be one like withholding a favorite dessert: that is the consequence. It is imperative for parents to be consistent in matters of rewards and punishments. It reiterates the value of the limits and consequences.

• Praise for good behavior is a great motivator and it should be warmly descriptive. For example, polite behavior should be rewarded with a word of praise such as “The way you said ‘thank you’ was very nice.”

Adapting to daycare is not easy for a child but discipline at home and the right standards of behavior can make the change easier. Of course, a lot depends also on the daycare you choose. If you are looking for a good daycare, you can use a reputed web based resource that provides all vital details of daycares in your area, and make the search easier and more effective.