1. Human Development II Chapter
13-Developing Guidance Skills
Learning Objective: Analyze healthy and
appropriate ways to guide children. Compare
and contrast direct vs. indirect guidance.
FCS Standard: Child Development
Standard 5

2. What’s the point of guidance?
 Guidance:
Direct and indirect actions
used by an adult to help children develop
appropriate behavior patterns.
 Goals of Guidance
 Maintain
children’s self-esteem and produce
a desired change in behavior.
 Help the child learn self-control
 Promote prosocial behaviors among children
 Prosocial:
acts of kindness that benefit others.

3. What do you need to do to
effectively guide children?
 Use
suggestions rather than commands.
 Encourage and show interest in the
children.
 Interact often and ask open-ended
questions.
 Model prosocial behaviors.
 Be nurturing.

4. Guidelines for developing guidance
skills.
 Observe
the children.
 Ask yourself if you have any biases or
stereotypes? This influences how you treat
children.
 Talk with other teachers.
 Pay attention to your kids and don’t spend a lot
of time talking to other adults.
 Get at their level-literally.
 Don’t interrupt an activity, unless you can
increase knowledge or safety.
 Let kids do for themselves as much as
possible.

5. One Form of Guidance-Direct
 Direct:
involves nonverbal and verbal
actions.
 Pay
attention to your non-verbals.
 They
communicate, especially for infants.
 They should reinforce your verbals.

6. More on Direct Guidance
 Use
simple language.
 Adjust
 Speak
 Save
 Be
your vocab. to fit the age
in a relaxed voice.
loud voices for emergencies.
positive.
 Tell
 Offer
them what to do, not what not to do.
choices with care
 Offer
choices when you want to them to
make a choice and let them follow through.
Give direction when needed.

7. More Direct Guidance Skills
 Encourage

Children will only become independent if given the
opportunity. They might surprise you! Let them
help each other.
 Be

independence and cooperation.
firm
Remain calm, and don’t give in.
 Be
Consistent
Children will test limits more when there is
inconsistence.
 Be consistent with behavior and among children.


8. Still More On Direct Guidance
 Provide
 This
time for change.
gives them an adjustment period.
 Consider
 They
Feelings
need to learn to recognize, understand,
and express their feelings.
 Best when discussed with 1 child or a small
group.
 Role model how children should react to
others who are upset.
 Don’t overreact to mistakes.

9. Even More On Direct Guidance
 Intervene
 For
when necessary.
Safety
 For Learning
 To make sure children are not excluded
 When children are impolite
 Arguments over property

10. Another Form of Guidance-Indirect
 Indirect
Guidance: involves outside
factors that influence behavior.
 Examples
 Set
up of the center-open areas to move, low
shelving units, low bathroom facilities, low coat
hooks.
 Placing yourself where you can observe easily
 Label shelves or units with a picture of what
belongs in that area.

11. Techniques For Effective Guidance
 Positive
Reinforcement: Molding children’s
behavior through rewarding positive behavior.
 Using Consequences: a result that follows an
action or behavior. 2 Types
1. Natural: experiences that follow naturally as a
result of a behavior
 2. Artificial: (logical consequences) those that are
deliberately set up by an adult to show what will
happen if a limit is not followed. Should relate to
the behavior.


12. More Techniques for Effective
Guidance
 Warning
A reminder of the limit. Only warn once.
 State the misbehavior and then the consequence.
Use a firm voice.

 Time
Out: A guidance technique that involves
moving a child away from others for a short
period of time.
Used when child needs to calm down, not for
punishment.
 More effective for 4-5 year-olds. Example of an
artificial consequence.


13. More Effective Techniques
 I-Messages:
Tells the child how you feel
about his or her behavior.
 Doesn’t
place blame on the child, but helps
the child understand how others view his or
her actions.
 Should include the child’s behavior, your
feelings about the behavior, the effects of
the behavior.

14. More Techniques
 Effective
 Should
Praise
be age appropriate
 Give it immediately
 Establish eye contact
 Do not overuse it
 Ineffective praise or empty praise is more
damaging than helpful. It is repetitive and
not genuine. Can lead to children basing
their feelings of self-worth on adults’
opinions of them.

15. More Effective Techniques
 Suggesting:
Placing thoughts for consideration
into children’s minds.
Often leads to action
 Make it positive and use it often

 Prompting
Used to stop unacceptable action or start
acceptable action.
 Can be used to prepare for transition
 Differs from suggestion because a response is
required
 Can be verbal or non-verbal
 May need to be repeated often


16. Yes, Even More Techniques
 Redirecting:
divert or turn attention in a
different direction
 Can
be done through distraction
 Helps the child express themselves in a
more positive way.
 The substitute must be appealing.
 Modeling:
when ever you speak or move
you are modeling behavior
 Involves
both verbal and non-verbal

17. More Guidance Techniques
 Listening:
involves giving children your full
attention. Get at their level.
Active Listening: first listen, then respond by
repeating what they said.
 Doesn’t necessarily solve the problem.

 Ignoring:
avoiding acknowledging an
inappropriate behavior
Not used when the behavior is harmful
 You can tell them what you are ignoring and the
behavior you desire.

 Encouraging

Helps children believe in themselves.

18. Prompting a Positive Self-Concept
 Self-concept:
the qualities a child
believes he or she possesses.
 Result
of the beliefs, feelings, and
perceptions a child has of him or herself.
 Mirrored in their behavior.
 How you treat a child can promote or
undermine a child’s self-concept.
 The most subtle behavior can impact a
child.