• List the common issues of behavior and discipline for parents of toddlers and preschoolers.
• Describe how development during these stages affects the issues of behavior and discipline and parenting approaches.
• Demonstrate how to talk to mothers about ways to discipline their children in non-violent, non-abusive, positive ways.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the continuity of development for issues of behavior and discipline in the stages before toddlerhood.
• Demonstrate developmentally appropriate ways to support parents in dealing with their child's behavior during toddlerhood and the preschool years.

6 hours

A. Behavior and Discipline
B. Providing Guidance and Support
C. Summary and Review

• Shelov, S.P. & Hanneman, R.E. (1991). American Academy of Pediatrics Caring for Your Baby and Child: Birth to Age Five (pp.276-181, 313-316, 365-367). N.Y.: Bantam Books.
• Role Play Feedback (Overhead #1)
• Handouts from Parks, S. (Ed) (1988). HELP . . . At Home. Palo Alto, CA: VORT Corporation:
• Beginning to Obey Simple Rules, p.449
• Helping Me Learn Limits and Rules, p.406
• Understanding Tantrums, p.408
• Preventing Tantrums, p.409
• What to do When a Tantrum Occurs, p.410
• Tantrums at Their Peak, p.438
• Dictating and Demanding, p.451
• Rituals and Routines, p.412
• Transitions - Having a Tough Time!, p.452
• Feeling Sad, Mad, Sorry, Worried, Scared, and More!, p.422
• Coping with Fears, p.447
• Feeling Frustrated, p.424
• The "No" Stage continues!, p.435
• Hitting, Biting and Pinching, p.436
• Role Play Scenarios (Handout #1)
• Blackboard and chalk or newsprint, makers and tape.
• Video: "Shaking, Hitting and Spanking: What to do Instead", 1990 Gold Bill Products, Salt Lake City, Utah
• Post-Unit Test
• Post-Unit Evaluation
• TV, VCR, tripod, video camera and video tapes

• Review Caring for Your Baby and Young Child, information on Discipline: pp. 276-281 (1 - 2 Year Old), pp. 313- 315 (2 - 3 Year Old), and pp. 365-367 (3 - 5 Year Old).
• Review all handouts and use them to supplement information from other sources for mini-lectures.
• Make packets of handouts to be given to each participant
• Cut Role Play Scenarios into individual scenarios
• Bring a copy of S.P. Shelov and R.E. Hannemann’s American Academy of Pediatrics Caring for Your Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5.
• Bring books, curriculum guides, and materials for parents which are available to Parenting Support Specialists to use with mothers and families.
• Review video, "Shaking, Hitting and Spanking: What to do Instead".
• Set up and check video equipment. Set up video camera to record session and role plays.

1. Participant discussion. Begin by asking the trainees: What do you think are the biggest discipline problems for parents of toddlers and preschoolers? Process this discussion by writing the answers on a flip chart.

Tell the trainees that you want all of those who believe that spanking is to most effective method to change toddler’s behavior to stand in one corner of the room. Ask those trainees who believe that spanking is not the most effective way to stand in the opposite corner of the room. Note, the size of each group. Ask the members of the two groups to share why they believe as they do.

Ask the trainees: What are the methods of discipline you have observed parents using with children of toddler and preschool age? Write answers on a flip chart.

Ask the trainees: Which of these methods do you think work best? Why? (Circle these methods on the flip chart.)

Which of these methods do you think are not good to use with infants and toddlers? Why? (Place an "X" in front of these methods on the flip chart.)

2. Mini-lecture. Discuss typical behavior and discipline issues for parents of the toddler and, in less detail, the preschooler using information in Caring for Your Baby and Young Child, pp. 276-281 (1 - 2 Year Old), pp. 313- 315 (2 - 3 Year Old), and pp. 365-367 (3 - 5 Year Old) and information from handouts listed under "materials" section. Encourage trainees to contribute to the discussion by giving examples of behavior and responses to the behavior by parents and other adults. Be certain to include in your discussion reference to developmentally appropriate ways of responding to the infant's behavior during the first year, Caring for Your Baby and Young Child, pp. 244-46.

3. Briefly discuss the difference between discipline and punishment. Review definition. Discuss discipline as a much broader concept than punishment. Point out that if punishment is used, the second form, the withholding of positive stimuli is preferred. However, the application of noxious stimuli is typically the one that is used by parents in most instances.

a. Discipline: Training that is expected to produce a specified character or behavior, especially that which is expected to produce moral or mental improvement; Controlled behavior resulting from such training; A systematic method to obtain obedience; A state of order based on submission to rules and authority; Punishment intended to correct or train; A branch of knowledge or teaching; To train by instruction and control, teach to obey rules or accept authority; To punish or penalize; Syn. teach punish discipline. (American Heritage Dictionary).

Discipline is used to ultimately teach the child inner controls or self-discipline. This includes teaching how to achieve things, appropriate rules and behavioral guides, and how to develop a sense of pride when doing what is right.

b. Punishment is something that is used to get rid of a behavior and comes after the undesirable behavior has occurred. Some punishment is really violence against children. Punishment can take two forms:

1. Apply noxious stimuli, aversive stimulation. Do something unpleasant, i.e. spanking, yelling, slapping, hitting, nagging, whining, pinching and shaking. Point out that no one should ever shake a baby or young child. It can lead to a subdural hematoma which can cause brain damage, blindness or can be fatal.

2. Withholding of positive stimuli which are normally available, i.e. social interaction with friends and loved ones, play with favorite toy, "time-out" or no television. Shunning - Pennsylvania Dutch.

The research shows that process of the exclusive use of physical punishment is not the most effective way of disciplining children. It does not teach children what behaviors are appropriate and has many negative side effects.

4. Watch video, "Shaking, Hitting and Spanking: What to do instead". Stop after each scenario. Discuss other options to behavior depicted, then watch scenario using more positive approaches to discipline.

a. Negative Side Effects of Punishment. Show transparency of following information and have PSS discuss each point.

1. May suppress the behavior rather than extinguish or eliminate it. (May learn to engage in the behavior more effectively, actually teaching them to be sneaky.)

2. In the absence of the punishing stimulus, spontaneous recovery or reappearance of the behavior may occur. Child who behaves when father is around, Holy terror when he is not, mother forgot controlling strap (while the cat's away...)

3. Frequent hitting will cause a child to habituate or become used to the hitting. After a while, children who are spanked a lot don't mind being spanked.

4. Punishment may become reinforcing, a way of getting attention. Research shows that children may prefer negative attention to no attention at all.

5. Punishment may cause anxiety and instead of getting rid of may "fix" and increase the incidence of the undesirable behavior. For example, if a child is hit repeatedly for wetting the bed, this may make him so tense and anxious that the bedwetting increases instead of decreases.

6. Punishment may produce other emotional side effects anger, rage, fear, hostility, even hatred -- especially if there is the perception that the punishment is unjustified.

7. Feelings about the punishment agent (belt, parent) may generalize and spread to the entire environment and result in avoidance behavior of running away.

8. Teaching child that aggressive behavior is the way to solve problems. A research study showed that children as young as 13 to 35 months of age were more aggressive towards their peers and caregivers in preschool than were a matched set of children that were not consistently spanked.

The research shows that observational learning, modeling are powerful tools. Children tend to do more what they see you do, rather than what they hear you say.

9. Applying noxious stimuli does not provide suitable alternatives. Tells him what not to do, but does not tell him what is desirable. That is why second form is better. Have him think about what he did that got him into that situation.

b. Guidelines for Using Punishment (Infrequently).

1. Punishment should be done as soon as possible after the undesirable act, but not when the parent is extremely angry or upset. A time out is better in this situation.

2. Be consistent, otherwise you have put him on a variable ratio schedule of reinforcement and this will make the behavior very resistant to extinction. Gambling behavior.

3. Stay calm, however, show your displeasure appropriately through facial expression and/or tone of voice.

4. Do not withhold love as a punishment. Love should be unconditional and not contingent on desirable behavior. However, do not hug children immediately after punishing them. This sends mixed messages and can be extremely confusing. After a timeout, don’t talk about problem, just go on with day as usual.

5. Be sure your expectations are developmentally appropriate.

6. Condemn the behavior, not the child. Never call him bad or dumb or stupid (that was a dumb thing to do; that was a stupid thing to do; how could a girl as smart as you do something so stupid).

7. Use punishment that is only strong enough to get the desired behavior.

8. Make consequences of an action relate to the misbehavior, i.e., if Kristie rides her bike outside the boundaries set, tell her she can ride where told or not ride at all, do not tell he she has to go to bed early, this is not related to the misbehavior.

9. Apologize if you make a mistake in punishment.

10. Use withholding of privileges rather than the application of noxious stimuli whenever possible. This way the parent can teach alternative desirable behavior. Have children think about it as they sit there and if they do not like that, then do not engage in the behavior that got them there in the first place.

c. Positive Reinforcement is the most desirable and most effective way of changing behavior. Use of praise and rewards to shape behavior is much more effective than punishment. The goal of discipline is to develop self control in the child. Discipline strategies:

1. Positive reinforcement. Find the good and praise it.

2. Use gentle guidance to teach new behaviors.

3. Sometimes use humor as a discipline tool.

4. Distract when appropriate. Ignore when appropriate

5. Discipline should work toward the preservation of self-esteem. Never humiliate a child in front of his peers by punishing him in public. If you must punish, do it discreetly.

6. Set a positive example.

7. Set clear limits but do not make them too narrow. Allow your child some freedom to explore within stated boundaries.

1. Review of Developmental Milestones. Briefly review the milestones from one to two years by writing each developmental area (Movement, Hands and Finger Skills, Language, Cognitive, Social/Emotional) on a flip chart and asking the participants what they remember the baby is doing in this area during the period. Complete each area.

2. Role Play Scenarios. Ask each participant to select a partner or assign partners. One will play the Parenting Support Specialist and the other the mother. Then they will change. Have each pair draw a paper with a Role Play Scenario written on it. Remind the trainees that like the child you get in real life, the Scenario you get is "luck of the draw". It may or may not match with your own temperament or with the type of child behavior with which you are comfortable.

Give each of the participants a packet of the handouts on behavior and emotions listed under "materials" section.

Review the information on each handout within the developmental framework.

Give each team 20 minutes to decide how they will respond to the scenario using the handouts and other available materials.

Bring everyone back together and ask each team to play out its scenario with the mother introducing the scenario to the PSS. The PSS should talk to the mother as she would on a home visit. Following each scenario, process the activity by asking the participants doing the role play, then the rest of the participants the questions on Role Play Feedback (Overhead #1).

After all pairs have had an opportunity to role play the scenarios, take a break, then repeat the entire role play scenarios activity with the partners switching roles.

1. Rephrase the objectives on the first page of this unit as questions. Ask a volunteer to answer each question.
2. Ask participants whether the learning objectives they stated at the beginning of the unit were met. What information do they feel they still need behavior and discipline.
3. Distribute the post-unit evaluation forms.
4. Distribute post-unit test.