Guidance and Discipline Policy

Here at Life’s Little Joys, we understand that children are not “bad”.  A child’s behavior is a direct result of their environment either at home or at school. How we handle challenging behavior predominantly depends on the child’s age and developmental level.  For older children, we teach conflict resolution as well as respect of not only each other but the environment. We believe it is important to teach children to do the right thing, not in fear of being punished but because they do not want their actions to adversely affect those around them. We are teaching them to be responsible for their own behavior as well as building empathy.  

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We believe in natural consequences but sometimes resort to having the child “take a break” somewhere calm. This provides an opportunity to think, reflect and problem solve in a safe environment. We do not use the terms “time out” as this encourages negative behavior and defiance.  During redirection of children who are physically harming something or someone, we use the term “safe” and use serious/worried facial expressions to foster feelings of empathy. If a child is not being safe, they will be gently removed from the situation. If necessary, we will then notify that child’s parents to work closely with them to develop a plan to aid their child in gaining self-control.  With toddlers we mainly use redirection and diversion depending on where they are at developmentally.

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When clear and consistent limits are present,  children increasingly become responsible for themselves. Though we are understanding of challenging behavior, we reserve the right to ask a family to withdraw their child from our care if the child’s behavior continues to negatively impact the children or staff at our preschool to an extent that is not acceptable to our standards.