Toolkit for Integrating Healthy Physical and Mental
Development in Early Learning Guidelines
Health and Safety Topic #10: Aggression/Self-Control
Caring for Our Children (CFOC) Standards and Healthy Kids, Healthy Care Links [Tips for Parents]
Selected States’ Early Learning Guidelines
State Assessment

CFOC Standard(s):

Personal Caregiver Relationships for Infants and Toddlers-2.010

Opportunities shall be provided for each child to develop a personal and affectionate relationship with, and attachment to, that child's parents and one or a small number of caregivers whose care for and responsiveness to the child ensure relief of distress, experiences of comfort and stimulation, and satisfaction of the need for a personal relationship. The facility shall limit the number of caregivers who interact with any one infant to no more than three caregivers in a given day and no more than five caregivers across the period that the child is an infant in child care. The caregivers shall:
  1. Hold and comfort children who are upset;
  2. Engage in social interchanges such as smiling, talking, touching, singing, and eating;
  3. Be play partners as well as protectors;
  4. Attune to children's feelings and reflect them back.
Space and Activity to Support Learning of Infants and Toddlers-2.012

The facility shall provide a safe and clean space, both indoors and outdoors, and colorful material and equipment arranged to support learning. The facility shall provide opportunities for the child to act upon the environment by experiencing age-appropriate obstacles, frustrations, and risks in order to learn to manage inner feelings and resources, as well as the occurrences and demands of the outer world. The facility shall provide opportunities for play that:
  • Lessen the child's anxiety and help the child adapt to reality and resolve conflicts;
  • Enable the child to explore the real world;
  • Help the child practice resolving conflicts;
  • Use symbols (words, numbers, and letters);
  • Manipulate objects;
  • Exercise physical skills;
  • Encourage language development;
  • Foster self-expression;
  • Strengthen the child's identity as a member of a family and a cultural community.
Personal Caregiver Relationships for 3- to 5-Year Olds-2.014

Facilities shall provide opportunities for each child to build long-term, trusting relationships with a few caring caregivers by limiting the number of adults the facility permits to care for any one child in child care to a maximum of 8 adults in a given year and no more than 3 in a day.

Expressive Activities for 3- to 5-Year Olds-2.017

Caregivers shall encourage and enhance expressive activities that include play, painting, drawing, story telling, music, singing, dancing, and dramatic play.

Fostering Cooperation of 3- to 5-Year Olds-2.018

Facilities shall foster a cooperative rather than a competitive atmosphere.

Handling Physical Aggression-2.040

The facility shall use the teaching method described in STANDARD 2.039 immediately when it is important to show that aggressive physical behavior toward staff members or children is unacceptable. Caregivers shall intervene immediately when children become physically aggressive.

HKHC Link(s):

Biting

Discipline

Respecting Differences

Child-Focused Example
Iowa Early Learning Standards (p.73)

Area 9 Social and Emotional Development Standard
Rationale
Children develop the ability to interact with peers respectfully and to form positive peer relationships.
Benchmarks
Improvements in social skills and reduction in aggression are linked to increases in communication, perspective-taking, memory skills, and self-regulation (Coie and Dodge, 1997). Young children behave more positively and engage in more positive social exchanges with friends than with nonfriends (Gottman, 1983). Children who become friends initiate contact, sustain interactions, and resolve conflicts better than do children who do not become friends (Gottman, 1983). In contrast, poor peer relationships predict later peer rejection (Coie and Dodge, 1997). Poor peer relationships and peer rejection are associated with later problems in school and life, including social isolation, aggression, loneliness, social dissatisfaction, and low self-worth (Hymel, Rubin, Rowden, and LeMare, 1990), as well as low academic performance, school avoidance, truancy, and delinquency (Ladd, 1990; Parker and Asher, 1987). Physical aggression decreases in most children during the preschool years. In contrast, verbal aggression tends to increase, at least until four years of age (Cairns, 1979).
9.4 Peer Interactions
The child:
  1. sustains interactions with peers.
  2. develops friendships with other peers.
  3. negotiates with others to resolve disagreements.
  4. takes turns with others.
Caregiving Supports
With preschoolers, caregivers:
  • provide time, space, and sufficient materials for each child to interact with peers in common activities (blocks, dramatic play) for lengthy periods of time (60 minutes or more at a time).
  • create situations in which each child needs to work with others to accomplish goals.
  • encourage each child, coaching them as needed, to resolve conflicts, respect the rights of others, and reach joint decisions.
  • point out and draw attention to different perspectives.

Program-Focused Example
Washington’s Early Learning and Development Benchmarks: A Guide to Young Children’s Learning and Development From Birth to Kindergarten Entry (p.54)

Domain 2: Social and Emotional Development
Sub-Domain: Social Development
Interactions with Peers
Goal: Children demonstrate positive negotiation skills.
18 to 36 months

Some Indicators for Children:
  • Uses adult help to take turns, including giving up and keeping toys and other objects
  • Asserts ownership by saying “mine”
  • Communicates with other children to settle arguments, with assistance
  • Indicates preferences and intentions by answering yes/no questions (e.g., “Are you done with that? Are you still using it? Can Javier use it now? Do you want to keep it?”)
Some Strategies for Caregivers:
  • Listen respectfully and respond to child’s needs and requests
  • Discuss consequences of behavior, so child learns the “whys” for negotiation and compromise
  • Talk with child about rules, limits, and options and explain how they help people get along
  • Provide child with opportunities to make some choices
  • State feelings and intentions when interacting with child and others
  • Teach child to avoid aggressive behaviors (e.g., biting, hitting, racial name calling)
  • Set limits and show disapproval for aggressive behavior
  • Provide multiple copies of toys to reduce conflict in group settings
  • Demonstrate and explain effects of taking turns (e.g., “When you gave Emma a turn on the swing, she was glad because she didn’t have to wait anymore")

For references to the state early learning guidelines used see State Early Learning Guidelines Used in Examples



Aggression/Self-Control Content:

Content absent

Content to be strengthened

Content approaches CFOC
Action Plan
     


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