Dr. Robert Needlman
Specialist in pediatric behavior and development.
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 Ask Dr. Needlman
Acting Up in Preschool | | | QUESTION | | | Dear Dr. Needlman,
My four-year-old has begun to exhibit aggressive behavior towards parent helpers at his preschool. He has never been aggressive towards any other adults at his previous preschool or other daycare center that he has attended. What can I do to prevent this behavior? What might work between his teacher and me to rid him of this behavior?— ejkendall in Pennsylvania | | | ANSWER |
May 10, 2001 | | | Dear ejkendall,
The new appearance of "aggressive behavior" in a child means that something important has changed. It's up to parents and teachers, working together, to figure out what that something is. You can ask the child "Why are you acting this way?" but you almost never get a good answer. Young children simply don't have the insight to understand their own behaviors or the language skills to express their ideas clearly.
The key in a situation like this is to find out as much as you can about the details of what is going on. Just exactly what is your son doing? When does he do it? What happens just before he does it? What happens just after? Is he aggressive toward a particular parent helper or all of them? What is the role of the parent helpers, precisely?
The teacher and/or the director of the preschool can often be very helpful in making these observations. Of course, you could also observe in your son's classroom, but your presence would probably change the behavior of your son and perhaps of the parent helpers. Once you know the details, it should be fairly clear what you need to do to change things for the better.
— by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P. |
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