Activity 2: What Am I Supposed to Do With This Child?

Purpose: When a child's behavior is challenging, the question, "What am I supposed to do with this child?" can only be answered when there is some idea about what the meaning of and explanations for troubling behavior might be. This activity offers a framework for analyzing the possible explanations for a child's behavior and using that understanding as a basis for choosing and implementing an effective response.

For this activity you will need one copy of each of the following handouts for each small group:

Step 1: This activity is for a small group of people within the Head Start program who share responsibility for the care of a particular child and where at least one of the caregivers is experiencing some of the child's behavior as troubling. Everyone who is part of the group should know about the child and family, and should be mindful of the family's right to confidentiality. The activity may be carried out by a classroom team, parent, and consultant or by a home visitor together with family members and other caregivers.

This activity can also be used as a training experience for several small groups. In this instance, in order to preserve confidentiality, each group should base this activity on the information from one of the example case vignettes included in Handouts C-2 through C-7 rather than on a real child and family.


Trainer's note:
Remember that all information about children and families must be kept confidential. It is for this reason that an activity based on a real child's situation should only be done with a small group that works with the child and family. If in a training situation, participants come from different programs, this activity should be based on fictional case vignettes, never on a real family.

Step 2: First, the group should select a child whose story will be the basis for the activity. Together, the group members should think about and paint a word or story "picture" of the whole child:

· Who is he?
· What does he like to do?
· In what situations does he show the best side of himself'?
· What is happening in his home life?
· What situations are frustrating for him?

Once a sense of the whole child has been developed, have the group focus on the parts of the child's picture that are difficult for caregivers. As the participants focus in on the difficult behaviors, they should try to describe those behaviors very specifically.

Ask participants:

· What does he do that is difficult for you?
· When and how often does he do it?

Step 3: Handout C-l: What Am I Supposed to Do With This Child, is a flow chart that outlines the framework that the group will use to develop a theory about the possible explanations for the challenging behavior. The group begins using the "clues" or guidelines for deciding if the explanation fits with the whole picture of the child and his behavior. If the explanation and the clue's "fit", then follow the guidelines for planning a response. The group should refer to page 32 from the Background Information section as well as to Handouts C-2 through C-7.

Step 4: Starting with the first possible explanation (Developmental Stage), move through the possible explanations until the group members feel they have found the best "fit" between their understanding of the child and the possible explanations for behavior. "Fit" is determined by using the clues offered in each of the handouts.

Step 5: Based on their understanding of the behavior and using the guidelines in the handouts, group members should come up with suggestions to respond to the behavior in three categories:

Trainer's Note:
If you have several groups working on fictional cases, continue with steps 6 and 7. 

Step 6: Come back to the large group and have one person from each small group share its example and three-part response plan.

Step 7: As a close for the exercise, have those in the large group consider and share ways they might apply this framework for understanding behavior in their work at Head Start.

Points to Consider:
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