Discipline

We believe that discipline is the process of teaching a child inner controls so that s/he may interact comfortably with others. The success of this "civilizing" process depends on the whole of the relationship you have with a child, the feelings of mutual trust and respect, the good modeling the adults provide, and the positive reinforcement provided.
We first do not yell across a room. Instead we get close to a child, get down on his or her level, use a calm voice with simple, positive and very concrete words so that the child is clear about our expectations. For example if a child is not sitting safely in a chair we might say "Feet on the floor please." We then praise any small amount of progress to help them believe they can continue the expected behavior. "I LOVE the way you are sitting with your feet on the floor!" We use logical consequences when our positive approaches do not work: "You are all done in the sand area now. In a little while you can try again to play here and not throw sand." Overall we have more strategies to help children be successful throughout their day then we could fit on this site.