One of the most challenging parts of addressing challenging behaviors is getting parents to the table. Partnering with families can be the difference between successful outcomes for your behavior support plans or a year long struggle. In this article, I share ways I communicate with families so that they will actually listen. Download our free Behavior Brainstorming form!

When addressing challenging behaviors, the first step is tracking the behavior. This is an important first step because it allows you to plan your behavior supports and tools around the reasons for the challenging behavior. This post not only explains the benefits of tracking behavior, but also shares with you tips and tricks for making behavior tracking fit within your daily classroom routines.

Have you ever had a child who despite everything you did, their behavior only continued to get worse? You’ve probably heard stories similar to this: “Drop off was a time of day I dreaded. Adrian would arrive in the morning with his mom and they would read a book together. When mom went to leave, Adrian would storm the door and run out of the classroom. We would have to chase him down the hall. If his mom saw him, she would come back to the classroom to talk to Adrian. At first, we thought the challenging drop off would go away once he got used to being in our classroom. However, it only increased over time with him starting to yell, cry, and throw things when his mom left for work. This became a part of our morning routine to the point of administrators needing to come to our classroom to assist. Each morning would melt down into chaos that disrupted our morning routines. It was a nightmare to say the least.“ I shared this example with you because this is a time when many of us question our abilities as a teacher. I’ve had many similar moments in my teaching career. These moments taught me a lot about working with children with challenging behaviors. They also helped me think about my role in helping the children in my classroom. Looking back, one of the reasons I struggled so much was I didn’t take the time to reflect on the big picture about the challenging behaviors and my role in it. Now, reflection has become a big part of how I plan my response to challenging behaviors. It is also a major factor in my ability to maintain composure and perspective. In this article, I’m showing you how I reflect on the big picture of children's challenging behaviors and adjust my interactions to actually see progress when working with the children with challenging behaviors in my classroom.

Why is it that the children who need our love and support the most are the last ones to receive it? I have asked myself this question many times. It is something that drives my work and passion for children with challenging behaviors. This question has also led me to many obvious conclusions – we don’t know how to support them, their needs are hard to address in a group setting, and what about the others (aren’t they losing out)? This question is at the center of many conversations related to supporting children with challenging behaviors. You hear about it when advocates discuss the importance of social skills on later success in school and life . My exploration of the question has led me to a possible answer that has yet to be considered.

It’s the beginning of the year and most of us are preparing our classrooms for the arrival of our students. We are arranging furniture, putting up decorations and displays, creating daily schedules, and planning our daily activities. However, there is one thing missing from this preparation. It is often the one thing that is the difference between having a classroom full of children who know and follow our schedules and a classroom full of children who need constant reminders and redirection to meet our expectations. It is the difference between saying, “I have the best class ever!” and “I can’t wait till summer starts!” What is it you’re asking……

Are you struggling with the transitions in your classroom? Do you feel like you lose control of your room when transitioning between activities? Learn the 3 phases of transitions and how you can design a transition plan that keeps you in control while reducing the challenging behaviors associated with preschool transitions.

Social conflicts are everywhere in a preschool classroom. Children fighting over toys in the block area, calling each other names, saying, "You can't come to my party", and pushing to be the first in line are all common social conflicts encountered by preschool teachers. Learn the 5-steps you can take to conquer these social conflicts and teach children how to problem solve at the same time.

An important part of working with children with challenging behaviors is meeting with parents to create a behavior support plan. For most preschool teachers, this meeting can be intimidating as you work with resistant and defensive families. I share with you my 5 tips for creating successful behavior support meetings with the families of children in my programs. Using these tips in your classroom is sure to bring strong, more connected partnerships with the families in your room.

Have you started tracking the challenging behaviors in your classroom and now you're wondering what to do with all the documentation? Collecting information about children's challenging behaviors only works if you know what to look for in all the information. This article will introduce you to the 5 needs behind all human behaviors. You will also learn signs of each need in children's behaviors and how to adapt your classroom environment and routines to meet each of the 5 needs.