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Art of Redirection
Tell us about a time when using redirection helped avoid behavioral issues with young children. Additionally, share your creative methods for teaching effective communication, taking into account that the idea of sharing is still developing in these young children.
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53 Replies
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One time a 5 year old I worked with was anxious. She was talking about wanting to see her parents and how scared she was. I told her I was sorry and she was going to see them very soon. I then redirected the conversation by telling her I liked her dress, and commenting on how to matches her shoes and socks. I asked her if pink was her favorite color and if she matched her outfit today on her own. This did a good job of distracting her.
I ask children to use their big kid words when communicating with one another. They are used to teachers setting a timer to split up their time with the toy which enduces sharing.
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Tali, your redirection with the anxious 5-year-old was a great example of using distraction to help her feel better. Encouraging big kid words and setting a timer for sharing are effective communication strategies.
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As a preschool teacher, I used redirection to defuse a toy dispute among children. To teach effective communication, I employed creative methods like storytelling, role-playing, games, and visual aids.
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Chloe, your use of redirection to resolve conflicts and the creative methods for teaching communication show a thoughtful and effective approach to managing behavior and fostering social skills. Well done!
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One time in my classroom one of the toddlers was emotional and sad because they missed their baby sister who was only a week or two old. She wanted to be home with her and quite upset. I was able to redirect her and her sadness by pretending one of our baby dolls was her sister. She had the doll with her in class for the first half of the day and it helped her not miss her so much. I told the other children that we had a “guest” in class that day.
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When a class of 2.5-3 year olds were enjoying screaming and running as a class, I redirected them to doing “if you’re happy and you know it” so they had an outlet for the noise and movement. I also make an effort to ask individual children in that class to pick songs they’d like me to sing with them, to foster good decision making, and respect the choices of their classmates.
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Sara and Joey were playing cars racing down a hill. Sara’s car was winning every time. Joey got upset and was trying to grab Sara’s car. I asked can I please have both cars? Then I asked what them what do you think I should do, throw them away? They said no and we talked about how they would solve the problem. They had all kinds of ideas, like taking turns and cheering their friend on to win.
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We have a reading time during the circle time. Every one could free choose a book. When Harper was reading her book. Luca came over and grabed Harper’s book away . So I helped luca return Harper’s book. And said : here you go , Harper. And then asked luca: Do you need help to pick a book or you can do it?
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One time a four-year-old was anxious about her dad raveling for a month out of town. I had the child make a card every day until the child was accepting his absence. It kept the child happy throughout the process of making the card.
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one morning my student came and when her mom drop her she threw a tantrums so I asked her what’s wrong and she told her”its OK mommy will come back and for now you can draw a mommy’s picture and give it to her when she will one back to pick you up. So we stop crying and giv me a smile.
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Great use of redirection to address separation anxiety. Encouraging the child to express emotions through drawing and offering comfort is a creative approach to teaching effective communication.
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I recently redirected a child who was attempting to grab some playdough from another student. I showed the child where additional playdough was stored.
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One time I was working with a child one on one. He was an easily frustrated child. Many things would trigger him into having really hard times and often lashing out at children. When I could tell something was going to trigger him I would use redirection by removing him from the situation, we would go outside where it was just us two and he would run around, get his jitters out, and finally have a calm body.
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My group of five years were busy playing in the sensory bin. I knew that it was going to be a popular activity. I had created a sign-up list to help with turn taking. This helped my students know when it was going to be their turn and minimized their frustration over having to wait for their turn.
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Great job, Brenda! Using a sign-up list for turn-taking in the sensory bin is a fantastic way to teach sharing and effective communication while minimizing frustration. Well done!
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2 of my kiddos was fighting over a toy. first i removed the toy, out of sight out of mind. then i found a toy they could play with together.
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I use redirection to help my kids when they are arguing about the toy cars. If one tries to take a car from another student I ask them to wait their turn and grab them another car to play with.
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When we’re outside for recess and a friend is upset about something, missing families or not wanting to wait their turn for a bike, I ask if they want to walk with me. I use this time to ask them questions, talk about their favorite things, or we can do silly walks and jumps.
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Once, I had a four year old who was terrified of loud noises. Usually it was something outdoors, like an airplane or a firetruck. However, one time, we were inside and the class was playing follow the leader. It got too loud for him, and he began to cover his ears and get scared. I brought him to the quiet center and sat with him, and began to sing a few kids songs I knew. He was able to focus in on the quiet sound and redirect his anxiety. Once he was calm, he was able to rejoin the class and enjoy the rest of the day.
