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Art of Redirection
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Just today I was monitoring the block area and a few crafts/math activities happening at our lunch tables. I saw one of my friends was playing with the largest blocks swinging them around and attempting to knock down other large blocks in their tower behind another friend sitting on the floor playing. As soon as I could I called that friend over to do their math activity before they could hit another block and potentially hurt the friend on the floor. They agreed and when they came over to do the activity we talked about how playing with the blocks in that way was unsafe and a “red choice”. When they returned to the blocks they did not repeat the same behavior.
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Great job, Shelbi! Your timely redirection effectively prevented a potential conflict. Incorporating discussions about safe choices supports effective communication in young children. Well done!
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Re direction works very well when trying to stop a certain behavior. instead of kicking and screaming lets go see if we can find a truck i think i see onw over there.
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Great example, Natasha! Redirecting to a positive activity can effectively avoid behavioral issues. Using activities like finding a truck can teach effective communication and sharing.
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We live in Iowa, so there are several times throughout the winter when children can not go outside safely to play. They can become very physical. We added an entire portion of curriculum to our day, both in the morning and afternoon called Mighty Movers. This is additional time that is on top of the already scheduled outdoor/large motor play. It is a positive way for the children to do extra physical activity without just running around the room and possibily running into a friend, etc.
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I have a 2.5 year old sweet boy that comes in very sad every morning, saying he misses his mom and dad. I acknowledge his feeling this, and then redirect him to a role of responsibility where he can be a line leader or help a friend carry their backpack into the school, or hold the gate, etc… He loves helping and this usually helps him transfer his mindset to being more in charge of his situation instead of being a victim of it.
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More recently in my in-home daycare, I have two 3 year olds continually fighting over toys. If I can intervene quick enough, I have been talking them through the situation. To my surprise it has been working! Whoever has the toy at the moment will finish taking their turn, this child then has instructions to give the 2nd child an immediate turn just as soon as their done. I usually repeat the sequence of events that will happen twice making sure they understand it. I’ve now found that they are starting to use the language taught all on their own. Miracles do happen!
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Great job, Eileen! Your use of redirection and clear communication to teach turn-taking is impressive. Consistent reinforcement will help solidify these positive behaviors. Keep up the good work!
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I remember I used to have a child in my class who would always have a hard drop off’s but great days once he started playing.
I remember finding out that he loved one specific stuffed bear we had in the classroom. I started incorporating the bear in his greeting every morning during drop off and it started to turn into a game of hide and seek every morning. He soon started looking forward to coming to school to find the bear every morning. I used the bear as a way to redirect his attention every morning and it worked wonderfully.
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Great use of redirection with the stuffed bear to ease drop-off anxiety. Using creative and engaging methods like hide and seek can effectively teach effective communication and sharing.
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Once, during playtime with young children, I noticed a brewing conflict over a toy. Instead of intervening directly, I redirected their attention to a cooperative game, diffusing the situation. For teaching effective communication, I use role-playing, storytelling, role-modeling, and engaging activities to instill sharing behaviors gradually.
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Great job, Nuo! Your use of redirection in conflict resolution and creative teaching methods for effective communication and sharing are fantastic strategies for young children. Keep it up!
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when i used redirection it helped little bit. The child did well at the redirection but kept doing the same behavior over and over again even though the child did redirection.
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Courtney, it’s important to provide consistent and ongoing support when using redirection to address repeated behaviors. Consider using visual cues and positive reinforcement for effective communication.
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Redirection is like our superhero move when things start getting dicey, right? Like that time at the park when my 6-year-old was ready to duke it out over a toy truck, but we swooped in with a quick game of hide-and-seek, saving the day! And when it comes to teaching the little ones about sharing and communication, storytelling is where it’s at! We cook up these epic tales where characters learn the ropes of taking turns and chatting it out, making the whole learning gig feel like an adventure.
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Great job, Kate! Redirection is indeed a superhero move, and your park incident shows its effectiveness. Using storytelling to teach sharing and communication is a creative and engaging approach.
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I have a child that I can always tell when he is getting ready to hit someone and I always walk over to him and talk to him about whatever he is playing with and then slowly move him away from the other child toa new area and new activity.
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Great job, Danielle! Your use of redirection to prevent hitting is effective. Your approach promotes positive interactions and respect for others. Keep it up!
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During a preschool library check out, two children both wanted the same book. They started to argue, escalating toward a potential conflict.
REDIRECT: As soon as I noticed the situation, I intervened by calmly approaching the kids. Instead of focusing on resolving the conflict directly or reprimanding them for arguing, I redirected their attention. “Hey kiddos. I see you both want this horse book. We should look for other horse or animal books in our library. One of you can get this one this week, then next week you can trade!”
Outcome: By redirecting their attention to more books rather than focusing on the singular one, I helped them shift their focus away from the source of disagreement. They quickly became interested in more books outside of just horses, and their initial frustration dissipated. They ended up finding different titles & trading their books the following week.
Creative methods to teach communication:
– sharing games & activities
– modeling / reinforcement
– role playing with puppets or stuffies
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As an in home daycare provider with multiple ages I use redirection a lot. For example when playing with sand sensory bins one both kids wanted the shovel. I was able to redirect one of the kids to the corn bin that had a shovel. After they were both finished they could switch bins.
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Great example, Ashley! Redirection is effective for resolving conflicts. You demonstrated a creative approach by offering an alternative and promoting sharing through turn-taking. Well done!
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While working with one and two year olds there are many opportunities to anticipate conflict. I have often lifted up a toy to a child’s attention and said, “Wow what a cool toy!”, effectively distracting them from whatever they were about to do and more often than not they’ll take the toy from me and play with that.
I encourage the children to use good communication by modeling it myself in how I talk to them and my coworkers. I will also offer them words to use when they are upset with someone or want something.
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Children in our infant classroom sometimes have a stressful time with drop-off in the morning. Unfortunately, children this young struggle with verbal redirection. To help students with an easy transition we have a morning welcome song that helps signal to the students that it’s time for class as well as encouraging them to dance and clap with their teachers and avoid big emotional fallouts. However, they struggle with word comprehension, the melody and action of routine ease their cries and encourage a good day ahead.
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Great job, Shalesa! Your use of a morning welcome song is a creative and effective way to redirect young children’s emotions and promote positive communication.
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When we do movement breaks during restroom/hand washing there are particular children who get upset if they do not have enough space to get their wiggles out. I redirect those who are easily bothered by others in close proximity by having them take their restroom break at opposite times to allow for more space in between each other.
