Childcare Challenge #1: Helping Young Children Manage Frustrations

Just like adults, children deal with frustrating challenges on a daily basis. And also just like adults, they deal with these challenges in myriad ways. But whether it is through placid acceptance, crying, or a full-blown tantrum, just like snowflakes, no two children are alike.

Observing the ways children deal with frustrations large and small gives parents and nannies key insights into their emotional intelligence, i.e. their capacity to be aware of, control and express their feelings within a relationship.

Observation of individual capacity is very useful when trying to understand why a child is frustrated. Is the goal clear? Is there a hidden obstacle preventing the child from reaching that goal? Different and oftentimes surprising reactions emerge based on this complexity of goals.

So how do nannies and parents work with children’s emotional intelligence, navigating through the different behavioral challenges that arise among children under their care? A video clip from the Videatives Learning Moments Series provides a pertinent example on the importance of understanding the developmental capacity of each particular child, and solutions that will help nannies and parents handle a common problem: teaching young children how to take turns..

In this video example, toddlers all want to have a turn to swing from a large punching bag. They attempt to create a system of time each child has to use the swing, but not all children are in agreement, wanting to take longer turns. The teacher steps in to create a developmentally appropriate strategy for measuring time that is also a lesson in conflict resolution. The children create a counting game so everyone is engaged in knowing “how long” each has on the swing while also learning a system of taking turns.

Observing how different children handle these simple principles gives nannies and parents a big clue about a child’s developmental capacity and helps lead to appropriate and educational solutions.