Developing Cooperative Behavior in Early Childhood

This article provides tips and insights on developing cooperative behavior in early childhood, including acceptable and unacceptable behaviors, the impact of culture on behavior, promoting positive behavior, and special circumstances to consider when responding to a child's behavior. It also includes scenarios and case studies to illustrate these concepts.

Running Head: DEVELOPING COOPERATIVE BEHAVIOR IN EARLY CHILDHOOD 1
Developing Cooperative Behavior in Early Childhood
Author’s Name
Institution
Date

DEVELOPING COOPERATIVE BEHAVIOR IN EARLY CHILDHOOD 2
QUESTIONS
1. What is the definition of acceptable and unacceptable behaviors in a child care center?
Acceptable behaviors in a child care center refer to the positive self-esteem, cooperation,
and discipline when dealing with peers as well as when dealing with adults who should be
always treated with respect. This is because the behavior of a child has an impact on the lives of
other children hence there should be considerations in all the activities and behavior (Killen,
2014).
Unacceptable behavior refers to the tendencies and actions of the child that show
indiscipline, lack of cooperation and respect while dealing with agemates and adults.
Unacceptable behavior includes harassment, bullying, and victimization of other children in care
centers.
2. How does culture impact a child’s behavior?
Culture molds the experiences and influences the behavioral development of a child.
Through culture, children are able to learn the temperaments and behaviors that are acceptable
and those that are not acceptable. For instance, some cultures value self-esteem and
independence while other cultures prefer interdependence and promote connections hence the
child learns the requirements and adopts the preferred behaviors. The intervention programs
should be adjustable and dynamic depending on culture and assist the families to integrate these
services smoothly into their lives (Trevarthen, 2017).
3. How is positive behavior promoted?

DEVELOPING COOPERATIVE BEHAVIOR IN EARLY CHILDHOOD 3
One should be a role model so as to promote positive behavior since everything that we
do the children are looking up to us and will copy and emulate our behavior. The caregiver
should listen to the child without interrupting or prejudging. The caregiver should reinforce the
desired behavior by giving presents, treats, favorite activities and pay attention but be careful not
to overuse rewards since the child may come to always expect a payoff for positive behavior
(Trevarthen, 2017).
4. A carer’s response to the behavior of a child may vary in some special circumstances.
Describe the circumstances that should be taken into account.
The response towards the behavior of a child varies in some special circumstances such
as when the child is sick or stressed, when a new babysitter arrives or when the parent has gone
to work. The caregiver should be considerate and act appropriately when the child is sick since
the sickness can interfere with the behavior of the child such that he or she behaves in an unusual
way.
5. How can a caregiver relationship with the child and the family support behavior
management programs?
Behavior management programs and interventions should involve parents in designing
them so as to treat the child’s challenging behavior. This is because the family is the child’s most
valuable resource and has the most important and valuable influence on the development of the
child’s behavior. Parents are regarded as the experts in the ecology and culture of the family
hence this will be helpful to the caregiver in the establishment of behavior management
programs (Trevarthen, 2017).
SCENARIOS/DISCUSSIONS

DEVELOPING COOPERATIVE BEHAVIOR IN EARLY CHILDHOOD 4
Scenario 1
The case of 12 months Child
Aggressive behavior such as biting is a normal part of the development of a toddler.
Emerging language skills and undeveloped impulse control will be the reason why the 12 months
old child is biting. Within my service guidelines, since I have set clear limits, I will respond
immediately when the child bites and remove her mouth from the are he or she is biting so that
he or she can connect her biting behavior with the consequence and will figure out that if she/he
bites again will end up out of the action.
The case of 24 months Child
This is a slightly grown child than the previous one hence he or she will be able to
understand that biting is a bad behavior that has to be stopped. I will reinforce good behavior and
verbally condemn the biting since it is not a good habit. The child will be given an explanation
why biting is wrong. Then the child will be given logical consequences if the biting persists. This
child will understand the consequences hence he or she will stop biting.
The case of 5 years Child
This is a grown-up child hence he/she will be able to understand that biting is wrong and
should be stopped immediately. My service guidelines will require the setting up of a positive
behavior chart and make the 5-year-old to give an apology inform of a drawing to the children
that he or she hurts. The child will be talked to and explained why biting is wrong and use the
feelings chart to put emoji of happy faces and sad faces of people bitten. This will make the child
know that when he bites others he hurts them hence he will be punished for it through not being
allowed to play.

DEVELOPING COOPERATIVE BEHAVIOR IN EARLY CHILDHOOD 5
Scenario 2
i. The exclusion method will make Jacob develop new behavior since he will want to have
good behavior so that he can be allowed to join the other children.
ii. New environment with new expectations is a positive move for Jacob since environment
greatly influences behavior and behavior change. Jacob will try to abide by the new expectations
so that he can have a fresh start so that he can make friends and be liked by his new carers.
iii. Learned habits can have negative or positive impacts on children’s behavior. The positive
behaviors that the child picks from school or at home will make him or she have acceptable
behavior while the bad habits that the child will pick will lead to unacceptable behavior.
iv. When Jacob is removed from play for minor breach, the other children in the environment
will help him accept these standards as he will see that he is the odd one out hence will change
his behavior so that he cannot be isolated by other children.
v. The relationship between Jacob’s mother Benita and the Center is important since she will
be informed of the progress made and given instructions on how to deal with him at home. The
mother also understands her son and their culture very well hence she will be of great help to the
center by providing crucial information.
vi. This relationship will, therefore, help Jacob since the cooperation between the two parties
will ensure that he is given the attention and proper care that he deserves so that he can change
his aggressive behavior.
Scenario 3

DEVELOPING COOPERATIVE BEHAVIOR IN EARLY CHILDHOOD 6
i. Karlie is behaving this way because she is upset that another baby girl has come into their
family hence she is no longer the baby of the house. She sees as if her mother is more occupied
by the new baby instead of her.
ii. I will support Karlie by telling her that although the new baby has come, her mother still
loves her. I will also advise Jade to spend more time with Karle so that she cannot feel
abandoned.
iii. Jade should not remove Karlie from the center but encourage her to attend the center as it
has numerous benefits for her.
iv. I will advise Jade to talk to the worker from the preschool and know how to win back
Karlie’s love and trust. And also spend time with Karlie and let her know she still loves her.
Scenario 4
i. The observations are valuable in creating a management plan since it identifies the problem
that needs to be solved.
ii. The key practice to be included in Mikhail’s plan is a strategy to help him cope with
transitions and help him develop self-control.
iii. I would use my staff to put him through a series of transitions so that he can be used to
transitions as they are part and parcel of our daily lives.
iv. I would suggest that the parents give him an explanation prior to any transition that will
help him be calm on departures and arrivals.
Scenario 5
i. Daniel parents should be informed before the implementation of the plan.

DEVELOPING COOPERATIVE BEHAVIOR IN EARLY CHILDHOOD 7
ii. This plan will have a positive impact as it will help create a bond between the staff member
and the children.
iii. The plan success will be judged positively if Daniel is able to play with the other children
without any intervention and vice versa.
iv. This information will be gathered from the views of other children on David’s behavior as
well as making observations when the children play.
v. Funding for children with additional needs will be available for David so as to help him
acquire good behavior and also help contain his behavior not to spill to the other children.
CASE STUDIES
Task 1
In case study 1, Meagan is exhibiting stress-related behavior because she has been
withdrawn and has tempers. The trigger is the fact that they are moving to a new house and that
her pet dog has been sold because they are unable to accommodate the dog in their new house.
In case study 2, Joe is showing developmentally inappropriate behavior as he is
exhibiting aggressive behavior towards other children and swearing at the caregiver when he
does not get what he wants.
In case study 3, Christopher is showing inappropriate behavior that is a consequence of
situational factors since he has been pushed to the corner by the new caregivers as they insist he
finish what he is doing and go outside since they need fresh air.

DEVELOPING COOPERATIVE BEHAVIOR IN EARLY CHILDHOOD 8
In all the three cases, the children are exhibiting unacceptable behavior that has led them
to become aggressive hence their actions can affect the other children both physically and
emotionally.
I would involve the child, caregivers and the parents in the process of identifying and
interpreting the causes of the child’s behavior.
I would involve the child’s primary caregivers in the review and implementation of the
behavior by asking them to give information about the child as well as the feedback of the
process. This involvement is important since the primary caregivers are directly involved in the
daily activities of the child.
I would call the parents and ask them to come and discuss the response on the appropriate
behavior of their children. The parents should be approached cautiously so as not to worry or
upset them.
Task 2
The child displaying stress-related behaviors should have an intervention plan to support
the child in the group care environment. The plan should involve the parents who will be guided
on how to help the center by removing the situation that is causing the stress. The plan can be
altered to ensure that the parents are taught how to talk to their child and ensure that they
understand the reason for their decision (Killen, 2014).
I would ensure that the caregivers set aside additional time to help children who may
have difficult behaviors and support the other children who might be affected by their actions.

DEVELOPING COOPERATIVE BEHAVIOR IN EARLY CHILDHOOD 9
To ensure that the correct results are detected, I would monitor the intervention plan to
determine if it is effective through an evaluation process to be administered that has questions to
be answered to ensure that the intervention is effective.
Task 3
For the child displaying socially and developmentally inappropriate behavior, a behavior
plan should have the goal of ensuring that the child develops a social behavior. The short-term
goals are to ensure that the child adapts to the acceptable behavior. The long-term goals are to
ensure that the child develops a socially and developmentally appropriate behavior. The
procedures to monitor the effectiveness of the plan will involve the observation of the behavior
of the child when with the other children.
The intervention process for this child that display socially and developmentally
inappropriate behavior would involve the caregivers, children and the parents. The caregivers
should be the people to implement the plan and the parents should give the feedback on the
behavior change of the child.
Task 4
The child whose behavior is being caused by situational factors within the service has
factors that contribute to the child’s behavior include ignorance from the caregivers, values,
attitudes, and arrogance of the child. To change the attitudes and values of the caregivers, I
would evaluate the performance of their givers through supervision. To change the situation and
ensure more appropriate behavior, I would encourage building a good and effective relationship
between the caregivers and the child.
Task 5

DEVELOPING COOPERATIVE BEHAVIOR IN EARLY CHILDHOOD 10
There is a great importance in having a consistent approach to the management of the
children’s behavior by all the stakeholders and team members as well as the child’s primary
caregivers. This is because cooperation is required from these parties as they all play a part in the
behavioral development of the child.
The culture of an individual has a great impact on the development of behavior. Due to
the cultural differences, we can wrongly judge the behaviors of the children that they display in
the group care setting. Therefore, we should not be quick in judging a child’s behavior without
identifying the values and believes of the culture of origin since their actions might be acceptable
in their culture. However, the standard code of conduct should be put into place that guides the
actions of each and every child (Killen, 2014).

DEVELOPING COOPERATIVE BEHAVIOR IN EARLY CHILDHOOD 11
References
Killen, M. (2014). Social and moral development in early childhood. In Handbook of moral
behavior and development(pp. 137-160). Psychology Press.
Trevarthen, C. (2017). The function of emotions in early infant communication and
development. In New perspectives in early communicative development (pp. 48-81).
Routledge.