School 1’s latest monthly Lunch & Learn for preschool parents focused on behavior management. Preschool Intervention & Referral Specialist, Ms. Dizzia, led the presentation.

"If a child doesn’t know how to do something, we teach them," Ms. DIzzia said. "But if a child doesn’t know how to behave, what do we do? Teach them or punish them? Behavior is a communication tool and kids use it to tell us what they need to want," she said.

"Children use challenging behavior to either get something or get out of doing something," she said, adding that they will continue to use challenging behavior because it works.

“Parents can work to change this by discovering first what is causing the behavior then work to teach the child appropriate communication methods to show what they want or need. Parents need to help the child learn the new behaviors," Ms. Dizza said.

"To reduce challenging behaviors parents need to create rules, tell the child exactly what to do, use a visual schedule, catch their child being good and be sure to praise that. Timers are particularly helpful," Ms. Dizzia noted, as they teach a child how to properly wait.

"Using rules at home, just as they have at school, is essential. Rules should start with “do” not “don’t” and be very specific and visual. Using photos or clip art is very helpful." In addition, Ms. Dizzia said parents should tell their child what to do, not what not to do, such as telling them to use their inside voice instead of yelling.

Preschool parents with concerns can contact Ms. Dizza at cdizzia@wpschools.org. She has many resources for parents available on her district web page here.