Values about Children

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Tags: Children, Policies, Values, Community Life, Behavioral Expectations

Values about Children EW-E2
East Wind

 

A BRIEF SUMMARY OF OUR VALUES AROUND KID'S EMOTIONS

Kids emotions are OK; expressing them is OK - our job is to help them express those emotions without hurting anyone.

We can't make somebody feel happy or sorry or not angry; and we shouldn't try to nor try to make co act differently than they feel.

Kids can yell or cry or "Bang Bang" in their space. It's the adult's responsibility to go away from the noise if it bothers them. If there is some reason the meta can't leave the room (baby in the bathtub, cooking, etc.), co can ask the child to go to another room.

When possible, pay attention to the child's crying or yelling without giving in to it. Empathize with co's distress and put works to it when appropriate ("You're very angry that you got bumped")

Don't assume you should distract or hush or "fix things" for or question a crying child. Sometimes they just need somebody to hear their emotions. (Of course, if it's a question of physical injury, you should do first aid as necessary!)

We can try to talk about an incident after the child is calm, but it's not always necessary.

Joyful squeals and screams should also be accepted and valued and only sent outside if other kids are sleeping or the people who are disturbed can't leave the room.