Entry #6, 28 October 2009

My relationship with M'n, the child who had sat on me after pooing, seems to have improved. Perhaps it was a good bonding experience. Throughout the day she stayed close to me and sought my attention. Several times when upset or tired, she would lean against me and press her face towards me. She even displayed a competitive/jealous streak by pushing B'a away so that she could lie on my lap.

M'n has a curious way of talking though, in that she prefers to whisper, making it near impossible to hear most of what she is saying. The other staff member told me that is how she always talks. I wonder how and why M'n talks like that, and if something should be done about it? When she's competing for something with another child though, she is quite capable of excitedly shouting ME! ME! ME!

Although there were only 5 children in today, it was a really tiring day, as they seemed to get upset over the slightest of things! On top of that, A'n was being especially challenging today. He refused to cooperate with absolutely everything, even though at times he showed that he clearly understood what was going on.

For instance, he would climb up on something which he wasn't supposed to, and before anyone could react he would shout "Get down! Get down!". He also kept asking for his apron to be removed when he was at water play, saying he was done. Once the apron was removed, he would want to play with the water, but refuse an apron. After an apron was put on, he would again repeat the cycle. This was done twice while I was there for about 15 minutes.

B'a didn't seem to sit in laps as much today. Perhaps because there were only 2 adults, counting myself, so there was less chances for her to do so. She was also preoccupied with the other staff's preparations for Halloween, as well as another adult's birthday. Although all the children were excited about the birthday, singing songs and laughing, when the birthday girl arrived and it was time for them to sing, they all stared in silence.

Perhaps they were unsettled by B'a, who suddenly seemed distressed (frowning features). Once the adults had finished singing the birthday song, B'a immediately ran to a pillow in a corner, and threw herself on it face down while crying. I tried to comfort her, and she came to me, but I couldn't get her to explain what had upset her.

B'a did 2 things today which surprised me:

1. She was drawing a picture, while saying out names of staff members and looking outside of the room. It then dawned on me that she was drawing the notice board outside with pictures and names of all the staff on it!
2. Later, a member of staff was doing some craft work, and tasked B'a with throwing away the rubbish. The first time B'a was told, she walked to the bin. The second time she was told, she decided it would be easier to move the bin beside the staff member instead of walking back and forth all the time.
   

Moving Forward
Spending so much time with A'n today made me also spend a lot of time thinking about the 2 main methods of getting a child to do as you say, namely punishment (also threats) and reward (also bribery).

Although I wouldn't consider those 2 methods to be the ideal solutions, often it feels as though one member of staff is in charge of keeping order in the entire room. Staff have a multitude of responsibilities, so even though they're in the room, they may be busy preparing food, changing nappies, doing an activity, doing paperwork, etc etc etc.

Taking time to establish communication may very well be the best method for dealing with one child who's showing challenging behaviour, but what about if 4 children are acting up once every 10 minutes for 9 hours in a room filled with 7 other children?