The 1st Anti-Bully Technique to Teach Kids 0-3 years.
- Nanci Bradley
- Aug 29
- 2 min read
Enjoy this ad-free post from Early Childhood Rocks, a nonprofit organization
Some people feel that when a young child mistreats another young child, they need to receive immediate punishment to teach them a lesson. Others think they need to be reasoned with and gently told what the right thing to do is over and over again until it sinks in.
But another question remains.
Could we teach young children to problem-solve instead? Is that even possible?
Problem-Solving
Science and research can prove it is definitely possible. It happens in stages, starting with emotional connection and co-regulation.
We can guide young children through the problem-solving process, gradually reducing support based on the child's age and developmental level.
Problem-solving is the most essential anti-bullying technique we can teach. To begin problem-solving, young children first need to understand their own emotions. Then they can start to learn about others' emotions. At Early Childhood Rocks, we call this Laptime, and it's a simple way to explore many different topics with young children.
What is Laptime?
Laptime is time spent reading or talking about emotions in close physical contact with your child. It's time spent together, looking at books or magazines, reading and speculating how characters, ourselves, or others in the world might feel.
It's also about facial, body, and language expressions that help us understand what others are experiencing beyond ourselves. It's based on this premise:
All feelings are OK; not all actions (or words) are.
Laptime is a time for young children to question and reflect on human interaction with a nonjudgmental, trusted person. It's an excellent way to teach kids ages 0-8+ about emotions.
And it's information they'll need when talking about bullies. They'll eventually need to be able to "read" people well in the world they'll be growing up in.
We've identified 3 more fun, easy techniques that help kids learn to problem-solve. We put them in a toolkit for you.
The Baby Brain Toolkit/Curriculum
It's free
It'll help your child with relationships
It'll help your child create a problem-solving mindset that can translate to lifelong learning
It takes only 10 minutes to read
It gives you a framework for countless fun, learning experiences
Click the purple rectangle to get your free copy today!
Children who learn problem-solving are at an advantage when they:
Want a turn with a toy
Have to deal with bullies
Need to point out an injustice
Want to stand up for another child
Get accused of doing something they didn't do
Have to decide something under peer pressure
Need to decide what's right and wrong and act on it
Nanci J Bradley is an early childhood and family educator, author, teacher, SELF-care facilitator, family aerobics instructor, and an all-around fun-loving person. She believes in the power of sleep, healthy eating, lifelong learning, and most of all, PLAY! She studied early childhood ed at Triton College and received her BS in education in 1986 from NIU. She received her MA in human development from Pacific Oaks College in 2011. She lives and teaches in Madison WI.
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