Climbing the Walls: Keeping Young Children Safe through Collaboration
Zeke’s* agility for a four-year-old is impressive. He is easily able to scramble to a tabletop, leap to a nearby shelf of cubbies and then scale his way to the top. Zeke is good at jumping off of things, too. He regularly clambers onto tables, turning them into launching pads, from which he flings himself off backwards. And he’s really fast. He can run out of a classroom and down the hall in just a matter of seconds. And while these abilities may bode well for his future athletic prospects, the fact that he is able to do this in his preschool classroom before his teachers can even cross the room, is a safety hazard.
It wasn’t just these risky behaviors that led his child care center to seek help from PEP Early Childhood Plus. It was also his reaction to instruction. If asked to climb down or come back, his emotions would escalate until he was out of control. His classroom teachers were at a loss for how to keep him safe while also caring for an entire classroom of four-year-olds.
A Cohesive Strategy
PEP Early Childhood Plus consultant Marla Hignett visited Zeke’s child care center to observe him and make an assessment. She immediately understood the center’s concern. “When I went in, he was jumping off everything – and dangerously, too,” said Hignett. Keeping young children safe in this type of scenario is a common reason child care centers reach out to PEP for help.
She also recognized that his needs extended beyond the classroom. He would need help at home, too. She reached out to Traci Dickerson, one of her PEP Early Childhood Plus colleagues who provides Community-Based Consultation with families and caregivers for young children. “There was a lot going on at home,” explained Hignett. “The parents had recently divorced and were still trying to figure out co-parenting. They had very different styles. You could see it was an important piece of the puzzle, so I knew we had to do more than just provide classroom strategies.”
Hignett knew how she wanted to approach this case and organized a comprehensive team meeting that included the classroom teachers, child care administrators and Dickerson. First, she knew she wanted to introduce a strengths-based intervention, where Zeke was recognized for the things he did well. This focus on the positive is a core element of Re-ED, PEP’s guiding philosophy.
Second, she knew she would draw on the evidence-based strategies of Conscious Discipline, an approach to working with young children that is backed by research and proven to increase self-regulation, sense of safety, empathy and intrinsic motivation in both children and adults. This is an approach that is routinely used at PEP with younger children.
The Kindness Tree
The team acknowledged that Zeke had many behaviors that needed to be addressed. It wasn’t just climbing and running. He could sometimes be aggressive with other students. Changes in routine or requests to do things he didn’t like could result in meltdowns. Rather than trying to change everything at once, the team decided to start by prioritizing what worried them the most: Zeke’s climbing. They implemented a strategy known as the Kindness Tree from Conscious Discipline as a first step.
With this strategy, teachers post a cut-out tree where Zeke can see it. When the adults in his life “notice” him having “safe feet” they can put a leaf on his Kindness Tree. In the classroom, throughout the day, when Zeke was not climbing, a teacher might say, “You’re doing a wonderful job with your safe feet right now!” and then stick a new leaf on his Kindness Tree. Zeke loved it. He wasn’t getting in trouble. His teachers said he was being good!
Extending the Learning at Home
Dickerson says one of the reasons Zeke is having so much success so quickly at school is because the learning doesn’t stop there. Since Zeke and his family are receiving Community Based Consultation through Early Childhood Plus there is consistency in the approach to helping him at home.
“I am working on having his parents both use the Kindness Tree in their homes as well,” explained Dickerson. That’s helpful because he already understands it and it is working at school.
PEP’s community-based consultants sometimes face conflicts between separated parents who hold different beliefs in how to approach discipline. This can be another challenge in keeping young children safe. This was true in Zeke’s case.
“One of the most important things you can do in these situations is build trust with both parties,” says Dickerson. “You have to meet them where they are and offer strategies that make sense for them.”
To that end, in addition to implementing the Kindness Tree, Dickerson has been working with Zeke’s family on co-parenting strategies. For instance, Zeke went through a lot of changes each week, going back and forth between his mother and father’s homes. Now, they both use a special calendar to help him understand what to expect day to day.
Dickerson is also working with the entire family on emotional literacy. She always welcomes siblings into the sessions she has with families. The sessions are play-based so it feels natural to have all the kids join in – and the advantage is that they are learning as a family. Keeping young children safe becomes a family exercise. She has also encouraged Zeke’s mom to start talking about her emotions and how she handles them, so that Zeke can begin to make those connections. For instance, Zeke’s mom might say, “I am getting aggravated about this traffic. I am going to take some deep breaths to help me calm down.”
Community Resources for Keeping Young Children Safe and Healthy
In addition to providing community-based consultation, Dickerson and her community-based colleagues are knowledgeable about community resources and how to access them. Often, when the consultants go into homes, they learn that additional supports are needed. They can make referrals to meet those needs such as occupational therapy, food resources, or a preschool assessment for an Individualized Education Plan.
Dickerson says another advantage of working with a team is the knowledge and experience of her colleagues. “When we have a tough case, we can consult with one another,” she says. “Invariably, one of us will have an idea that works.”
What’s Next for Zeke?
Zeke’s teachers are delighted by his quick progress. Just one week after implementing the Kindness Tree, Zeke has made so much progress that they’re ready to move onto the next priority behavior – safe hands. A situation that felt almost hopeless just a few short weeks ago is already well on its way to being quite manageable. Hignett continues to check in with the center and teachers regularly and visits at least every three weeks. Dickerson will also continue to work with Zeke at home until his needs are adequately addressed.
“We’re all so proud of him,” says Hignett. “We’re proud of everyone who has been involved with his improved behavior. He’s making huge strides.”
Learn More
Keeping young children safe is a priority for PEP Early Childhood Plus, whether through teaching social emotional skills or working with caregivers of children who are struggling. Learn more about PEP Early Childhood Plus and our other programs and services on our website. Download this flyer to learn about all of the PEP Early Childhood Plus services.
*Not his real name