How to Help Your Nursery Aged Child Manage Emotions

During the first few years of a child’s life, they learn so much about the world around them. There are new experiences and journeys to be had every day. Adventures and experiences will mean facing emotions that can lead to outbursts that seem unexpected.

When a situation feels overwhelming to your child, it can escalate quickly into a full-blown tantrum. Helping your child understand what they are experiencing is the best way to help them begin to regulate their emotions. There are many hurdles faced by a child, whether sharing toys at  preschool or not being able to have ice-cream for breakfast in the morning, the way you handle the emotional outburst will leave them feeling validated or diminished.

Preschool Abu Dhabi - Falcon British Nursery

Recognising different emotions

As a parent, you learn to recognise your child’s signs and cues. You can recognise when they become angry, when they are happy and when they might be feeling down. When you pick up on these emotions, talk to your child about them. Even if it is casually, ask them how they are feeling. Are they feeling happy when they are smiling and having fun? Are they feeling sad when they are crying? Are they feeling envious when their friend has a toy they want?

Helping them give their emotions a name and helping them understand that these emotions are felt by everyone at some point will help them realise they are completely normal. They need to learn that feelings are perfectly okay to experience. 

Exploring how to express emotions

Understanding different emotions is the first step. Learning how to effectively express emotions in a socially appropriate way is another. There are certain outbursts that they need to learn are not appropriate – tantrums and violence for example can be an expression of frustration or irritation. All children act differently. Your child needs to learn an appropriate way of expressing their needs. Can they have their needs met by a physical hugs or singing? Can they use different words to get what they need instead of acting out?

A great way of helping them understand emotions is to get them to look outside themselves as well. If they have a sibling, ask how they think their sibling felt after a toy was taken from him/her and what emotion their sibling would be feeling. Not only will this help them identify and predict emotions in others, but it helps them understand that other people do experience the same emotions as well and they need to be careful about how they treat them.

Always react positively

It can be really tough to keep a calm and happy demeanour during a tantrum, but becoming angry yourself is not demonstrating how to deal with emotions. The best thing you can do for your child is to remain calm. You need to be able to approach the situation with a level head and they need see an example of how to act.

Talk them through their emotions from the start until when they have calmed down and help them identify what has caused them to feel that way. Getting down on their level and using short sentences and simple words will be the best way to get through to them the tantrum. As the leading preschool in Abu Dhabi, Falcon British Nursery provides the optimum learning experience focusing on your child’s brain development and emotions.

How to Teach Your Child to Be Caring from a Young Age

In the beginning, children innocently think that everything is about them. They are fussed over at home, are looked after at nursery school and parents let them know how they are their whole world. It can be difficult for them to understand the concept of caring and being kind to others. This is known as mindfulness.  

As a parent you aim to help your child become a good, decent person who cares, is considerate, humble and compassionate. It is never too early to start teaching your child to be caring. In fact, the earlier you start, the easier it will be. It starts to become instilled in their personality, and it is a part of them that will grow as they do.

Caring Pre-schoolers

Pre-schoolers are notorious for thinking only of themselves. It is difficult for them to see outside of their own self and consider that others might be affected by their actions. However, there are ways and practices to teach them to care and to be considerate, even from such a young age. Try these tips to help your child become a mindful human being.

• Lead the way 

A compassionate and caring parent will lead the way for a compassionate and caring child. If you practice compassion and tell them what passion is, label it for them to and in front of them, they will see this as normal behavior. You need to remember that you are role model number one, and what you do, they see as the right way to do something. 

Nursery School - Falcon British Nursery

• Be kind to everyone

There should be no criteria for who you are kind to. When you drop them off at nursery school, help your child to say hello to the other children. Help them greet the staff and the cleaners.  If something falls, ask your child to help pick it up and give it to the person who dropped it.  Doing these random acts of kindness will show your child every single person deserves kindness and caring. Practicing empathy, to the waiter, bus driver and the doctor, anyone that crosses your path, really shows your child that being kind has no agenda, it is to help others.  Practicing empathy whether to the waiter, bus driver or doctor and anyone that crosses their path really shows your child that being kind has no agenda, it is to help others.

• Teach manners 

From day one, remind your child to use good manners. Please and thank you teaches them that every person is worthy of respect and this respect leads to caring. It teaches them about social norms and fitting into society. Teach them that different cultures have different manners. 

• Understand feelings

Ask your child situation-appropriate questions throughout the day. If they don’t want to share with another child, ask them how they think the other child feels.  If one of their friends at nursery runs up to them with a big hug hello, ask them if that made them feel good. By recognising that caring acts of kindness make others feel good, it will encourage them to be compassionate to others.

• Give back

Sometimes seeing is believing. Taking them to do a beach clean up or volunteer at an event with your whole family might give them the visual stimulus they need to understand that there are those out there who have much less than they do or that it is important to care for something bigger than oneself. They will be able to start to understand that we all have a responsibility to help others. This is a priceless learning opportunity for them.

• Starting young

Your young child will amaze you. When leading in the right direction, they can be the most incredibly caring and compassionate people around. They have so much love to give, and it is up to parents to show them that through caring and kindness they can be mindful humans.

Tiny Tearaways And Tiddly Tantrums – 10 Tips To Calm Your Day

Tantrums can be a normal part of child development.  They may be difficult to handle, but can be a sign that your child is developing their own sense of self.  Here are ten tips to minimize tantrums and help your child gain self-control and emotional intelligence.

Nursery School - Falcon British Nursery

1.  Give expectations

Your child needs to know what is expected of them.   Before an activity, tell or show your child what behaviour you expect.  They will then know what is acceptable and what is not.

2. Reward good behaviour

Although there is a lot of discussion about rewarding good behaviour with physical rewards versus children innately wanting to do the right thing, many parents swear by the use of sticker or reward charts to support good behaviour development.  Young children can understand what it means to work towards a reward.  Rewards can be anything from time spent with you and letting them choose the activity you do as a family.

3. Give your child choices between what is acceptable to you

To create a leader, your child has to learn to make choices.  If your child has to get dressed or if they are going to eat from a plate, let them choose what they want.   This gives them a sense of power and keeps tantrums at bay.  They are getting dressed and eating, but they have the choice that will improve self-esteem and empower them. 

4.  Let your child lead

Let your child lead or choose an activity you will do as family.  The opportunity to take lead will give them a sense of power, and will often cut down the chance of a tantrum.

5.  Get your child to show you

Children with early or limited communication skill and vocabulary may need to demonstrate their needs by touching, picking up or taking you to what they want.  To stop a tantrum escalating, let your child demonstrate what they need to help them feel understood.    

6.  Check Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Children who are thirsty, tired or hungry may not be able to listen to reason until their basic needs are taken care of.  Once these basic needs have been met you child will be more likely to be distracted or listen to reason.

7.  Distract

Out of sight and out of mind.  Try to get your child to focus on something other than what they may have a tantrum about.  Have a comforter, activities or toys to hand to give to your child during potential uprisings.  Try sound.  Use instruments like a triangle, tambourine or a kazoo to get your child to focus on something else.  Use the environment.  Show them birds, planes or trains.  Get their mind off the issue at hand.

8. Be as cool as a cucumber

Tantrums can be loud.  It is the parent’s job to deescalate the situation. Matching their shouting with your shouting will merely intensify the level of sound to jet engine levels.  Reduce your voice pitch, tone or alter your voice. Your unusual behaviour may distract your child long enough for the tantrum to abate by itself.  

9. Ignore the tantrum.  

Rewarding a tantrum with attention may be just what your toddler is looking for.  It may be time to reward good behaviour and ignore the tantrum.  First, check that your child is not harming themselves. Explain what you need from them and do not make eye contact or give attention to the to the tantrum.  When they have calmed down from a tantrum, get down to their level and let them know there are alternative ways to deal with the issue.

10. Offer love

Asking your child if they want a hug during or near the end of a tantrum can be the stimulus for a child to finish their tantrum and regain control. After a tantrum, let them know you love them no matter what they did.  Let them know that you do not love the behaviour, but you still love them.

An easy way to help your child settle into a routine and to socialise is to enrol them in nursery school.  Allowing your child social interaction during the tantrum stage will give them an opportunity to tackle everyday situations – big and small.  Falcon British Nursery can help your child develop effective ways to communicate in a safe, nurturing and stimulating environment in a home away from home.

How to Choose the Right Nursery for You and Your Child - 10 Helpful Tips and What Makes a Nursery a Place of Education Excellence?

Amelia J Brown, one of the partners of Falcon British Nursery understands the dilemma faced by UAE parent.  As a parent of two of her own children, an educator with a bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education and Masters in TESOL from the UK, she understands that with so many nurseries, early learning centres and pre-schools to choose from, how do you as a parent make an informed decision as to which is the right nursery for you and your child?  Different curriculums, different facilities, different values and goals, different timings, different communication methods and parent participation events create a mine field for parents wanting the best for their children.

She has created these 10 helpful tips on what to look for to make an informed choice for the perfect education match for you and your nursery aged children.

Nursery in Abu Dhabi - Falcon British Nursery

 

1. What curriculum are you choosing?

 

Is the curriculum international or created by the school themselves?  If it is international, is it related to a country or a company?  Is it benchmarked across various subjects and age groups? As an example, as a UK accredited nursery in Abu Dhabi, Falcon British Nursery follows the UK EYFS 0-60 months curriculum.  The curriculum is changed as and when the UK government prescribes.  There are 7 subjects (or learning areas) and multiple benchmarks across early learning goals.

2. What syllabus is used to interpret the curriculum?

 

If yes, what subjects and what age groups? How does the school bring the curriculum to life?  Do they have a syllabus?  How regularly does the school update their syllabus? 
As an example, Falcon has a 24-month theme based syllabus focusing on all 7 areas of learning and is prescriptive on language subjects, mathematics, STEM, physical development.  The syllabus is reviewed yearly.  Ask the school about their syllabus or how they interpret their curriculum.

3. Are the licenses are correct and current?

 

Nursery schools have to have the following licenses displayed on the walls – commercial, KHDA/ADEK/Ministry of Education, Civil Defence and Health Authority.  Check the date of expiry – you have a right to know if the institution looking after your children is legal.  Ministry of Health prescribes the requirements in the school clinic, so if the health authority license is displayed, you can be assured they have the equipment required for a nursery school clinic. 

4. Is the school accredited?

 

Do not be afraid to ask if the nursery or early learning centre is accredited.  Also, understand the difference between an affiliation/membership and an accreditation.  An affiliation/membership means they pay to belong to a body that provides support for them to be an outstanding school.  It does not mean that an independent assessor has come into the school or assessed it.  If the school claims to be offering a curriculum from a specific country like the UK, America, Australia etc or an internationally affiliated company like NAEYC, they should be accredited.  Many schools claim to be offering a specific curriculum, but have no documentation to back their claims up.  Ask to see their accreditation documentation and google the institute they are accredited by.

5. Does the school have health and safety certificates for all or some staff?

 

Ask when the school’s last health and safety audit was completed. 
At minimum staff should have food handling, fire safety certificates, infection control and hygiene certification as well as paediatric first aid training certificates.

6. What are the qualifications of management, teachers, TAs, support staff and nurses and how much experience doe they have?

 

At a minimum management should have a degree in education, teachers a minimum of Cache / NVQ Level 3 and Tas Cache / NVQ Level 2.  Nurses should have degrees in nursing and there should be a ministry licensed nurse permanently on site.  Ask what happens when the ministry licensed nurse is on sick leave or holiday.  They should have a contract with a nursing agency to provide a substitute ministry licensed nurse. If the nurse is on duty for less than the hours the school is open for, what provision is made for the children?  Do they have paediatric first aiders on duty at the start and end of the day?

7. Ask about policies and procedures

 

There should be policies and procedures displayed on the website and on the parent communication app.  Are they available for parents in the reception? Is the complaints procedure shown on the wall in reception?

8. Communication and parent participation

 

Ask how information about your child’s day is shared?  Most nurseries in the UK have parent apps and it is rare to find outstanding nurseries using paper based systems.  Does the app share photos and information about the day?  Do you get information on events?  Ask to see a copy of the parent newsletters for the last 3 terms.  What sort of events are listed for the previous year?  How does the nursery inform you of your child’s progress?  What documentation do they share with you at these information sharing times?  Do you get a benchmarked or a teacher created narrative report?  Does the child have a profile document or learning journey? Are you able to set up a meeting with the teacher if you need to?  How long does it take to get a mid-term report if needed?    Do they offer a play date or a settling session? 

9. Ask about term fees, extended care fees into school holidays, discounts, bus fees and how regularly the school increases the fees.

 

Does the school regularly increase fees?  The last fee increase should be stamped and approved by ministry and displayed in reception.  Ask about add on fees. Ministry wants fees to be displayed as a lump sum instead of multiple fees for multiple items.  Does the school have a registration fee?  Does the school have a deposit to secure the place for the following term?  Ask about the fees and refund policy.   Where does the bus travel to? What timings does it follow (some schools have drop offs to some areas only at certain times)

10. How did you and your child feel after your tour?

 

Was the registrar or tour provider knowledgeable and were your questions answered?  Did you see all of the school or did the tour only let you view a few areas chosen by the school?  Was there anything alarming – gate left open, lack of finger guards, adult sized toilets or basins, child alone in the sleeping room without a staff member on duty?  Did you notice children engaged in activities?  Were the children doing independently chosen work or sitting together doing group work A warning sign is a group of children all colouring the same picture or watching the teacher mixing flour and the water together in science or cookery instead of the child doing it themselves.  When you spoke to staff members, were they friendly?  Did you see separate admin, teaching staff and nursing staff or are jobs shared – is a teacher also the receptionist?  Were children separated by age group or did you see 1-year olds with the 3-year olds? Do they offer a specialist baby unit and a 4-year-old class for older learners?  Are displays updated or do they still say welcome to the new year in June?  Did you see up to date checklists for cleaning and other monitoring including food re-heating?   What timings are available for working parents?  Is the nursery school closed at all during the year other than during public holiday times?  Were there fridges available for the children’s food to be stored in and were there thermometers checking the temperatures?  Are children checked automatically for fever during the day and if so, how regularly?  What is their child/adult ratio per age group? What is the maximum number in each class for each age group? How big was the playground area?  What sort of areas are available for the children to go to other than their classroom / homeroom?  How many children is the nursery registered to have on premises?  Did you feel comfortable in the nursery?  Did your child fit into the nursery environment?  How did you feel about the nursery when you left?

With these 10 tips and a list of nurseries to visit, you as a parent can make an informed decision as to which is the right nursery for you and your child and you can move confidently into the next chapter of your little one's life.