Take a breath, handle it and then move on! 

Working with little ones as a professional could be exhausting and frustrating everyday. It could drain out your energy, patience, sometimes even compassion. You keep wondering if you are a good teacher or not, asking yourself why these little human beings just cannot listen and follow the given instructions after you have tried all the strategies. 

Well, first of all, we have to remember that we are human beings,too. We have our own emotions and feelings. However, that we acknowledge how we feel doesn’t mean that we can lose our ration while handling the challenging behaviors. We should all keep it in mind that their behavior is part of their developmental process, not a reflection of our teaching ability or performance. Therefore, we should take this opportunity to model how we self-regulate our emotions to our little friends. Let’s take Child W as an example. He is 2 and half so surely he is at the stage of “ I want it so I have to get it right now.” When he grabs a toy from a friend’s hand and starts the fight, he always says “I want it.” After being given options of either waiting for his turn or playing different toys, he usually refuses first and then starts having a bit of a tantrum, crying or screaming. It might happen a few times a day. Another Child L has been struggling with emotion regulations. She would yell at the teacher or give the teacher a hard time. She is a sweet girl but when she has tantrums, it does disrupt the routine for the group. It happens quite often so it does bring frustration to the teachers. 

The question to ourselves is what we should do to carry on because we work with those little friends every single day. The answer to me now is not easy but simple. Don’t take it personal. At this age, they are supposed to be impulsive and are learning through their senses, emotions as they develop various skills. Let them be themselves so we can support them alongside as we are moving on. Take a breath! We can do it!