How do children learn appropriate behaviors? We teach them! Going further, we prevent challenges by involving children.
We may need to make some updates to our approach, however, to teach with the brain in mind.
21st century teaching and parenting recommendations have finally caught up with what Benjamin Franklin proposed over two centuries ago: we need to involve children in learning. We do that, in part, by balancing out directions, corrections and reminders with open-ended questions.
Teaching and telling: directions, corrections, and reminders
Consider how these directions, corrections and reminders feel for you as a teacher or parent:
You are not listening. I told you how to be a good teacher/parent!
Remember, you need to teach these kids how to behave!
These kids are out of control! Teach them how to share! How many times have I told you this? You know better!
Doesn’t feel good, does it? And what did you learn?
Pause here to tune inward and consider what that brought up for you: thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations.
Perhaps your brain detected signs of warning such as judgment, condescension, not being seen, considered, heard?
That is not the climate for effective learning, or reasoning, to occur.
Yet we give directions, corrections, and reminders to children all day long, because we think this is “teaching.”
It isn’t teaching…it’s telling. Worse, it can be shaming and blaming.
Despite what some adults believe, children do not do better when they feel bad.
With directions, corrections, and reminders, the risk is children end up feeling bad about themselves…and, you!
Prevent challenges by involving children…
We teach with the brain in mind by involving children in learning through the use of open-ended questions instead of directions, corrections, and reminders. With this shift, children’s minds and brains are primed to remain in an open, receptive learning state.
Dr. Bruce Perry‘s Neurosequential Model in Education outlines key principles of development and brain functioning to support an optimal learning state. According to Perry, we must regulate, relate, and then reason. Both children, and ourselves!
In the examples above, did you feel like I was relating to you, did you feel regulated (emotionally and physically) or did you feel disconnected and defensive? Did you feel like reasoning? I didn’t involve you, so probably not; instead, you probably felt like defending yourself or just getting away from me
When adults direct, correct, and remind children, even when using a “sweet” voice, they may be sending signals of warning, not welcome, to the child’s brain. Such signals may disrupt the child’s sense of connection or relationship with the adult and potentially trigger emotional and physical dysregulation. Under these conditions, reasoning is not likely in the brain.
Children need, not want, adults to relate and (co)-regulate by showing signs of welcome and safety through their words and body language before they can reason. Even if the topic/content of what you discuss seems challenging, you can still discuss in safe ways. Another way to think of it: co-regulation and connection begets healthy communication. Adults reason better under the same conditions. These are human needs, not just children’s needs.
“What” does Involving look like?
Instead of teaching by telling, you might try preventing challenging behavior by involving children using asking open-ended questions; that is, questions that do not have a “yes” or “no” answer. Consider these options for replacing directions, corrections and reminders:
Direction: “Louise, put your toys away. It’s time to clean up,” versus, “What’s your plan for clean-up, Louise?”
Correction: “You aren’t being safe, Leanne. That’s not how we play that game,” versus, “How can you play with that game safely, Leanne?” or “What is a friendly way to take your turn?”
Reminder: “Remember, you need to wash your hands after sand play,” versus, “What do you need to do with your hands after sand play?” or “Where do you need to go after sand play?”
The “How” of Involving
Open-ended questions must be asked in the context of a safe environment. this means, adults send signals to children that the questions come from a place of curiosity, openness, and acceptance not an effort to catch the child doing something wrong.
Consider this example:
“Why did you hit your sister (said in a harsh tone with arms crossed),” versus, “Whoa, looks like you two may have a problem. I’m here to help. What is happening (said with concerned tone as adult kneels to child’s eye level)?”
When children have challenging behavior, adults may feel overwhelmed, angry, frustrated, or hopeless. At such times the dysregulation of the adult’s brain may impact his or her ability to help the child regulate, relate, and reason. Adults need to take time to engage in practices that help promote their use of verbal and non-verbal behavior to convey signs of soothing, safety and security when involving children even during challenging times.
To create an environment of safety and welcome, the child’s brain scans for signs of being seen, soothed, safe, and secure, what Daniel Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson call the “4 S’s” of attachment. We create this environment, in part, through our interactions: both verbal and non-verbal language.
Non-verbal language
What we say matters, but it is argued that how we say things may matter even more. Sensory information sent from non-verbal “language” has the potential to activate the brain’s threat detection areas in the brainstem and limbic centers shutting down the engagement of reasoning in the cortex region of the brain. We often say children “aren’t listening,” but that is not true. They hear you, but what you have said and/or how you have said it may have activated their brain’s alarm bell and they are reacting to the threat.
As such, adults must consider their use of non-verbal forms of expression such as these:
- The quality of your voice: soft, audible but not too loud, with an intonation that shows curiosity not disapproval; pace your questions so they don’t seem like you are drilling the child; be sure to pause to allow the child time to respond; pause to reflect the child’s perspective before asking another question or offering a prompt.
- Facial Expressions and Body language: if possible be on the child’s eye level, place yourself at a distance that the child feels comfortable with, or, if standing, make your gestures, facial expressions, and body position signify safety e.g., no hands on hips, crossed arms or furrowed brows, etc.
Verbal language
To involve children in optimal learning, we commit to replacing directions, corrections, and reminders with open-ended questions whenever possible. Leading with the open-ended question, however, e.g., “What is happening?” may signal danger or threat to a child’s brain e.g. the child may think, “Ut-oh, I’m in trouble now!” You may consider words, and non-verbal language, that regulate and relate before you attempt to reason with an open-ended question. Try one of the following approaches to signify you are curious, open, and receptive by pairing one of these active listening skills with the open-ended question:
- Summarizing the situation to signal the intention to co-regulate and relate with collaboration, e.g., “Looks like this center is full. Everyone has their names in one of the slots on the visual board. What can you do if you want a turn, Annika?
- Validating the child’s perspective helps to co-regulate and relate, e.g., “Sometimes it is hard to stop playing to clean up, huh? What is something fun you can do once we clean up?” or “Seems like you were hoping to play outside longer, Tyrese. You love outside time! What is your plan for free choice once we come inside?”
- Empathizing with the child’s feeling state as a way to co-regulate and relate, e.g., “You look really disappointed, Max. You didn’t get another turn on the bike. I wonder what might help you feel better right now?”
- Acknowledging appropriate behaviors as well. Not because they cause dysregulation, but because they create the opportunity for you to relate and reason with the child, e.g., “Wow, you two are laughing and having fun with your project. I wonder how you decided to build that?”
Pairing such active listening skills with open-ended questions sends signals of welcome to children. With this, their nervous systems may remain in balance while you involve them in figuring out what “to do” about the challenge. There is no one-size-fits all to asking open-ended questions. The adult must use his/her/their discernment to attune to the child’s needs in the moment. What I refer to in my trainings as, “Seeing the Child behind the Behavior.” To do this well, the adult needs to be fully regulated to relate to the child’s verbal and non-verbal language needs at the time.
Involving the Child: Brain Benefits
Asking open-ended questions in place of reminders, directions, and corrections, promotes children’s ability to regulate, relate and reason. Consider these additional brain benefits:
1) Open-ended questions promote attunement: attunement is foundational for all social and emotional learning and a key function of the pre-frontal cortex. Open-ended questions promote both intrapersonal attunement (the child considering his/her perspective) which supports the skill of insight, and interpersonal attunement (the child considering others perspectives) which supports the development of empathy. Such relatedness helps with regulation and reasoning in the brain.
2) Open-ended questions promote development of what Daniel Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson call the “upstairs brain,” the region of the cortex that strengthen regulation and reasoning. Open-ended questions activate this part of the brain by involving children in thinking. The “upstairs brain” prevents challenging behavior and promotes learning through skills such as focal attention, insight, empathy, morality, emotional, and physical regulation, to name a few.
One additional benefit? You will be working smarter, not harder, to promote the behaviors you hope to teach because you are involving the child in developing the brain!
Directions, corrections, and reminders may have usefulness when used sparingly. If you are sure a child doesn’t know what to do, or if it is a moment of urgency in regard to safety, you may offer such a prompt. The purpose of this article is not to eliminate those practices entirely; but rather, to use discernment when choosing how you engage with children. The goal is to involve the child in learning by teaching and parenting with the brain in mind: to teach based on science, not habits!
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