Discussion: Age-Appropriate Toddler﻿ Scenario * Module 2 Page 24 (12/13)

Discussion: Age-Appropriate Toddler Scenario * Module 2 Page 24 (12/13)

6/4/2016

29 Comments

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Please read the scenario, then discuss the following questions:

Do you think this behavior or expectation is age-appropriate?
If so, how could you explain this to the parents/co-workers?
Is there anything you can do to prevent this situation from happening again?

Toddler Scenario
You have been working with toddlers at the Stay-and-Play Child Care Center for over a year and love their energy and curiosity! A new teacher assistant is subbing with you and tells two toddlers struggling over a toy phone to “share nicely” which just escalates the fighting. She finally removes the toy and tells them no one can have it if they don’t share. The toddlers are now both crying and whining for the phone and the rest of the class is starting to as well. The sub tells you that she is used to kindergartners and doesn’t know what to do with toddlers.

29 Comments

Jessica

11/4/2018 02:44:40 pm

Yes I think that this behavior is normal I feel like kids are still learning to share there toys and stuff. By letting them know that this is normal at this age group and that being in the toddler room they will learn to share and not act that way.

Mollie Hinshaw-Rasmussen

11/4/2018 04:46:35 pm

I think the behavior and expectation are both age appropriate. Toddlers are still learning the concept of sharing and it is our responsibility to teach them how to share with their friends. Instead of taking away the toy at first I would try to see if I could get the children to play together with the toy. I would simply explain that to any co-worker and parent who witnessed and had questions about the situation. To prevent the situation I would try not to put on single toy phone into the classroom, when there are multiple toy phones children are willing to play and share with others.

Virginia Paddock

11/4/2018 10:02:49 pm

I agree there shouldn't be just one phone toy in the classroom.

Darci

11/4/2018 08:49:54 pm

Sharing is an emerging skill for toddlers, so the fact that two of them cannot do it is not surprising. Redirection is probably the best option at this point, but realistically the toddler room needs multiples of various toys because toddlers just aren't fully capable of sharing toys.

11/4/2018 10:00:48 pm

Do you think this behavior or expectation is age-appropriate? Yes
2.If so, how could you explain this to the parents/co-workers? I can explain that at toddler age its the "Mine" stage.
3.Is there anything you can do to prevent this situation from happening again? Yes, by talking to the children about who had the toy first can play with it or find another toy like it.

Susan Stehr

11/5/2018 10:48:02 am

The behavior for this age group is appropriate and common for this age group. I would explain to my co-worker that this age is still learning and have not even began to master their executive function so its up to us to show them and give them examples of sharing using words as well as actions. The toy should not be taken away unless it is somehow harmful for the children. These situations will happen continuously at this age making them learning experiences so when they are at an age where their executive function will begin they will have examples and dialogue to know what to do.

mariyana marble

11/5/2018 10:26:44 pm

The behavior is age appropriate for this age. Fighting is inevitable. The sub could've used another approach though. The sub clearly is used to work with older children however toddlers are still exploring the meaning of words and it was unreasonable to lead with words. Leading with actions followed by words that match your action is way more successful. Stopping the fighting can be worked on in the moment and its not an excuse for their behavior because they are of their age but its normal to see this kind of behavior from toddlers.

Ashley Hanson

11/6/2018 12:55:18 pm

this is a great learn as you go experience. this behavior is totally normal! they are learning together how to play with others and blend personalities. just explaining that the the sub she would know next time what to do!

amanda

11/6/2018 07:06:29 pm

I believe the behavior from the toddlers is age appropriate and expected i would have let the child who had it first play with it and redirect the other toddler to another toy or activity

Brandi Simmons

11/7/2018 10:28:34 pm

I believe the children's behavior is appropriate for the age group. I would probably suggest asking them to help the other find a fun toy to play with so they can play together. In order to avoid this situation, I would definitely explain to the teacher the current cognitive level of toddlers, in terms of learning to share and understanding they don't quite grasp "sharing" or knowing what is "right or wrong" yet. Try using more positive reinforcements, like setting a timer for one to play for a few minutes, then the other, going back and forth that way they see that they can have it back after "sharing".

amber

11/8/2018 01:57:09 pm

Yes this is age-appropriate. toddlers dont understand the term share.
I would explain to the co worker that at this age you have to teach the children how to share by using actions. the toddlers dont understand when you tell them to share. you have to get to their level and get them to play together.
To prevent this event from happening again you can make sure to have more than 1 of each toy.

Padmaja Kondeti

11/8/2018 03:41:00 pm

This is very common at this age that kids don't know sharing and they fight,at that time we need to ask kids that who took first will get turn first and then after some time you need to share with your friend. In this way we can teach kids how to share not to yell.we need to tell the parents about the situation so that if it happens at home they can teach which helps child to share and the coworker has to work on that if she didn't worked with toddlers.

cinthya viguerias

11/8/2018 05:02:51 pm

1. yes this behavior is age appropriate, during this age children are developing their social skills which means they are just learning how to share.
2. I would explain to parents that developing social skills takes some time, but with all these experiences it will only get better. And fighting between children Is completely normal inevitable
3. what I have done when they fight over a toy is to take it away for at least five minutes and introduce them to new toys, put the toys back when the children are too busy or distracted with something else

Gretchen

11/11/2018 01:31:47 am

At this age children learn by being shown appropriate behavior so I definitely feel that this behavior is age appropriate. The children are still learning social skills. In this situation, I would talk to the sub about this age group and let her know things that have worked for me with this age group in the past. I also would have gone over to the toddlers and told the toddler who was trying to take the toy that the other kiddo was playing with the toy first and redirect him to another toy to play with. I would also let the toddler know that when the kiddo was done playing with the toy that he could have a turn. At this age I don't think there is a way to prevent this from ever happening again. I thinks it's just repetitive actions by the teacher that will finally get through to the toddler age what is appropriate and what's not.

Jennifer Martinez

11/11/2018 07:36:17 pm

Toddlers have plenty of milestones to accomplish at this time. May it be to gain new words, walk, notice when a caregiver leaves, copy others actions, including sharing with their peers. At this age it is extremely common for children to not understand what sharing is and what it means. To an unexperienced co-worker, I would be to explain that younger children have yet to learn how to share, and by taking away a toy it is not going to help the children understand how to share. Demonstrating them how to do so will help children share. To prevent fights from not sharing, it is critical to constantly showing the children how to share, providing appropriate amount of the same to the children, and guiding them to different toys.

Yesenia Perez

11/11/2018 11:18:09 pm

It is age appropriate since toddlers are learning new experiences and are not very good at sharing. I would explain to my coworkers that the kids are just exploring and do not like to be interrupted. To keep it from happening again I would make sure there was enough toys for everyone to share

Haley Welch

11/12/2018 08:27:30 pm

Toddlers don't usually have a good concept of sharing so this behavior is certainly age-appropriate. To explain how to handle the situation to my co-worker I would tell her to explain to the kids what is the right and wrong choice in the situation because taking the toy away only teaches them what not to do. If you keep explaining right and wrong choices, the kids while learn to share over time.

Kathleen Adams

11/12/2018 09:58:45 pm

1) yes It is totally age appropriate.
2) I would tell parents and coworkers that this is very typical. Kids don't like to share or they don't understand. But we can work on it here as well as home and they will get better and learn.
3) Make sure you have multiplies of toys like 6 or 7. But maybe the approach by the teacher could have handle it differently. Maybe could have started singing to change the mood or handing the other child a different toy and maybe have them switch after awhile.

Nichole Payne

11/13/2018 07:53:29 pm

Do you think this behavior or expectation is age-appropriate? Yes
2.If so, how could you explain this to the parents/co-workers? I can explain that at toddler age its the "Mine" stage and learning to share with friends is a normal part of development.
3.Is there anything you can do to prevent this situation from happening again? Yes, encouraging sharing and showing them what sharing looks like. sometimes having an adult there to interact with the children and be the coordinator of the toy teaches children how to share. Also by having multiple phones in the room rather than just one would help the situation. this would allow for more than one child to play together and still have their own toy.

Amy Sommerlatte

11/14/2018 02:12:21 pm

Yes I think that 2 toddlers fighting over a toy is very common. They are still learning the social skills needed to play as a group. I would explain that taking away the toy doesn't teach them how to work on the problem. I would first try to see if they can play together with the toy. If that doesn't work I offer anther toy for one to play with and then let them know they can trade toys in 5 minutes.

Linda perez

11/14/2018 02:12:47 pm

Yes I think this behavior is age appropriate because at this age they are in the no sharing stage .
The way I could explain is by saying that it’s normal for the child to do this because they don’t quite know how to share fully with there stuff .
Simply just making sure there is more then 1 phone in there so they won’t fight over it .

meseret link

11/14/2018 06:34:02 pm

A toddler is too young to understand fairness or sharing. Therefore fighting over toys is age appropriate. I would tell the parents that there is nothing to worry about. They will learn sharing as they get older. It is best to have a few different toys available to try and distract one or both children. That way they will both be happy.

fateme hosseini nejad

11/14/2018 06:38:53 pm

yes this is good model. The children are still learning social skills. In this situation, I would talk to the sub about this age group and let her know things that have worked for me with this age group in the past.

you have to get to their level and get them to play together.Stopping the fighting can be worked on in the moment and its not an excuse for their behavior because they are of their age but its normal to see this kind of behavior from toddlers.

Ginger Clapper

11/14/2018 08:19:43 pm

I agree that the behavior is appropriate for this age group as toddlers have not yet mastered the concept of sharing but with reinforcing good behavior and making sure there are enough toys for each child at this age, I would encourage the staff/parent that they will learn valuable social skills, such as sharing,as they mature and are molded by positive influences and training.

Robyn

11/14/2018 08:39:21 pm

I would say this behavior is completely normal for the toddler room. They are still learning the concept of sharing and to expect them to even understand why the phone got taken away in the end is not age appropriate. While it would be amazing if every classroom could have multiples of every toy this is just not practical. The concept of sharing should be taught at this age level you have to use more explanation as you are teaching them exactly what sharing is at this stage. Just telling them to share does nothing. It should be returned to the child who had it first and then the sub should have redirected the other child to a new activity.

Makayla

11/14/2018 09:09:04 pm

I think this is age appropriate because children need to learn to share at a young age otherwise they will just continue not to share and that will be harder to correct at an older age. I would tell the parents and coworkers that as well, learning to share at an early age is important. To prevent this from happening again maybe get another toy phone that way you have multiple for the children to play with that way they don't have to fight over one.

Brittney Shirey

11/15/2018 08:16:50 pm

After reading the toddler scenario, I think that is age appropriate because at such a young age you are learning the concept of sharing which takes times. At that age, it is normal for children to be possessive and not know how to share items/toys, they learn that over time and constant reminders and demonstrations about how to share with friends. Sometimes you can't just tell children they need to share they need to learn from time. I would tell the parent's that sharing comes over time and to just be consistent with them sharing and using different skills to remind them of sharing. To prevent from this situation happening again we can add another phone or have the children use timers that they can control to take turns with the phone.

Ratnamala Chakravorty

11/16/2018 12:44:57 pm

I think the reaction showed by the toddlers is age appropriate. This is common for children to behave this way when something so 'precious' is suddenly taken away from them. It is hard for them to acknowledge what just happened is because of their behavior and instead they start to exhibit strong negative emotions. In this situation I would talk to the substitute before taking any other actions because it was she who took the decision of putting the toy away. I will help her in improving the situation but not step into it directly. I will suggest her to talk to the children separately regarding the toy matter. Of course it is hard for the children to decide who is going to share first. So here comes the substitute's role in solving the dispute. She will give the toy to one according to her jurisdiction and ask the other to wait for his turn. That is the only condition that they can both play with the toy. In doing so she will also set a definite time for the first child who plays with the toy and ask him to hand over the toy with a smile to the second child who is waiting.

This is one solution, but often children act in another way and refuse to listen. Then the best solution is to separate them and put the toy away as a reminder to their behavior.

Charli Glidden

11/16/2018 01:11:05 pm

I think the behavior is to be expected of toddlers, as they are still learning how to share. The best option in this scenario would be to redirect the toddlers' attention. I would explain to mu co-worker that toddlers, unlike kindergarteners, are still at the very beginning of understanding the concept of sharing, and it will take time. To prevent this from happening again I would make sure there are multiples of the most popular toys in the classroom.

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