For Immediate Release:
March 19, 2021

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NAEYC Publishes New Book for Addressing Challenging Behavior in Young Children

Washington, D.C.-- The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) announces the publication of Addressing Challenging Behavior in Young Children: The Leader's Role. 

Leaders in early childhood education are tasked with supporting staff as well as the children enrolled in their programs and schools and their families. This means navigating a variety of problems and situations and working with teachers to find solutions to create positive learning experiences for children.

When a teacher is faced with a child who is exhibiting a challenging behavior, what can a director or administrator do to support the teacher? And perhaps more importantly, what can be done to build supports for the future?

We trust that our newest premium member benefit book will help to address these questions. Why do children behave the way they do? And why do teachers respond to children’s behavior the way they do? And what can you do to support all of them? There is no single script or one right answer. But with the realistic and practical strategies in this book, directors and administrators of early childhood programs and principals of schools can develop the skills to build a team that works together to support all children and staff. Topics include

• Defining the role of a leader and creating a positive social climate
• Recognizing the messages children are communicating with their behavior
• Examining the effects of a leader’s and teachers’ biases and expectations on behavior
• Guiding teachers to develop strategies for preventing and responding effectively to challenging behavior, focusing on building relationships
• Collaborating with families
• Understanding the effects of trauma on behavior and implementing trauma-informed practices

A leader’s support and guidance can make all the difference in the ability of teachers, children, families, and the program itself to flourish.

Reading this wonderful book, I feel as if I’m sitting in the room with Barbara as she talks with our staff about the issues they are facing. As early childhood leaders and directors, we need to model the acceptance and understanding that children aren’t trying to challenge us—they are trying to communicate their critical needs to us. We have to learn their “language” by being astute observers, acknowledging our own biases, and assisting children to form much-needed relationships with caring adults. Accepting and including a child who challenges us will benefit that child, that family, the teaching staff, and the entire community.
—Mary Graham, Executive Director, Children’s Village, Philadelphia

While many books and resources discuss how to manage children’s challenging behavior, be an effective program leader, or address issues of equity, this is the first book to weave these three important topics together. Leaders will find vital information and tools to ensure that the social, emotional, and behavioral needs of all children in a program are being addressed so they can be successful.
—Mary Louise Hemmeter, Professor of Special Education, Vanderbilt University

About the authors:

BARBARA KAISER 
Barbara Kaiser is the coauthor of Challenging Behavior in Young Children (now in its 4th edition) and Meeting the Challenge. She has taught at Acadia University in Nova Scotia and at Concordia University and College Marie-Victorin in Montreal, Canada, and presented workshops, keynote speeches, and webinars on challenging behavior in the United States, Canada, and throughout the world. Barbara acted as chief consultant for the Mr. Rogers’ Family Communications project Challenging Behaviors: Where Do We Begin? and for Facing the Challenge, an instructional DVD produced by the Devereux Center for Resilient Children.

JUDY SKLAR RASMINSKY
Judy Sklar Rasminsky is a freelance writer who specializes in education and health. With coauthor Barbara Kaiser, she has written Challenging Behavior in Young Children and Challenging Behavior in Elementary and Middle School, which both earned Texty awards from the Text and Academic Authors Association; and Meeting the Challenge, a bestseller selected as a comprehensive membership benefit by NAEYC. In addition, the team has authored a guide for Canadian parents, The Daycare Handbook, and a fact book for educators on HIV/AIDS.

Email [email protected] for author interview availability.

Addressing Challenging Behavior in Young Children: The Leader's Role is available for purchase in the NAEYC online store. For more information on this book and other resources, visit NAEYC.ORG/resources/pubs. 

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NAEYC is the foremost professional membership organization committed to transforming the lives of young children and delivering on the promise of high-quality early learning. NAEYC represents 60,000 early childhood educators who care for, educate, and work on behalf of young children, birth through age 8. Learn more about NAEYC at www.NAEYC.org.