Checking In

Check in with your children at the beginning of the day and try to get insight into if they are happy, agitated, sleepy, hungry, etc. This information can help guide your day.

Daily morning questions could include:

• How are you feeling today?

• What’s one thing you are looking forward to today?

• What’s one thing you are not looking forward to today?

Take the time to note your child’s baseline behavior (what an average day is like), and adjust directions and expectations as needed when the student is observed to move away from baseline (not behaving as they would during an average day).

Take note of what triggers student behavior (ex. loud noises, ending a preferred activity, math worksheet, etc).

Evaluate the environment and be able to be creative and flexible in choosing alternative activities to meet the same end goal.

Think about your own emotional pulse – are you upset? anxious? annoyed? Children read in to your emotions and may escalate or manipulate the situation in response.

It’s not a teachable moment when a child is upset. Think about how much we as adults are willing to take in when we are upset.

After your child has deescalated it's important to have a fresh start and allow the student to move past the previous incident.