Supporting Young Children with Challenging Behaviors

This resource list contains a variety of resources associated with supporting children with challenging behaviors.
IEL Resources
- Tip Sheets:
- Blog: Feelings Are Fantastic (blog)
- Podcasts:
Web Resources
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6 Ways to Deal with your Child’s Aggressive Behavior
Source: Cleveland Clinic
This article, geared towards parents, goes over what typical behavior looks like, helps parents recognize true aggression, and lists strategies to help your child with aggression.
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Aggressive Behavior in Toddlers
Source: Zero to Three
This article will help parents help their child learn to manage strong emotions and reactions as they become aware of themselves as separate individuals from their parents and the other important people in their world.
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Angry Kids: Dealing With Explosive Behavior
Source: Child Mind Institute
How you react when a child lashes out has an effect on whether he will continue to respond to distress in the same way, or learn better ways to handle feelings so they don’t become overwhelming. This explains how adults should respond when children lash out.
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Culturally Responsive Strategies to Support Young Children with Challenging Behavior
Source: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
This article shows how early childhood educators can use strategies such as teaching empathy, discussing conflict, and developing expectations to support all young children and reduce their challenging behavior.
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Dealing with the Angry Child
Source: Virginia Cooperative Extension
This article explains that parents and teachers can help children learn to cope with their feelings of anger and to express them appropriately.
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Helping Young Children Channel Their Aggression
(also in Spanish)Source: Zero to Three
This article presents 12 suggestions that may help parents provide children with the guidance they need.
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Helping Young Children Control Anger and Handle Disappointment
Source: The Center on Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning
Controlling anger and impulse is perhaps the most difficult task of emotional literacy. This article explains how teachers can play a significant role in helping children learn to control their anger and impulses and to handle disappointment in appropriate ways.
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Understanding Behavior
Source: Vanderbilt University
These resources address the function of behavior, and include the ABCs of Behavior, Choosing Strategies, and Teaching Replacement Skills.
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Why Are These Children Acting This Way?
Source: StarNet
This 30-minute video presents that all behaviors communicate messages. Children need teachers who model and encourage respectful interactions.