Wellness

The term "wellness" is often used to describe the efforts we make in regards to taking care of our physical and spiritual well-being. Wellness may be associated with particular activities that promote good health, such as; smoking cessation programs, diets, meditation, aerobics training or yoga. If we are fortunate, we are able to incorporate these activities into our daily lives and affect an overall lifestyle change. Ultimately, the context of wellness addresses our desire to be healthy adults.

In addition, the term wellness might also be used in the context of how we envision young children becoming healthy adults. We often address this in terms of specific skills children need to acquire in order to be successful however, we might also consider this in the context how to support the development of healthy personalities in young children. What personality traits or attributes do young children need to develop to become healthy adults? Here are six to consider:

Sense of Future When children have a sense of the future they know they have choices. They can construct an image in their mind that helps them see what's ahead . . . and that things are going to turn out alright. We associate vision, wisdom and patience with a sense of future.

Sense of Appreciation Children appreciate what they have and also demonstrate value in others. They try to know and understand who others are. We associate sensitivity, acceptance, respect and inclusion with a sense of appreciation.

Sense of Togetherness Children spend time with others engaged in meaningful activities where they interact and participate together. We associate cooperation and trust with time together.

Sense of Emotional Balance Children find healthy ways to moderate their emotional and physical reactions to stressful situations. We associate stability and discipline with managing stress.

Sense of Open Communication Children listen and learn . . . and are genuinely interested in what others are saying. We associate expression, listening and interest with communication.

Sense of Commitment Children set goals for themselves and realize them even under adversity. We associate integrity and confidence with a sense of commitment.

We can teach specific skills that will help children develop their social, emotional, language and cognitive abilities. However, in regards to promoting wellness in the context of children's healthy personality, look to your childcare environment to determine whether it reflects the values or attributes we seek to instill in young children. Are children treated with wisdom and patience, cooperation and trust, stability and limits, openness and interest or integrity and confidence during their childcare experience? Providing a childcare experience that promotes these qualities or attributes is the most appropriate way to assure the development of children's emotional health and well-being.

Rewards

Whether in conjunction with a behavior program or in our everyday interactions with young children, we employ different methods to reinforce or reward behavior. The most common and effective method is for caregivers to target their attention and affection to children for appropriate behavior. More on this later.

One method employed by caregivers to reward or reinforce behavior is the use of tangibles. A tangible, by definition, is something that is real. . . something that can be touched, appraised or valued. One popular tangible used by caregivers are stickers. These are awarded to children when they participate, cooperate or just for a job well done. Stickers provide immediate rewards for children's behavior however, they have little intrinsic value and tend not to be able to reinforce behavior over the long term. Once given, stickers quickly lose their importance and, contrary to definition, they quickly become unstuck. Hand stamps or stick-on tattoos can also be used to reward compliance but their power to affect behavior soon fades as well. Another method using tangibles is the prize box or the "Treasure Chest". These are generally used by caregivers to reward children for appropriate behavior over an extended period of time, for example a day or, more often, a week at a time. However, an arbitrary schedule of rewards may not be appropriate for many children beset with problem behavior as they may require more immediate or frequent rewards to support their needs. They often experience feelings of loss as their peers are awarded prizes and they are not. Unfortunately, these feelings will have an overall negative impact on behavior. Food or sweets are often used as tangible rewards for appropriate behavior. Like stickers, they are useful as immediate rewards but have little long term value once ingested. For health and dietary reasons alone, sweets are a poor choice to reward or reinforce behavior.

While we might consider the manner in which a caregiver attends to or demonstrates affection for children as an intangible, don't underestimate it's importance in affecting behavior. Children respond to these intangibles as an affirmation of the value we ascribe them as individuals of worth, competence and capacity. These gestures are reassuring to young children whose emerging developmental skills may leave them ill-prepared for the vicissitudes of the childcare environment, particularly for children experiencing problem behavior. Therefore, the personal relationship caring adults establish with children will have a more potent effect on behavior than any tangible reward we could offer. Moreover, the success of most relationships doesn't depend on material goods or things, but flourishes because it provides each individual the opportunity to participate in or contribute to the relationship in some meaningful way. Therefore, if you are looking to reward or reinforce children's behavior, what you can give them is an opportunity to contribute consequentially to your childcare activities. Be creative in what opportunities you provide children in regards to playing a significant role in childcare activities as a result of appropriate behavior. Recognize, as well, that you probably provide some opportunities at present, but not realize it. These opportunites may be called; door holder, line leader, flag holder, weather spotter or table setter. Although we may consider these opportunities to participate routine, children do not.

Children should always have occasions to contribute in significant ways to their childcare experience. However, for children experiencing problem behavior, providing additional opportunities that celebrate their strengths and abilities will have lasting benefits. And, what better way to celebrate than in partnership with a caring adult.