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Brianna Keller

Mrs. Cramer

Comp Pd. 5A

5 Oct. 2018

How and By Whom Should Children Be Taught Appropriate Behavior?

Where do you draw the line between what teachers are expected to teach kids and

what parents are expected to teach kids? There are different ideas on who should be

responsible for teaching children appropriate behavior and how. This is important because

parents and teachers should both know their roles to fulfill, which will be explained in this essay

as well. If they don’t know what roles they need to fulfill, they may not fulfill the roles that they

need to. “Time-ins” are not commonly used but is a good alternative to time-outs. People often

don’t realize the importance of consistency, communication, and discipline, as well as

describing the many responsibilities that teachers have in their students' lives. Using positive

guidance, parents and teachers should both teach their child/student acceptable behavior and

enforce it.

For children to thrive and grow up to know how to act appropriately, they need to have

self-restraint, self-confidence, and respect for others. Parents and teachers are likely the

biggest role model in their children's lives, and this is why they need to demonstrate this

behavior. If they are kind to themselves and others, their child will recognize this and follow in

their lead. If they value their child's work, improvements, accomplishments, and thoughts, this
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will build the child's self-esteem. Consistency is also a big factor that contributes to a child's

behavior. If something is being applied at school but not at home, this creates confusion for the

child, and vice versa. Consistency creates routine for children and makes them feel more

secure, because they know what to expect each day. In a classroom, students will feel more

comfortable and focused if it has a good organizational structure. Consistency is perhaps the

most important component to a classroom. (Enright, Tracy)

Teachers have a very important role in their students' lives. They can be a source of

advice, they can help students explore career options, they provide support, and help students

to become a successful student and human being. Teachers are responsible for teaching their

students' acceptable ways to behave in and out of the classroom. Teachers shape the next

generations and teach them things that they will carry for the rest of their lives. Not only is it

beneficial to the students and their parents, it also benefits the teacher. If teachers enforce

and/or reward good behavior, this will give the teachers more time to teach. For this to

happen, the teacher and the parents need to communicate on what they feel is important to

enforce and what they plan on enforcing in the classroom and at home, because some people

have different opinions in what is acceptable behavior and what is unacceptable behavior. This

allows the child to have the same things enforced at home and at school, eliminating and

avoiding confusion. Another reason why teachers are responsible for disciplining and correcting

bad behavior is that some children’s parents do not. Regardless of what the reason is, some

parents do not teach their children what is right and what is wrong. Some common reasons

why parents do not discipline their kids is that they don’t know how to, they are afraid to, they

think that their child will not like them if they do, etc. It is very unhealthy to not discipline your
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child so they can grow, learn respect and self-control, and to build stability and structure to

their lives. (Doyne, Shannon)

Frequently, children will act out for attention. Yelling at them will give them this

attention. Nowadays, a lot of parents practice “Time-ins” instead of “Time-outs” Time- ins

should be a period of time where a child can reflect on what happened and what went wrong

with a parent. “Putting a child in time out tells them that you don’t want to be around them

when they are upset” (Adams). In addition, a lot of children don’t know how to properly

problem solve yet, so they need you there with them, so you can talk them through it. If you

put a child in time out and ask them to reflect on what happened and walk away, they will only

think of ways to not get caught next time or that they are a bad person. Time-ins should also be

in a comfortable spot with the child’s favorite stuffed animals or blankets. Some may argue that

this is rewarding bad behavior, but the ultimate goal is to teach your child that what he or she

did was wrong, provide them with acceptable alternatives, and prevent the behavior from

continuing, not to punish them. A child is more likely to listen to what you are saying if you are

respectful towards them and they are comfortable. Furthermore, children are more likely to

follow the rules if they help make them. This is another thing that could happen during time-

inss; You and your child or student can establish rules and have a discussion about why it is

important. (Adams, Jane Meredith)

Finally, it may be concluded that both parents and teachers should teach their child

acceptable behavior, using positive guidance. In order to raise your child to demonstrate

appropriate behavior, you should validate your child's accomplishments and improvements,

listen to what they say to you, lead by example, value their thoughts, involve them, give them
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boundaries, hold them accountable, and have respect for them. It is also very unhealthy to not

discipline your children, which is why they should be disciplined both at home and in the

classroom. Time outs should be a period of time when children can reflect on what happened

and calm down with their parent present and walking them through it. “Time-ins” is a practice

that should be considered among parents and childhood educators that is a comfortable

learning and calming down experience for both the child and the parents or teachers. Teachers

should be expected to provide resources to students, give them advice, educate, teach

appropriate behavior and shape our next generations into respectable, knowledgeable,

dependent human beings.

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Works Cited

Adams, Jane Meredith. “How to Get Your Kids to Behave.” WebMD. Webmd.com. n.d. Web.

21 Sept. 2018

Doyne, Shannon. “How, and by Whom, Should Children be Taught Appropriate Behavior?”

Newyorktimes.com. The New York Times Company. 2017. Web. 21 Sept. 2018

Enright, Tracy. “How to Help your Child Learn Appropriate Behavior.” Child Development

Institute. Childdevelopmentinfo.com 8 March 2016. Web. 21 Sept. 2018

“Teaching Appropriate Behavior.” Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities.

Projectidealonline.org. 2013. Web. 21 Sept. 2018

Walker, Hill M., Elizabeth Ramsey, and Frank M. Gresham. “How Early Intervention Can

Reduce Defiant Behavior- and Win Back Teaching Time.” Aft.org. A Union of

Professionals. N.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2018

“What You Can do to Change Your Child’s Behavior.” American Academy of Family

Physicians. Familydoctor.org. 2018. Web. 21 Sept. 2018.