“There is no such thing as a bad child.” It can be easy for us as humans to judge a child by their behavior and label them as bad. I work as a family coach for Early Childhood Connections and part of my job is providing age-appropriate activities for children birth through five years old who participate in our playgroups. Our playgroups include all kinds of families and children. which also means we see all sorts of behavior. This quote (“there is no such thing as a bad child”) serves as an important reminder to me; that no matter what a child is acting like; he/she is still not a bad child. During my training through Starr’s Global Learning Network, we were taught that instead of asking ourselves, “what’s wrong with him/her?,” instead ask ourselves, “I wonder what happened to him/her?” To me this means that we should not judge a child but to be curious about their behaviors. To me this means understanding that using a loud voice can cause a child to feel fear. That being in a large group setting for some children can trigger them or cause them to shut down. I have changed the way I think about things now and hope that others do too.
Aholibama Alcala de Asis
Family Coach, Early Childhood Services
Calhoun Intermediate School District