Intervening in Children's Outdoor Play

Intervening in Outdoor Play The playground is a microcosm of society. All the forces of nature and human temperaments come into play, less contained than indoors. In early childhood, these forces are unrefined. According to Psychologist, Wendy Mogel, things that are considered normal in early childhood would be pathological in adults. The children are early in the journey toward social responsibility. Opportunities to teach lessons arise on a regular basis when children are free to explore in a healthy way. What kind of questions do we ask ourselves when we are outdoors with children? We ask who are the leaders in the play and how can we reinforce the teacher’s voice in their heads? How can we ensure the safety of the children? How can we address disharmony when it occurs? If it takes a community to raise children, how can we work with agreement so the children hear the same message from all the adults? If parents witness an event in the playground, it is usually during a festivals or transition times. These are the times when issues of who is in charge get murky and so children can engage in attention getting behaviors. Here are some guidelines to help address situations when they arise. 1. We work with a picture of human development that involves children learning by imitation. Hence we model social responsibility, equanimity, positivity and interest in others. 2. We work with objectivity. If we see a child do something, we report what we saw, not what we think or feel about it. We do not judge children or parents. This objectivity takes time to develop and our training supports us in this practice. The fruits of objectivity allow us to keep from enmeshing facts with our opinions and feelings. 3. We acknowledge the children’s feelings by labelling and expressing them. “I see you are frustrated (or another feeling)”. This is the first step to showing a child how to express their own feelings as in “I am frustrated” rather than acting them out. 4. We read the children’s behaviors as a call for attention when they have gotten in over their heads social, and we keep them close to us at these times. 5. We recognize the leaders in play and reinforce the rule that you cannot hurt anybody. At the same time that the children are building peer relationships, we want the words of the adults to come to mind rather than those of peers. 6. We encourage children to find a teacher if things are going awry. 7. We ask children to help make it right when something has happened, by returning a toy for example, or getting a glass of water or a tissue for tears. Rather than insisting that a child apologizes, although at times this might be appropriate, we make the situation right by bringing comfort. Actions are more meaningful than words at this age. All adults can intervene, but for the sake of continuity and to keep from confusing the children, we need to operate from a place of agreement about how we address situations. Children so benefit from consistency and adults working together to create it.