Active Supervision for Keeping Children Safe and Preventing Challenging Behaviors

By Sara Silva, STARS Coach, Child Care Connections | May 19th, 2022

Smokey Bear’s all too famous slogan, “Only YOU can prevent forest fires,” can be equally apt in the early childhood learning environment. We are all too aware of how behaviors and injuries can spiral during those all-to-familiar, and dreaded, hard days. Inevitable, they are also those days when we might not be feeling our best. Ever wonder what goes spectacularly wrong? Well, all those mirror neurons that connect us to each other are still firing away in the children but we’re not in the greatest space to hold a safe space for connection. Additionally, we may not be as aware and present of what’s going on in the classroom (our “spidey” sense may be a bit off) and less engaged with the children. All of which combine to leave children feeling a bit off themselves and that uncomfortable feeling and insecurity about our presence (our ability to be fully present with them) can lead to children reacting to the “yucky” feeling by being less patient and engaging in more difficult and challenging behaviors – they just don’t feel very good and are not completely sure quite why.

The strategies of active supervision can support us in preventing these “forest fires”. Not only does active supervision help to ground us more in the present moment, but it also invites us to engage with the children. By joining in children’s play and activities, we are more apt to head off challenging behavior before it begins, and the children feel more connected to their caregivers – which increases their sense of security and feelings of well-being. So where to start? Child Care Resources has developed a few short animations to get us started on the right path to practicing active supervision:

• Active Supervision Keeps Kids Safe (4:19)
• Active Supervision and Outside Play (3:38) and
• Leading by Example: Implementing Active Supervision (4:10) for supervisors.

Additionally, we can remind ourselves of the active supervision practices by including one of these great posters from the Office of Head Start National Center on Health, Behavior Health and Safety in our classrooms (posted at teacher eye level):

• A visual poster or
• A descriptive poster

For a deeper dive into the practices of active supervision and additional resources visit: Safety Practices: Keeping Children Safe Using Active Supervision. If you need help or would like more information on establishing your own practice of active supervision, give us a call and talk to one of our provider services team members: 406.587.7786.

CCC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit advocating for the well-being and quality care of children. Learn more at cccmontana.org.