Continuum of Guidance: OK or Not OK?

Reflection

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ACTIVITY ID: 23766

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It can be difficult to distinguish between practices that simply violate your program’s guidance policy and practices that could be abusive. In this activity, you will practice distinguishing between the two. Read each scenario and mark where you think it falls on the continuum. Discuss any questions you have with your coach, trainer, or administrator.

Scenarios	Acceptable Guidance	Violates Guidance and Touch Policy	Potential Abuse and Neglect
Donald throws away a child’s lunch as punishment for spilling food on the floor.		✔	If you see a pattern, this could be neglect.
Sherman approaches a child who is crying about going outside and says, “You can choose to line up with your friend or next to me. Which do you want to do?”	✔
Suki tells a child that his mom won’t come pick him up unless he stops whining.		✔	Threatening a child is not appropriate and is potentially abusive.
Charlize spanks a child with her hand after he talks back to her.		✔	✔ Corporal punishment is never ok.
A child walks away from group time. Marshall decides to end group time and begin free play a little bit early.	✔
Felicity tells a child he should be ashamed of himself for wetting his pants.		✔	If you see a pattern of behavior, this could be emotional abuse.
Denise shakes a baby to get him to stop crying.		✔	✔ A baby should never be shaken.
Jaime got in trouble this morning. A staff member keeps him inside and makes him sit on a chair while other children play outside.		✔	✔ Isolation is not an appropriate form of guidance. Children must be actively supervised at all times.
Two children are fighting. Hillary asks them to sit down, and she asks each to tell her their own side of the story.	✔ Hillary is beginning the mediation process.

Keep in mind that while a single occurrence of an event may not in and of itself be considered abuse, a pattern of specific behaviors could be.