Nanny 911

I'm watching a marathon of Nanny 911. It's crazy to see how clueless some parents are! I feel so lucky to have a job that prepares me to be a successful parent. Nanny 911 shows some pretty extreme behavior management scenarios. The kids on that show range from not sitting in time out to spitting in their mother's face. How do these parents put up with that disrespect? Probably because they don't know what to do. Most parents' anger and frustration takes over. They scream, their faces get red, they lose it. Yet, dont' they know that THAT is what the misbehaving kids are looking for? They're waiting for the furious response. With those kids, there need to be clear consequences set out and the parent needs to calmly give the consequence, whether it be time out, no tv, etc. And there also needs to be positive consequences when the rules are followed.
I strongly believe in positive reinforcement in my classroom. I've learned how to create various behavior plans for different behavior issues, for different classes, and different kids. I feel like being a teacher is like being the mom of 20+ kids all at once (although I do get to send them home :)). Yet, for the time that they're with me, I'm their mom. I'm their caregiver, their authority figure. This career gives me years of practice so that when I raise my own kids, I'll know how. I'll know what to do when they fight with each other. I'll know what to do when they don't share or throw things. I can teach them to read at home too. It's the same thing I do with my kids in the classroom.
In my classroom, I'm all about building a sense of community. We're a family in the classroom. My kids always remind each other (which I love)- when one of them misbehaves, another tells them, "Hey. We're a family. We don't pinch each other. We love each other." Can you believe that!?! 5 and 6 year olds after only one month together understand what I've been repeating for a month now. I also like to reward them for positive behavior. Now everything is not prizes (material things). Rewards range from a high five to getting to go to Choice Time first. Stickers are every once in a while. Those are huge when kids get them.
I still feel like I have so much to learn, but I feel like I will have a step up in raising children when I'm ready to do that.
Now my first year of teaching, I feel like I was one of the parents on Nanny 911. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. My first year of teaching was a stressful one to say the least. The kids were already notorious because of their behavior before I even got them in my class. It being my first year, I was not equipped to handle that kind of chaos. I was a screaming red-faced mess! And those kids loved it and fed on it. I will write about that year later, but I think that year was so important for me to experience so that I know what NOT to do :).
I am loving my current year. I see that it takes years to be a good teacher. MANY years. Not just anyone can be a teacher. Your heart has to really be in it and you have to be able to endure those tough years and know how to grow from that.
I don't think that those parents on Nanny 911 really know that they're making bad choices. I guess you can only grow from experience. And my experience can come from teaching so that when I have my own kids I'll be more ready to tackle the craziness that comes with parenting :).