Top 10 Ingenious Tricks to Make Preschoolers Listen to Teachers Without Using the Rod

As a preschool teacher, it's crucial to be clear when to be gentle and when to be firm, without needing to be harsh but strict when necessary. Normally, be gentle, soft, relaxed, and humorous. If a child doesn't follow the class rules, you'll need to be strict, showing clear dissatisfaction, anger, and the child will understand you're displeased. While instilling discipline in children, you must be serious and meticulous. But with love for the children, be strict during lessons and playful during breaks. Take care of the children's meals and sleep, so they'll feel your affection and grow fond of you, thus reducing mischief. Children should respect you, not fear you.

Preschool education is challenging; most children lack understanding, so teachers have a tough time. In many cases, teachers lose their temper because of disobedient children and difficult parents. However, when discipline is established, it feels rewarding. Each school, each class, each teacher is different, so teachers must adapt their approach based on each child's situation.

You should negotiate with the class for a corner punishment in the classroom, set up a chair there and stipulate that anyone who misbehaves will sit there for 15 minutes, not allowed to do anything, just sit and watch other kids play (study).... then when bringing the child back to class, briefly explain why the child was punished? Is the child happy to stand alone? Will the child do it again next time? (let the child decide what to do and bear the consequences)... This teaching method will take a lot of time but the effectiveness is extremely great, you can try it out.

Or you can also put a chair in a corner and let the whole class name the chair according to the child's preference, get the child's opinion and guide the child according to their preference, then name the chair as the naughty chair. Before naming it, you should explain the consequences when the child misbehaves and has behavior that hurts others... When the child misbehaves, invite the child to sit there and say to the child (when you sit on this naughty chair, you will become a naughty person and no one will play with you, you will become a bad person and you will not be allowed to play toys with your friends, do you want to become a bad person? But because you misbehaved today, you will sit here, when you are good and apologize to the teacher, your friends, and promise not to misbehave again, you will become a good person) this method should be applied slowly and clearly negotiated with the child, should have an additional slogan in the class and make the child memorize (5 Nos: No talking, no hitting friends, no messing up toys, no crying, no eating slowly). This method can be applied to larger classes.

If a child likes to take toys during class, let the child hold the toy they like and then hold it high above their head for 3-5 minutes depending on the child's age. Or for children who run around during class without sitting still, have the child run 10 laps around the classroom until you feel it's enough, then you can stop. And after each punishment, you should ask the child if what they did was right, and how they promise to behave next time... and explain to them to understand more about their mistake.

Another example: if a child often throws toys while playing, have the child sit on a chair and watch other children play, not allowing them to play... that's also a way to punish the child. When the child wants to play, the teacher talks to the child about the issue of throwing toys to make the child understand that it's wrong. However, if the child repeatedly misbehaves, don't expect results after just 1 or 2 times.

In various ways, teachers must create a warm atmosphere of a family, fostering closeness and affection between the teacher and the students, then immediately the children will be very excited to come to school. To make preschoolers listen without the need for punishment, the method of 'Delegating tasks to children and then praising them' is also applied by many preschool teachers. This is a quite common and not too difficult method to implement but brings many expected results.

For hyperactive or mischievous children, it seems that forms of punishment will not be effective. So what should the teacher do in this case? The teacher can assign small tasks to the child and praise them when they do well. If the class has become disciplined, the teacher can assign the child to monitor a group of friends and remind them, and the child will have to set an example and behave better.

Every child has their own nature. If a child has a sweet tooth, then speaking sweetly and coaxing them will make them listen. For those who prefer salty, sweet talk won't work, so sometimes the opposite approach or being a bit tough might be necessary. As long as the teacher doesn't overdo it, it's fine.

The teacher needs to identify the strengths, weaknesses, causes, and solutions, and remember that a few unruly kids in a class are exceptions. Some children just like to attract attention by running around. The teacher's reaction should be patient and adaptable. They can speak gently, show care, talk to the child like a friend, or use a stern expression, or enforce discipline like standing in a corner or sitting quietly to reflect, or create engaging activities...

At the preschool age, where children's psychological characteristics are rapidly developing, they are curious and like to imitate. Teachers must respect children and be extremely fair in using praise and criticism. Praise and criticism have a strong impact on children's obedient behavior, but overpraising and vague criticism should be avoided. I often praise positive role models for children to emulate.

For example, I praise children who go to school obediently, on time, dressed neatly and cleanly. They greet the teacher when they arrive in class, don't cry easily, through songs, poems, stories, and everywhere, which can help children develop better habits. Or, instead of criticizing children in front of the group, I prefer to be approachable to offer small suggestions to children about some less favorable habits. In the class, if there are some children who misbehave due to being spoiled by grandparents or parents, the teacher should take advantage of opportunities during certain activities where children can learn, imitate, and seize every opportunity to change them in various ways.

The teacher can have a heart-to-heart with the children: 'Today, I see that friend A is well-behaved, and friend B is also commendable, unlike some of the other children in our class... (the teacher temporarily borrows a child from another class). Not well-behaved like during study time, teasing classmates, talking during mealtime, causing chaos in class by running around, not paying attention to what the teacher says. Is that considered good behavior, kids? Do you deserve a flag? Do you want to earn a flag? You need to behave better. During nap time, do you talk? You shouldn't. If you behave well, can you get a rose on the weekend?'

In general, the teacher brings up the issues that children in the class face to criticize, but doesn't criticize the children in the class directly. Instead, they borrow examples from other classes to strengthen their own class. This is a way to appeal to the children's desire for praise, bringing up the shortcomings of others to show them what's not right. Always, you should praise first, then address the issue. This way, the child is praised for being good and smart, but it's acknowledged that they need to improve in certain areas, to make the child aware of their mistakes.

Teachers must work with both heart and soul, desiring to do the best for the children. Regardless of the situation, they must remain patient, loving, and create the best conditions for the children's development. Preschool teaching is a very special profession, dealing with very young, innocent children who are not yet aware of their actions. Therefore, if teachers do not work from a good heart, it is difficult to be close to and loved by the children.

During the process of instilling discipline in children, teachers must be serious and demanding. However, with love for the children, they should be strict during lessons and friendly during playtime. By taking care of the children's meals and sleep, they will feel the teacher's affection and become more affectionate towards them. The teacher should maintain authority over the children, while the children love the teacher instead of fearing them. Preschool education is very difficult because most children lack understanding, so teachers face challenges. Many cases arise where teachers lose their temper due to disobedient children and difficult parents. However, when children are disciplined, teachers feel gratified. Each school, each class, and each teacher is different, so teachers must consider the child's situation and adapt their approach accordingly.

Children love to feel like adults, to do something from start to finish in their own way. Let them choose between behaving well to receive a reward or misbehaving to face consequences. Allow children to make their own decisions, and they will naturally behave well without showing resistance. Clearly explain to them the options they have, fostering a closer bond while teaching them valuable lessons.

With the 'Empowering Children with Choices' approach, teachers need patience to explain and guide children to understand the situation. If children make the wrong choice, explain and help them voluntarily redirect to the right path, avoiding coercion and imposition, as these may make them uncomfortable and unwilling to comply.

When children misbehave or refuse to listen, teachers need patience and must seek to understand why they are behaving that way. It could be because they're not used to the class environment, feeling too scared to speak up, or perhaps they're overly indulged at home and used to having their own way. Even when children are uncooperative, teachers should adopt a gentle approach to educate them, making them feel comfortable and more receptive to the lesson.

Always be patient and explain things to children instead of giving them disapproving looks. For example, when a child refuses to take medicine, you could say, 'You need to take your medicine to get better quickly and to avoid spreading illness to your classmates.' This way, the child will understand the reason behind taking medicine, realizing that it's not only beneficial for themselves but also for others.