I work in a nursery and I am struggling with some of the staff at how they shout loudly at the children.?

Question

Is there any research or interesting reading that supports my concerns or am I being over sensitive. Several incidences of babies (10 months) being shouted at and toddlers too. I would hate to think my child was treated like this. Comments from nursery nurses etc would be very much appreciated.

Answer 1

Mam, don't let these incidents go any further.

Any nursery employee(s) who shouts at babies & toddlers have to be reported to the owners.

You can also write an anonymous letter to the owners, stating everything you know is wrong in that facility.

Verbally  abusing children is offensive & malicious!

Don't look the other way, you are not being over sensitive!  

What will these people do next?

Will they physically abuse these innocent babies/toddlers?

Don't wait until they decide to, let's say casually  tap these babies on their hands or bottoms!

Abuse only escalates, especially when there is no intervention!

Mam, the ball is now in your court, how will you proceed?

Answer 2

Go to the care commision and whistle blow, they certainly should not be shouting at babies, they should be professional enough to control the childrens behaviour without screaming, seriosly if it bothers and upsets you that much,  you can inform the appropriate authorities anonymously . goodluck

Answer 3

I do not understand why places like this exist.

Why have a child for someone else to look after?

Ok if you have to work, where are the grandparents?

I find the whole thing sad, the parents should be the ones you are talking to.

Answer 4

what is a nursery nurse? if you mean a nursery school teacher then ok!  Of course your instincts are right on, babies that young should not be shouted at at all!  I've seen teachers that have done that - usually over worked nitpicky old hags that hate their job. Makes me want to shout at them and tell them to find another line of work!

I say go to the boss and tell her your concerns. or call in anonymously as a "concerned" parent! any and all literature would not promote yelling at any age most of all babies!  Maybe find a social iq intelligence book for babies and leave it in the nursery. highlight parts that are interesting for them to read!

We are all human and yes I do yell at my 10 yr old on occasion - lol  but not when he was a baby - babies are precious and toddlers too.

good luck!

Answer 5

Notify your supervisor or the director of the facility. If this doesn't change the way they treat these children, then take it to the next higher person. Last choice notify the parents when they pick their kids up. They will not scream at those kids again because the parents will pull their children and their money from that center. leading to the probable dismissal of those screaming  former employees.

Answer 6

No, you're not being oversensitive. All of these children's parents would be horrified if they knew and they should be. It sounds as if your staff is highly untrained. If I couldn't get any where talking to the voice I would change schools - but not before recording a little shouting and showing it to parents.

Answer 7

ARE YOU HAVING ANY MORE SUCCESS TALKING QUIETLY?are the other staff members just trying to make them selves heard?All small animals behave the same ,they squeek loudly and play games when they dont want food or sleep.All children need to know the working parameters of their daily life and will push to establish the behavioral patterns that are mutually acceptable.You will set those behavioral patterns by what you allow them to do as infants,(hence the expression making a rod for your own back).How you achieve this control is down to your strength of personality or lack of it.You create the monster not the child,a badly behaved child has no blame,the blame is on the parent who did not know how to cope.Remember this,while your child is in there you are not performing your duty as a parent,someone else is being paid to do it.

Answer 8

I'm assuming you're in the UK.  The nursery should have a Child Protection Policy and Code of Conduct setting out what staff may and may not do.  There should also be a Child Protection Officer whose job it is to make sure that the rules are followed.

Now you may find that the Policy doesn't mention shouting, or that the person doing the shouting is the CPO, but this structure should give you a procedure for raising your concerns.

Answer 9

Change the teachers!!!!!

No body deserves to be shouted at!!!

Babies being shouted at??? If i was around every one of those teachers would be out of the school.!!!

Don't they have kids of their own????

You are not over sensitive. You just love kids, like I do!!

I support you 100%.

Answer 10

SHOUTING at a child is never the answer. The best way to get a child to listen to what you are saying is to get on eye level with them not to close in there face and say what you have to say and ask them if they understand and most times they are going  to a say yes and when they do you ask them to repeat what you said this way you know they listened and they understood and you finish by saying so were not going to do that anymore right. I have a 3 and 4 year old and it works very good with me. Those employees that are yelling should be fired they have no patience and in order to work with kids you have to have a lot of patience.

Answer 11

You or a person in charge should explain to your coworkers that there is a difference between being stern and shouting. Alot of shouting creates a stressful situation for children and itll make it hard for them to trust you. If a parent chooses to yell at their babies that is their decision, but at a nursery it is your responsibility to create a safe and comfortable learning environment for the chidren.

Answer 12

Just stand back a few paces. Take a very deep breath. Put your open hands over your ears. Contort your face to one of immense agony. and shout back as loud as you can.....

"STOP THAT BLOODY SHOUTING YOU HORRIBLE LITTLE WOMAN!"

Take some more deep breaths. Relax your body. Simmer down nicely. Walk over to the kettle and smile politely and ask, "Anybody like some tea?"

Answer 13

You should report this to someone

It sounds terrible! Do something about it please

Answer 14

better bring it up at the next staff meeting

Answer 15

i dont know about research etc, but i would be disgusted at the thought that my baby was in the hands of people who i believe my daughter trusted  were shouting at them! i would report them. i can understand shouting over a serious issue but if they are just doing it all day, that is so wrong.

Answer 16

Check out this Australian site- it's about challenging behaviour, but it is relevant to behaviour guidance in general.

Answer 17

I have been in the business for over 17 years!  You see a lot, hear a lot and do a lot.  I have come to see what works best.  The noise level must be kept at a minimum in the room.  Hold your finger up to your lip's and say, "SSSssssssshhhhhh!".  Explain to everyone you believe the babies are frightened from the loud noise and in turn causing more noise.  Try it for two weeks, be persistent.  Everyone, including the babies will have a much better time!  Keep the children involved so no one is bored, that doesn't mean changing activities often, just keep them doing what you have set up for them to do.  Teaching the classroom to be quiet takes someone taking charge of this.  Explain...  "If I can hear you across the room, you are too loud."  And, children understand you best when you literally get on their level, look them in the eye and tell them what you want.  Speak softly, use your inside voice, use any term you want, but be persistent!  With the adults as well as the children.  They will understand where you are heading three days into your experiment and you will be the classroom hero!  Good Luck!!

Answer 18

talk with the staff....and see how the chldren do if they are not shouted at no more, if they dont listen then give them a talk or punish them not in a hard way! lol!

Answer 19

There are a couple of things you can do; speak to your line manager, or the manager of the nursery. You can also complain to OFSTED anonymously. Children should not be shouted at and it is up to you to protect them. If you don't want to speak to staff get in touch with social services.

Answer 20

this needs to be reported - if you would not like a child of yours being treated like this then it is so wrong - obviously you have to go way over the heads of the people in charge and may lose your position but you will have a clear conscience

Answer 21

Hi,

I use to work in a Nursery and I too had same concerns when some of the staff were being too harsh and shouting and screaming at babies as young as 8/9 months!

It was just so wrong and in end with no one doing anything about it, I decided to leave as I couldn't work in an establishment that allows it's staff to treat young vulnerable babies like that.

The tips I have for yourself and your collegues are..

1) Prevent situations where baby may do something you don't like - move items and just create a trouble-free environmnent!

2) Ignore behaviour that is annoying bu NOT HARMFUL. If the baby pulls all toys onto the floor, just take a deep breath and ignore it. If you pay too much attention, it only teaches the baby to keep doing things like this to get your attention.

3) Distract or re-direct baby from things you don't want them to have or do. If baby has someone's keys for example and you need them, don't just grab them, instead interest baby in some other toy or activity. It is much easier to get baby started on something else, than take something away.

4) Reward baby with loving attention when they play nicely. Don't become a nursery nurse who only notices when a baby has done something wrong.

5) Give freedom within limits. Babies need freedom to explore, but they do also need limits. Babies who are kept in playpens all day have too little freedom and are too limited. Baby does need freedom on floor to explore.

Lx

Answer 22

That is not acceptable in a nursery. You should have a Behaviour Management Policy in your setting which should state that adults won't raise there voices in a way which will intimidate a child.

If you feel you can't speak to higher management about this for fear of reprisals, follow your setting's complaints procedure - they have to have one by law. Then make a complaint anonymously either to the manager/owner or to Ofsted. There are strict Ofsted guidelines which must be followed after a complaint.

There should also be a whistleblowing section in your child protection policy you could refer to.

Whatever you decide to do, shouting at babies and young children is bullying. If the staff were caught by Ofsted doing this they would probably close down the nursery.



Go with your instincts. Everyone shouts occasionally at a child who is behaving badly persistently, but 10 month old babies don't misbehave, they are too young to know the rules, so can't knowingly break them.  

I'm sure you could find lots of research support for this - look at the Birth to Three Matters Framework or any book about behaviour management for the under 3s.

Be brave and stand up to them in some way. Good luck :-)

Answer 23

tell the boss

Answer 24

u need to report this to ur manager, i would as working with kids u need to be nice to them especially when they r rthis young

Answer 25

I would tell them about this article.  I would definately look at things the way you do. I do not think these people need to be working with children.

Answer 26

Unbelievably nurseries across the countries have been uncovered for their unprofessional-ism and neglectful treatment of children and babies in their care. Some say it is a result of poor pay and young average age of employees. Either way its common.

My mum qualified as a nursery nurse at the age of 17 and started work in a local nursery - she was so disheartened at the way the 'best kids' were treated better and the not so good looking or cute babies where cast aside.

Many babies were left crying and nappies weren't changed regularly enough. It even more shockingly the manager was the worst culprit.

At 17 she felt powerless to say anything as the girls she worked with were aggressive and dismissed her everyday, to make matters worst it was in a very run down and poor area and the parents showed about as much consideration for the kids as the carers did. It lead to her leaving the industry not long after starting.

To this day she regrets not standing up and doing anything about it - even though her voice may not have been heard readily.

I say be brave and stand up for what you believe in - make you're voice heard and help protect the children - don't loose sight of why you chose the job.

Answer 27

"In some cases, researchers say, yelling can become a form of emotional abuse. And children whose parents consistently raise their voices or combine yelling with insults, criticism, ridicule or humiliation may suffer from depression, dips in self-esteem or demonstrate more aggression themselves."  

Imagine how it must affect babies!! They are creating an environment of fear!!