What to do when a toddler misbehaves in school?

Question

My 2.6 year old son is attending pre-nursury.First few weeks he kept on crying because of separation anxiety.Now that he's been able to adjust to school, he starts misbehaving.He'll make a mess of the toys in school, play with his food and turn the chairs upside down. Once he stepped on the feet of his classmate for no reason at all and when the teacher made him stand in the corner as punishment, he was smiling as if he likes being punished. We didn't expect him to be like that at school because at home he is generally well behave. We don't tolerate such behavior, so when the teacher reported his behavior we made him stand in the corner and spank him. Afterwards, we expained to him why he is being punished and spanked, and he seems to understand because he would apologize to the teacher the next day. But not for long he would misbehave again. What can we do?Are we spoiling him or overdoing the discipline thing because he only seems to misbehave when we are not around.

Answer 1

And how is the teacher handling the behavior? Does she do anything, or is she too busy with the other kids? How big is the class? He may be acting out to get more attention at school.

  Try this: let him know that because he can't behave well at school, you will no longer do anything fun with him (weekend plans or whatever). Until the teacher tells him he's been a good boy ALL DAY, you won't take him out anymore....keep reminding him every morning, and tell the teacher what you told him....might work.

Answer 2

I think his behavior is normal. I'm back in school part time, so my son also 2.5 years is in part time daycare. I get a letter every day about my son not wanting to sit still, or running away and laughing at his teachers. I was appalled at his behavior at first until I sat down, talked to a few other moms and realized that he  is just 2 and he is acting out because of lack of attention at school. At home, he only acts out when he needs extra attention. I also noticed when I drop him off or pick him up, the teachers are always busy with other kids. One worker always has the same child in her lap. So, I really think my son is OK for awhile and then decides that he wants some extra attention, so he does anything he can think of to get it.

I think some of the expectations are ridiculous for such small children. Such as long periods of sit time or 20 minutes of circle time. 2 year olds do not have attention spans and they do not have impulse control. They are learning about what is acceptable and what is not acceptable and will test, test and test again to make sure that the rules are still the same.

I would tell the nursery teachers, that you are consistent at home with him and ask what they do to help with his behavior when he acts out. They may not be consistent with him or they may not catch him the first time he acts out because they are too busy handling other children.

I would not re-discipline him when he gets home. I would go over the rules that he needs to have at school. No throwing, no hitting etc. I do not see making a mess with toys or food a grounds for punishment. He can however learn to pick up his toys and if he intentionally puts food on the floor, he can help clean up the mess.

I hope this helps. Good Luck to you and your son.

Answer 3

He is 2 years old what are you expecting? All this sounds like normal 2 year old behavior. Maybe he just isnt ready to go to school yet and he is acting out. I wouldnt put my child in a pre-nursery school, maybe you should teach him the things he needs to learn before kindergarden and not expect others to do your job.