International Teacher Education Conference 2014 1

International Teacher Education Conference 2014
Being consistent, systematic and patient should be the most important support point of parents and teachers
.As children grow older, it will be necessary for parents to develop creative strategies for protecting their
children and teaching them appropriate behaviors. Children integrate their parents attitude and expectations into
their behaviors with consistent nature and instruction(Özmert,2006).It shouldn’t be forgotten that habits
gaining’s first step is obtaining behavior .First of all, behavior should be obtained properly then it should be
turned into a habit .In addition, the most effective way for gaining target behavior is being a model, especially
for children in 2-7 age range since it is incarnated enough(Mackenzie,2010).Bringing good habits for children is
responsibility of Parents and Teachers. Parents’ behavior will play an important role in children’s personality.
Parents and teachers playing this role should be model in obtaining good habits by being aware of the
seriousness of the situation (Yavuzer, 1998).
Cleaning Habit: The most important means of keeping an individual and other people healthy is cleaning.
Cleaning is not just body cleaning, keeping everything and everyplace clean is requirement of being clean. In
order to be preserved from diseases threatening individual health, personal and environmental cleaning is
necessary. Children, 24-30 months old, should be provided with an environment to do cleaning practices taught
mostly doing personally by parents, teachers or educator .For example, washing his hand should be a habit of a
child after making his toilet and before touching the food(Megep,2009).
Dressing Habit: 36-72 months old children are at a level that they can practice skills related to dressing and
undressing. Parents at home, teacher in education environment should behave patiently and guide kids in some
activities that they can do on their own such as dressing, clothe folding or hanging them and if needs be ,parents
and teacher should support children. Children’s dressing on their own will improve every passing day as in
children’s learning eating, trying to draw picture skills. You can also utilize children’s toys while making
children obtain this habit.. A kid trying to dress his dolls will try same act on himself. Especially girls like
dressing their dolls (Megep, 2009).
Toilet Habit: Although Children have individual differences, they get ready to take potty training when they
are 18 months old. When they are 36 months old, most of them will be gained toilet habit but once again there
are individual differences. However some children may not be ready to get potty training until they are 4 years
old. Even though they got potty training, sometimes day wetting and bedwetting may be seen for some children.
To get this habit ,children may be forced to sit on the potty after each meal for a few minutes .A careful mother
may understand that his child needs toilet by looking at his child’s behaviors .In this kind of situations ,if we let
the child relieve himself with the help of potty without giving any chance to wet himself ,then this act is going to
be habit of the child ,therefore, when the child needs toilet ,he will use potty then finally he will use
bathroom.(Yavuzer,2011)
Sleeping habit: Babies sleep more than twenty hours of their time in the following weeks of the birth .As
they grow, sleep need decreases. The 13-15 hours need for sleep from 6 months old to one year old decreases
12-13 hours at the age of 1,5.At the age of 6 ,the need is 10-12 hours and after the age of 10 it is 10
hours.(Saygılı.2012).Regular sleeping has important role in child’s healthy growth. There should be sleeping
hours in pre-school education and at home during daytime, children with difficulty in sleeping should lay to
relax in that time. After –dinner nap is indispensable for lots of children in early childhood especially first years
of this period. In colloquial language, there are some sayings such as,” Children grow while sleeping” and
“Uyusunda Büyüsün”. Since growth hormone is released while sleeping, regular and enough sleep is important
in children’s growing. ıf Children, who are constantly astir during the daytime, don’t rest, these children may
have attention deficit, deficiency of social development, hyper-activity and restlessness. Most of the time, this
situation leaves teachers and parents in a difficult situation. Psychical and mental development deficiency is
unavoidable for those who don’t take enough night sleep .That’s why children should be provided with enough
night, daytime sleep and resting (Aktürk, Z, Turgut, A.2013).
Habit of obeying socials rules: Social skills are behavioral patterns, basis of which are constituted during the
pre-school period. Awaiting one’s turn, serving others, seeking one’s right without hurting someone else,
expressing your happiness and anger by caring others’ emotions, postponing your desires, etc. Behaviors should
be given to the children in the behavior training program including social and emotional aims as part of
curriculum after these behaviors are obtained, students will use them whenever needed. Teacher should use
positive reinforcement to students’ appropriate and timely behaviors to make students obtain this behavior as a
habit. Teacher should take necessary precautions to let students live their emotions and disappointments caused
by other students, by not allowing these disappointments to turn into hospitality and conflict and should develop
activities to bring social skills.(Aktürk, Z,Turgut A.2013)
Nutritional Habit: Pre-school period is an important process for development of healthy nutritional habit.
Nutritional habits are generally formed by those taking care of the child. These habits are finishing one’s plate,
dessert eating, eating meat regularly and using of food as a reward (Branen and Fletcher, 1999).Having
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