Understanding and Improving Behaviors in Early Childhood

On-Demand Class · Emotions & Behavior

These 12 mini-lessons will help you understand the reasons why toddlers and preschoolers act the way they do, and learn to proactively support their brains and bodies so that everyone in your family can thrive.

Class Description

Toddlers and preschoolers are wonderful...AND parenting them can feel like a new, challenging, and sometimes frustrating world compared to infancy! In this class, parent educator and parenting coach, Kate Garzón, walks you through 12 mini-lessons designed to help you understand the reasons why little ones act the way they do, and how to proactively support their brains and bodies so that everyone in your family can thrive. Using the focus of relationship-building and skill-building, we cover early childhood brain development in a simple and useful format; "Body Budgets;" using co-regulation to diffuse meltdowns; using choice to gain cooperation; routines and transitions; discipline and setting boundaries; rupture and repair; common and frustrating behaviors; using play to build skills; and frequently asked questions and answers. This course is informative, easy to digest, and has you covered for all of those baffling early childhood behaviors!

Class Materials

-A pen or pencil and notebook if you wish to jot down a few key takeaways!

Sessions Overview

  1. Lesson 1, Welcome and What to Expect: This session introduces the instructor, Kate Garzón, M.Ed., and the purpose and format of the class. The focus of this class is relationship-building and skill-building, looked at through a lens of understanding reasonable expectations for toddlers and preschoolers.
  2. Lesson 2, A "Crash Course" in Brain Development: Lesson 2 takes you through early childhood brain development in a simple, easy-to-digest format that will help you understand the reasons behind toddler and preschooler behavior!
  3. Lesson 3, Body Budgets: Never heard of a "Body Budget"? You're not alone! This is a key session for understanding how to proactively eliminate many common toddler and preschool behaviors!
  4. Lesson 4, Using Co-Regulation to Diffuse Meltdowns and Tantrums: Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, a meltdown simpy can't be avoided. This session guides you through what do to when they happen, and how to support your little one after the fact.
  5. Lesson 5, Using Choices to Gain Cooperation: This session will help you find the balance between YOU controlling everything, and THEM controlling everything!
  6. Lesson 6, Routines and Transitions: Young children thrive when they have routines and structures...AND they also need caregivers who can be flexible and provide playful, predictable transitions.
  7. Lesson 7, Discipline and Setting Boundaries: Discipline means "to teach," whereas punishment means "to cause pain." Learn how to set reasonable boundaries, and to utilize your strong relationships with your young children to influence their behavior in early childhood AND set them up for lifelong success.
  8. Lesson 8, Rupture and Repair: No matter how patient you resolve to be, sometimes you're going to lose your cool. Learn what to do after a "rupture," so that it strengthens your relationships with your young children in ways that will benefit them throughout their lifetimes.
  9. Lesson 9, Those Common (and Frustrating!) Behaviors: Hitting, throwing, biting, and more! This is the place to take everything you've learned so far and apply it to most common and frustrating early childhood behaviors!
  10. Lesson 10, Using Play to Build Skills: Skill-building in young children looks very different than it does for adults. Learn how to use imaginary play to help toddlers and preschoolers develop self-regulation skills, within what is reasonable for their very young brains!
  11. Lesson 11, Questions and Answers: FAQ's: Why can my toddler/preschooler SOMETIMES do what they're told? What role does language development play? Will I ever have one, whole, good day with my toddler? At what point should I be concerned?
  12. Lesson 12, Wrap Up and Thank You!: Thank you for sharing this time with me! I hope it was helpful, and I welcome your feedback!

Your Instructor

Kate Garzón

Kate Garzón, M.Ed., is a “GPS” for the parents of toddlers through teens! A parent educator and parenting coach who helps parents solve frustrating behaviors - and raise great humans- by focusing on relationship-building, understanding development, and skill-building. She helps loving parents who are tired of feeling like their efforts to “do it right” aren’t being reflected in their family lives. She is a firm believer that every parent does their very best - every day - and that sometimes all they need is an experienced, outside observer to help them understand their children’s and teen’s behaviors by making connections between who they are developmentally and how they experience the world. In addition to her 18-year career as a Montessori teacher in both Canada and the US for children aged 2.5-14, she has been a live-in nanny, camp counselor, sports coach, tutor, childcare provider, volunteer with children and teens with special needs, certified children’s yoga instructor, and an outdoor ed. enthusiast working with adolescents. She is a proud auntie to 14 nieces and nephews, an avid traveler, and an enthusiastic consumer of books and ice cream.

Degrees and Certifications

B.A. in Psychology with child development focus, M.Ed. in Global Citizenship Education, AMS Montessori Early Childhood and Elementary I and II Certifications, IB MYP certificates in Humanities, ongoing professional development courses in childhood trauma, anxiety, depression, Autism

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