MDO Behavior Policy

First United Methodist Church is committed to teaching children how to cope with real-life situations. Therefore, the goal of our discipline policy is self-discipline. When a situation arises that causes conflict between children or when a child becomes frustrated with a situation, the following steps will be:

The teacher will intervene with the children and try to help them communicate with one another what they are feeling and how the situation has impacted them. (Example: When you took the train I was playing with, it hurt my feelings and made me mad.)
Next, the teacher will remove the child from the situation and suggest an alternative. (Example: Let’s play with a puzzle while you wait for your turn with the train.)
The teacher will then help the child understand the reason for the rule that was broken. (Example: Chairs are for sitting and the floor is for standing. If you stand in the chair, you might fall and hurt yourself.)

Should the child continue to need intervention after he/she is given a chance to redeem himself/herself, the child will be removed from the situation and placed in time-out. Time-out starts with two minutes or less. Additional time will be added should it become necessary. During conversations with children regarding discipline situations, the following guidelines are used:

Children are never embarrassed or humiliated in front of others. Conversations are as private and discrete as possible.
Corporal punishment is never used, nor is snatching, pulling or yelling.
On rare occasions, it may be necessary to remove a child from the classroom due to extreme disruptions. An adult will always be with the child and will work to have them successfully re-enter the routine of the classroom.
Withholding of food for punishment is not permitted.
Children are not punished for toileting accidents.

We realize children will react positively and sometimes negatively while in our care and the staff will communicate any concerns that they may have about your child. However, any child frequently displaying any form of aggressive behavior such as hitting, biting, or pulling hair, or any behavior that inflicts harm on other children in the program may be asked to withdraw from MDO.

Child Adjustment

Occasionally a child may have trouble adjusting emotionally (i.e. excessive unhappiness, crying, not able to be comforted). This child may require extensive individual attention from a caregiver. If the child does not respond to intervention techniques, they may be asked to withdraw temporarily until the child is able to adjust. Your remaining tuition will be refunded.

In instances where a child is having trouble in the MDO environment, we request the family meet with our staff to discuss and work toward a mutual approach in helping the child develop their inner control and in having positive experiences at MDO. At all times, staff are required to be in compliance with the Missouri Licensing Guidelines, which prohibit the use of physical responses, verbal abuse, and/or humiliation of any type. We request that families follow the same requirement while they are in the facility.