Promoting Inclusive and Equitable Futures: The Trauma Informed Practices for Preschool (TIPPS) Project aims to increase public awareness of the preschool to prison pipeline. The preschool to prison pipeline refers to the increased likelihood that children who experience exclusionary discipline in school will be involved in the juvenile and criminal justice system.

Here are common ways that adults respond to children’s behaviors that the adults find challenging.

Approaches Used  by Adults When Children are Having a Hard Time

Extinction, Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Techniques

Adult does something to stop the child from doing the “wrong thing” or rewards them for doing the “right thing.” 

• Offering the child a fun game to stop their actions
• Giving the child a toy for doing something they didn’t want to do

Sensory Spaces

Adult moves the child to a different area in the classroom that is there to help them calm down and manage their feelings.

• Having the child sit in a beanbag chair with a blanket
• Having the child sit in a tent

Sensory Activities

Adult does an activity with the child that is designed to help them calm down and manage their feelings.

• Helping the child play with water or Play-Doh
• Taking deep breaths with the child
• Having the child do jumping jacks
• Offering the child a wobble cushion to sit on during an activity

Sensory Tools

Adult gives the child something to help them calm down and manage their feelings.

• Putting a cold cloth on the child
• Giving the child a chew toy
• Playing calming music for the child

Trauma-Informed Inclusion Practices

Adult uses what they know about the child’s past difficulties to figure out why they are acting a certain way, what they need, and how to help them in the best way to prioritize safety, regulation, and empathy.

• Talking to the child’s caregivers to understand the child’s needs
• Making sure that the child knows what they will be doing each day at school to help them know what to expect and feel safe
• Giving the child choices, like picking a sensory space or a game to help them calm down

For help with a reference, email: iodres@temple.edu.