Can Early Learning Prevent Youth Violence – Part II
This time we will continue on the subject of early childhood aggression with thoughts and suggestions on why young children's behavior follows a natural course and what parents and caregivers can effectively do to reduce aggressive behavior and guide their children down a path to success.
All human infants are born hard-wired to behave in certain ways: crying when they are hungry, seeking comfort when they are hurt, or snatching a toy from another child when they want it. These behaviors are natural; they do not have to be learned.
Children do not need to see aggressive behavior in order to learn to act aggressively. At the same time as children naturally exhibit aggression, they are also developing what is call pro-social behavior which encourages positive social interaction. They learn to smile, offer a friendly touch or pat and can follow another person's actions when they see another child crying. We can assume that empathy and the desire to be with and be accepted and liked by others are also innate in children.
The role of parents and other adults is therefore to encourage children's natural use of these pro-social behaviors while discouraging their natural use of aggressive behaviors.