Every preschool class has that one child who just won’t listen. While you might put on your caring voice and bring most kids in line, the fact is that some children take a bit more care.

Fortunately, there are ways to effectively discipline a child without disrupting your other activities too much. A little forethought and a bit of patience will help you to save the day.

The first step you should take is to separate the child from his or her peers without stopping the activity. The child is likely looking for attention, but needs to learn that the whole world won’t stop for him or her. Keep your activity going, but tend to the child separately.

Next, try to address the immediate issue. What has he or she done to be disruptive? Is it a danger to the other children, or just class discipline? If you can make that determination quickly, you can decide upon the next step.

Don’t raise your voice or yell – this will only escalate the situation. Instead, begin the process by addressing the child. Ask him or her why you have to have the conversation. Ask the child which rule was broken, and then ask about the punishment for breaking that rule.

It’s harder for the child to fight against the system if he or she is the one addressing the problem.

Once the child is in “time out” or has been removed from the choice activity, make sure that he or she understands that it was his or her action that caused the problem – not him or her as a person. The child should understand the consequences of his or her actions, but also that any action taken against him or her are only taken because of those actions.

If your teachers can’t follow these simple steps, they may not be able to control their classrooms.

It’s always a good idea to have standard procedures available at any preschool, and those teachers who cannot follow them may need to be terminated.

Remember, discipline is an important part of any preschool classroom – failure to enforce it will lead to new problems.