Red Light Discipline
Red Light Discipline
(reprinted with permission from Alexander Day Care)

We have a magnetic bulletin board and 3 colored magnetic buttons, red, green, yellow.

We placed these red buttons in a row. Red, yellow, and green.
RED = needs improvement
YELLOW = Satisfactory
GREEN = Outstanding

Since this is magnetic, we have the kids name on magnetic strips as well so we don't do a lot of writing.

Everyone starts off in the green every morning. When they have infractions not listening after being told hitting, pushing, screaming, not sharing. The things that would normally warrant a time out.

Instead of doing time outs which is highly over used we place the child's name in a color zone.
First offense-is a warning
2nd offense- is yellow
third offense - lands them in RED, or really serious violations can land them in RED right off the bat.
If they keep up the unacceptable behavior we start putting check marks next to their name in the RED.

They can earn their way out of the RED, or yellow and be back to green before pick up time. Eating all their lunch, taking a nap, picking up and being cooperative the rest of the morning. Whatever it takes to move the name up a level. The object is to be in the green before Mom/Dad picks up. The kids do not like being in the RED area at all. The parents do not like seeing them in the red and reinforce to the child the importance of staying GREEN. And when they are in the GREEN at the end of the day we make a big deal of it and so does the parents.

Time out can come once a child hits the RED.... The kids are starting to pay attention where their names are at. This is for the 2-5 year old age range.

Other ways to introduce the RED, YELLOW, GREEN method is make a chart on poster board. Divide it into 3 areas. RED, YELLOW, and GREEN. Make name tags and put Velcro dots on the names tags and the board. Another way of the names sticking to the area they need to be in. The names tags don't have to be that big, but big enough to be noticeable.

At the end of the day the kids get to get green happy face stickers if their names are in the green, or we use washable green felt pin and draw a happy face in green on their hands. They like this too. It's their reward. The next morning everyone is back in the green to start the day off fresh.


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