Deck 3: Communicating With Young Children

Question 1

According to this textbook, the cognitive development of young children and the promotion of their academic skills are secondary to the development of their emotional health and relationships.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The term receptive language refers to a child's ability to talk.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Self-calming, often through thumb sucking or having a special object like a blanket, is one of the most important skills a child can learn.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Criticizing and giving orders are techniques that serve as "conversation stoppers,"
while discounting is a technique that serves as a "conversation starter."

Question 5

Caregivers and teachers should always use non-judgmental responses when listening and responding to children's problem situations.

Question 6

Fixing a child's problem instead of giving her a chance to solve it on her own not only helps her feel empowered, but it also helps her develop problem-solving strategies.

Question 7

Four-year-old Kyan tells his preschool teacher, "I hate you."
His teacher's best response is to sit Kyan down and talk with him about the importance of loving one another and the ugliness of hate.

Question 8

A distraction is an effective method for helping children in distress.

Question 9

The difference between distraction and redirection is that distraction cuts the child off from her/his feelings, while redirection acknowledges the feelings.

Question 10

Children engaged in unwanted behaviors will respond better to direct questions (e.g., "Why did you do that?") than open-ended question (e.g., "Looks like you really enjoy throwing these wooden blocks.").

Question 11

According to the text, listening is the first step to solving the problem when a child is upset.

Question 12

Since crying is not a form of communication, the early childhood professional should focus on making the crying go away when faced with a crying child.

Question 13

When a teacher uses incongruent or double-bind messages in his/her communication, h/she sends two different messages to a child, leaving the child to question which message to believe.

Question 14

Psychological and sociological researchers have found that smiles have fairly consistent meanings across different cultures.

Question 15

Understanding various non-verbal cultural cues, such as body language or facial expressions, can reduce the likelihood of incongruent communications.

Question 16

According to NAEYC's Program Standard 1, relationships are crucial for the development of:

A) personal responsibility
B) self-regulation
C) positive sense of self
D) feeling of security
E) all of the above

Question 17

Which of the following statements regarding children's development is FALSE?

A) Emotional security, cultivated from warm responsive relationships, is important for the healthy development of children's brains.
B) Rising cortisol levels, caused by stress, resulting in the destruction of neurons, but they do not affect brain synapses.
C) A child's intelligence has its origins in her/his specific emotional experiences.
D) Babies who have close relationships with caregivers are more likely to be resilient and to thrive than babies who do not.

Question 18

When her 3-year-old students talk to her, Evelyn makes sure that she listens using all of her senses. She watches the children's non-verbal messages, as well as their body language. Sometimes, Evelyn even uses her intuition to understand the children's messages. Which communication skill is Evelyn using?

A) receptive listening
B) full-body listening
C) holistic listening
D) expressive language

Question 19

Two-year-old Henry understands many more words than he is able to use himself. This reflects which of the following points about communication?

A) Receptive language develops faster than expressive language.
B) Expressive language develops faster than receptive language.
C) Holistic listening is especially important with young children whose language skills are limited.
D) Holistic listening establishes a medium for communication and opens up conversations.

Question 20

Three-year-old Barra is upset as his mother leaves his daycare center. He sits at the window and cries as she pulls away in her vehicle. What is the best first response for Barra's preschool teacher to make?

A) Pick up his favorite toy and say, "Come, Barra, let's play with your favorite toy."
B) Say, "Barra, you're really upset about your mommy leaving."
C) Put a hand on his shoulder and say, "It's okay, Barra. She will be back in a few hours."
D) Send another child over to distract him.

Question 21

Fredrico is a family daycare provider who cares for Nolan, an infant with special needs. When Nolan begins crying, and Fredrico cannot figure out the source of his problem, what is the best action he can try?

A) re-position Nolan
B) give Nolan a pacifier
C) leave Nolan in his crib to "self-calm"
D) use expressive language to soothe Nolan

Question 22

During recess, four-year-old Bethany is playing with some dolls. When her classmate, Clarissa, comes up and puts one of the dolls in a carriage, Bethany screams, "Stop that. I'm playing with her." Of the following teacher responses, which one is most likely to encourage Bethany to solve this problem?

A) "Bethany, be nice. Why do you always yell about every little thing?"
B) "You don't want Clarissa touching the dolls?"
C) "Stop that yelling. Don't fuss."
D) "Come on, Bethany, Clarissa is just playing with the dolls. It's no big deal."

Question 23

According to your text, what is the most powerful non-violent tool a child has at his/her disposal?

A) discounting of feelings
B) crying
C) threats
D) rejection of another person

Question 24

Shanna works as a 4-year-old preschool teacher. If Shanna wants to help her students understand and appreciate differences in skin color, she should do all but which of the following?

A) Look for ways to create positive images for Black and other dark colors in her storytelling.
B) Offer several colors of paints and crayons that represent different skin colors, and encourage children to use them in their artwork.
C) Avoid discussions of skin color with the children to avoid overemphasizing differences.
D) Examine her own attitudes and prejudices.

Question 25

Suggestions for effective communication with children include all but which of the following?

A) Avoid questions that put children on the spot.
B) Use distraction when children are in distress.
C) Try not to send verbal messages that are inconsistent with the non-verbal messages.
D) Avoid using rhetorical questions.

Question 26

Clara has just prepared lunch for her daughter, Mary, who is playing with some toys. If she wants Mary to wash her hands and come for lunch, what should Clara say to Mary?

A) "Mary, it's time for lunch. Go wash your hands. You can play with the toys after lunch."
B) "Mary, do you want to go wash your hands and have lunch?"
C) "Mary, wash up and come for lunch now, okay? You can play more later."
D) "Mary, I think it's time to wash up for lunch."

Question 27

All but which of the following are problems with impression management?

A) It can lead the child to be dependent on the adult for understanding her/his own desires.
B) It teaches children to mistrust their senses.
C) It hinders children from learning to respect and honor diversity.
D) It gives the message that the child's perceptions are wrong, narrowing his/her experiences.

Question 28

From her facial expressions and body language, it is obvious that Karyn is feeling sad. However, she forces a smile while she talks to her boyfriend. Karyn is demonstrating which problem in communication?

A) incongruence
B) discounting
C) distraction
D) antibias response

Question 29

The classroom rabbit dies on the spot and Sarah begins to cry uncontrollably. According to the textbook, the best method to manage this situation is to:

A) Have one of the teachers lead Sarah out of the classroom to sooth her while another teacher hides the rabbit in the closet and starts circle time as if the death never happened
B) Tell all the children that death is part of life and tomorrow is another day
C) Tell the children that you will replace the rabbit with another tomorrow
D) Acknowledge the children's responses, help them develop a rational understanding of death, and help them process their emotions through appropriate activities (e.g., burying the rabbit, writing down feelings, etc.)

Question 30

In which of the following cultures is the open and verbal expression of anger most likely to be considered healthy?

A) No culture; restrictions against open expressions of anger are frowned upon in almost all cultures.
B) Japan
C) U.S.
D) China

Question 31

During art time, three-year-old Jeremy squeezes out a puddle of glue on the art table. Which of the following is the best response from Jeremy's teacher?

A) "Don't you know where the glue goes?"
B) Laughing and saying, "What am I going to do with you?"
C) "Why did you do that?"
D) "Looks like you enjoyed squeezing that glue."

Question 32

Furio is a student majoring in early childhood education and has an internship. When he is at school, Furio follows his professor's suggestion to keep anecdotal records. Furio has found that he doesn't have time to do this during the day, but he does manage to make observations at the end of the day. After three weeks, Furio notices that he has no notes on a child named Caleb. What does this suggest?

A) Furio is not very good at observation and self-reflection.
B) Caleb is well-behaved and, therefore, doesn't garner much attention.
C) Caleb is shy, and Furio should help him "come out of his shell."
D) Furio has not been noticing Caleb and needs to make more of an effort to pay attention to him.

Question 33

NAEYC's second program standard is concerned with _________.

A) relationships
B) curriculum
C) safety
D) communication

Question 34

Stress-related changes in cortisol affect the brain in all but which of the following ways?

A) It can cause an imbalance in hemispheric function.
B) It can damage neurons.
C) It can reduce the number of synapses in particular parts of the brain.
D) With continued exposure, it can impact brain function and cause developmental delays.

Question 35

Explain what is involved in holistic listening. Describe two times - once when someone listened to you holistically and once when someone did not. Compare and contrast the feelings you experienced.

Question 36

List seven strategies for effective communication presented in your text.

Question 37

Define anecdotal records, and explain how they can be used in an early childhood setting.