To help early childhood educators better identify and address overtly aggressive behavior in young children, Senator Chris Dodd, D-Conn., today introduced the Violence Prevention Training for Early Childhood Educators Act. This measure can help defuse that violence by reaching kids at an early age and treating it effectively before it begins. The legislation supports programs that prepare these professionals so that early childhood teachers, child care providers, and counselors are able to teach children how to resolve conflicts without violence. These professionals are in the perfect position to reach out and extend these lessons to parents and help families adopt these powerful skills. Research has demonstrated that aggressive behavior in early childhood is the single best predictor of aggression in later years.
Children observe and imitate aggressive behavior over the course of many years.
A Boston hospital found that one out of every ten children seen in their primary care clinic had witnessed a shooting or stabbing before the age of six. Alarmingly, more than a third of teenage boys report that they have guns or could get one in less than a day. Aggression may become very well- learned by the time a child reaches adolescence. Early childhood offers a critical period for overcoming the risk of violent behavior and later juvenile delinquency and the proper training of professionals who work with young children offers an effective route to reaching these kids.