Behaviour Guidance & Positive Discipline at Licensed Daycare in Regina SK | Daisy Days

How a licensed daycare in Regina SK handles children’s behaviour is one of the most important quality indicators parents should evaluate. At Daisy Days Daycare, positive behaviour guidance — not punishment — is the foundation of how our ECE educators support children’s developing self-regulation and social skills. Here’s what positive behaviour guidance means in practice.

Understanding Behaviour Before Responding to It

At Daisy Days Daycare, we start from the premise that ALL behaviour is communication. Children — particularly toddlers and preschoolers — do not have the language, emotional vocabulary, or neurological capacity to articulate “I’m overwhelmed” or “I feel invisible today” or “I’m scared about the big transition coming this week.” Their bodies and behaviour communicate what words cannot yet carry.

Before responding to challenging behaviour, our ECE educators ask: “What is this child trying to communicate through this behaviour?”

• The child who is hitting peers may be communicating: “I don’t have the words for this level of frustration”
• The child who refuses circle time may be communicating: “I’m overwhelmed by the group stimulation right now”
• The child who is having frequent crying meltdowns may be communicating: “Something in my world outside this room is unsettling and I can’t tell you what”

The Core Positive Behaviour Guidance Practices at Daisy Days Daycare

1. Preventive Structuring — The Best Behaviour Support

Most challenging behaviour is predictable — it happens at specific times (transitions, before meals, when tired), in specific situations (particular peer conflicts, specific activities), and for specific children. Daisy Days Daycare educators identify patterns and adjust the environment or schedule preventively:

• Offering a heads-up before transitions: “In 5 minutes we’re going inside”
• Ensuring adequate outdoor time and physical activity (under-exercised children have more indoor behaviour challenges)
• Monitoring group stimulation levels — knowing when the room is heading toward overstimulation before behaviour tips
• Positioning incompatible children strategically in activities

2. Co-Regulation — Meeting the Dysregulated Child Where They Are

Young children cannot self-regulate alone — their nervous systems are still developing the capacity. What they can do is co-regulate: calm their nervous system in relationship with a calm, warm adult. When a child is dysregulated, Daisy Days Daycare’s educators:

• Stay physically near and emotionally calm — they don’t escalate
• Get down to the child’s physical level
• Use a quieter, slower voice
• Offer physical connection (hand, nearby presence) if the child accepts it
• Wait for the peak of dysregulation to pass before using language

3. Brief, Clear Redirection

“Hands down. Let’s use your words” — not a 5-minute lecture, not repeated warnings, not a rising voice. Brief, clear, calm redirection works better for young children’s developing attention and processing than extended verbal explanation.

4. Natural and Logical Consequences

When appropriate, consequences that make logical sense — “you threw the paint, we clean it up together” — build responsibility better than unrelated punishments. Not every challenging behaviour has an appropriate natural consequence; forced apologies don’t generate empathy. ECE educators use judgment about when consequences are meaningful versus performative.

5. What We Don’t Do

Saskatchewan licensing prohibits and Daisy Days Daycare does not use:

• Physical punishment of any kind
• Shaming or publicly embarrassing children
• Withholding food, water, or bathroom access
• Punitive isolation (sending a child to a corner or separate room as punishment)
• Forced apologies or performative “sorry” scripts

→ Toddler hitting at daycare — what to do
→ Children’s emotional wellbeing at daycare

Contact Daisy Days Daycare to ask about our full behaviour guidance policy.
306-807-3233 | info@daisydaysdaycare.com | 2007 Potts Crescent East, Regina SK S4V 2E5