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Child Development & Early Education vocabulary · Behaviour and Guidance

Redirect

Meaning in child development & early education, with examples

/ˌriːdaɪˈrekt/verbCommon term

In child development & early education, redirect means: To guide a child away from an unwanted or unsafe action towards a more suitable one, for example offering a drum to a child who is banging on a window.

In Turkish: yönlendirmek, dikkatini başka yöne çekmek, başka bir etkinliğe yöneltmek

How it is used

A common positive behaviour strategy, especially with babies and toddlers. Staff redirect a child, redirect behaviour or redirect a child's attention to something else. The noun is redirection.

Example sentences

  1. When he started throwing sand, I redirected him to the ball area.

  2. With toddlers, we try to redirect before we say no.

Common collocations

  • redirect a child
  • redirect attention
  • gently redirect
  • positive redirection
  • challenging behaviourBehaviour that is difficult for adults to manage or that may harm the child, other people or property, such as biting, hitting or frequent long outbursts.
  • boundariesClear and consistent limits that adults set for children about what is and is not acceptable, so that children feel safe and know what to expect.
  • behaviourThe way a child acts and reacts, especially in everyday situations with other people; in childcare it is often discussed in terms of what the child is trying to communicate.
  • positive reinforcementEncouraging a behaviour to happen again by following it with something pleasant, such as praise, a smile or a sticker.

More terms: Behaviour and Guidance

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