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Scenario – Maaz has a meltdown Maaz (3 years, 2 months) wanted…
Scenario – Maaz has a meltdown
Maaz (3 years, 2 months) wanted to go outside into the outdoor play area, but due to the educator to child ratios, in both the indoor and outdoor rooms, he needed to stay in the indoor play area until his group could swap with the outdoor play group. He felt very frustrated by this and threw a tantrum, as he was bored by the indoor play activities and toys. Looking around for something to do, he noticed the poster on the wall had a curled-up end to it, so he went to investigate.
He discovered by lifting up the loose flap that he could pull the rest of the poster off and see what was underneath. The indoor room educator said, “Maaz, we don’t pull posters off the wall. Help me to stick it back up please!” (in a very frustrated tone).
Another room leader was walking by, saw the poster on the floor and said enthusiastically to Maaz, “How curious are you? What did you discover hidden behind the poster on the wall?” Maaz looked confused and walked away from the educators.
He spotted a toy in the corner and decided he wanted to play with it. Before he could reach it, Jennifer (2 years, 8 months) went up to the same toy and started playing with it. When Maaz reached her, he smacked her hard and said, “That’s my toy! I play with it!” and snatched the toy off her. Jennifer didn’t want to relinquish the toy and they fought over it, causing Jennifer to start crying.
Though the play area is large, there are a lot of children wanting to play with just a few of the same toy, which happened to be popular that week. Maaz, in frustration, grabbed a baby doll and started hitting it and throwing it around the room.
At afternoon pick-up, Maaz’s teacher spoke with his mum to find out what might be happening at home, as Maaz was not his usual calm self. Maaz’s mum tells you that it’s been a real change for Maaz since his baby sister was born 2 months ago.
Breast feeding has been challenging and Maaz’s mum feels tired all the time and hasn’t been able to spend as much quality time with him. She admitted a lot of her attention had been on the new baby, trying to establish a routine. Maaz’s mum also mentions that ‘Maaz had been in and out of hospital in the last year and we got into the habit of spoiling him, giving him whatever he wants, at least, up until his sister arrived.’
Read the scenario about Maaz. In the space below, drawing on examples from the scenario, describe how each of the factors listed may have contributed to his challenging behavior.
a. Actions of others, child’s need for agency
b. Child’s history, illness
c. Lack of consistency
d. Culture
e. Group dynamics
f. Partnerships with families
g. Recent and current events
h. Temperament and attachment
