3/15/01
Question 84
Dear
Preschool Teacher,
I am having problems with "tattle tails" in my preschool
classes. Any suggestions ?
Weary Ears
Dear
Weary Ears,
I usually tell the child who is tattling that the person it happened
to has to talk to me. I also ask them if they told the other
person how they feel. Usually they say no ,so I say go tell that
person.
Jackie
"Ask The Preschool Teacher Staff"
Dear
Weary Ears,
I have drawn a big picture of a funny animal with a very long and
strange tail. This picture hangs on the wall and is called
"The Tattle-Tail"! We talk about him a lot and what it
means to be a tattle-tale and how we need to learn to handle these
situations ourselves. If children come up to me to tattle and it
is not something serious, I just point to the picture on the
wall, This usually does the trick! Good Luck!
Jan
"Ask The Preschool Teacher
Staff"
Dear
Weary Ears,
We have started a new approach in my class. If a tattle is
needed, which means it's not really a tattle (for example, they come
to me saying that Billy cut himself and is bleeding) they start with a
thumbs up. If it's something that they can work out by
themselves, they should come with a thumbs down. After they come
with the thumbs down, I tell them to try to work it out themselves
first. Usually this involves telling the other child
why they are mad and how to fix it. If it doesn't work, then
they are allowed to ask for teachers to help. This works really
well with kids that fight over toys. They would rather work it
out then have me take the toy anyway.
Nikki
"Ask The Preschool Teacher
Staff"
Dear
Weary Ears,
Make a stuffed pet the "listener" and when a child comes up to tattle, tell her to tattle to the "listening bear".
Another idea is say it's Wednesday and a child comes up to tattle. Tell that child that today is not tattling day but Friday is, and she'll have to wait until Friday. If it is Friday, just make it another day.
Peg
"Ask The Preschool Teacher Staff"
Dear
Weary Ears,
This is common for this age. We try to encourage the children to
talk to each other and use their words and listen to each other.
If a child that is not involved tries to 'tattle' I say only the
children involved need to report. Obviously this would not be
the case if someone is hurt!
Kris
"Ask The Preschool Teacher Staff"
