Aggressive behavior of children in a daycare center

Abstract

The present work examined aggressive behavior in a sample of children attending a child daycare center in relation to their teachers' behaviors and the types of activities proposed by them. Four teachers and their respective students were observed for an average of six sessions, during which they performed activities, which could be free (without instruction) or guided. The most frequent behaviors were pushing/pulling, fighting over objects/taking an object from someone else, and kicking/throwing objects, with 77.61% of the aggressive behavior occurring during the free activities. An association between free activities and aggressive behavior was found. The categories kicking/throwing, fighting over objects/taking an object from someone else and slapping the face were associated with free activity. These results indicate the need for more attention directed toward children's free activities, providing them with adequate space for play and diverse opportunities for exploration and object manipulation.