There is no universal plan for setting the limits to children in the kindergarten. However, it is important that children are always included in this process. Thus, children are going to accept the limits and rules as reasonable and respect them. Limits teach children to cooperate and respect others and their work. They offer them an important feeling of security. At the same time, children learn how to take responsibility for their choices. The set limits and rules have to be expressed as clear and explicit as possible. At the same time, there must not be too many rules and limits. Occasionally, a child has to be allowed to exceed the limit, for this is the only way for a child to discover her possibilities and powers, and understand herself as an independent and autonomous being.
In the theoretical part, we defined a conception of limits and installed it into a hidden curriculum. In the continuation, we presented the significance of limits for children, methods of setting limits, the role of punishment and logical consequences in exceeding limits, and the role of the kindergarten teacher in setting the limits. The purpose of the empirical part was to discover what the opinion of a kindergarten teacher is on setting limits to the children in the kindergarten, and how setting limits takes place in a real kindergarten environment.
The results of the research which was performed among the professional workers of the kindergarten showed that setting limits to children is important, because limits later grow into a value, and because they are a means of guidance and encouragement of children, and because they represent safety to children. Most of the professional workers set clear limits which they enforce consistently. Among the most important factors which influence setting limits to children in the kindergarten, they consider the teacher’s consistency in enforcing the limits, communication of the kindergarten teacher with children, and an example. By means of the research, we ascertained that, in the case of exceeding limits and breaking the rules, professional workers prefer the use of natural and logical consequences than the use of punishment.
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