GUIDING YOUNG CHILDREN, Ninth Edition, is written for early childhood educators and others responsible for working with and guiding young children in daily activities. The ninth edition of this popular book takes a developmental approach--stressing the need to consider the child's developmental level when planning activities. It offers concrete suggestions on how to guide children as they are involved in specific activities, such as playing, eating, napping, etc. The authors strive to teach educators and caregivers to manage the environment so that children can manage themselves and thus gain independence. The textbook incorporates the issue of inclusion in every chapter, and covers how to manage children with especially challenging behaviors by taking a positive behavior approach to all. The book includes many suggestions for application assignments that will help the reader get to know individual children they will likely encounter on the job. Core concepts addressed include: principles of guidance, values, children's development, collaboration, strength-based approach to guidance, strategies, self-direction, personal care routines, play and learning, outdoor play, and coping with challenging behavior. The authors continue to take a positive behavior approach and show how caregivers can have a positive impact on all children and their self-esteem by building a warm, supportive relationship, setting realistic expectations, and expressing confidence in the children's ability to make good choices. The authors hope to encourage readers to think about the origins of their own values and beliefs as they encounter different ideas among colleagues and the families of children in their care. Written with many suggestions for application assignments that will help the reader get to know individual children, this is the best textbook on the market in which to prepare prospective teachers and caregivers with wherewithal, knowledge and skills necessary to guide young children in today's diverse classrooms.