How to Report It: Turning Observations Into Professional Documentation

By Dr. El Brown, Engagement Strategist

In the village, communication doesn’t stop with families. There are times when a child’s behavior, an accident, or an incident needs to be documented for administrative purposes. These are not casual updates. They are formal records that ensure accurate communication, protect children and staff, and provide the administration with the information they need to act.

This is where Report It comes in.

What “Report It” Means

“Report It” is used when a detailed incident report is required. Unlike Say It (developmental concerns over time) or Tell It (sharing what happened today with families), Report It is about documentation for accountability and follow-up.

The key is to write in a way that is:

• Objective – free of feelings or exaggerations.

• Detailed – providing enough information to understand what occurred.

• Structured – so the report can be easily reviewed and used for decision-making.

The ABC Framework

One of the clearest ways to structure a report is through ABC Observations:

• Antecedent: What happened right before?

• Behavior: What did the child do?

• Consequence: What happened right after?

This approach ensures that you capture the full context — not just the behavior itself, but what led up to it and what followed.

A Scenario: Walter in the Classroom

No world exists where a professional would write:

“Walter just went crazy today. He was screaming and kicking chairs. That child worked my whole nerve today.”

That’s not documentation — that’s frustration. And while thoughts like this can happen in the moment, they cannot live in a report. Reports are not the place for emotions or exaggerations. They are for data. If we don’t capture what actually happened, no one reading the report will have the information they need to understand the incident or to act on it.

Now, let’s turn that emotional statement into usable data with the ABC method:

A (Antecedent): “Today, during center time, Walter wanted a dump truck that a friend was playing with in the transportation center. The child did not give Walter the truck after he attempted to take it.”

B (Behavior): “This upset Walter, and he began to scream. He said ‘no’ loudly and kicked a chair, which bumped into another child.”

C (Consequence): “I offered Walter a different truck, but he declined. He appeared to get more upset, so I offered to sit with him in the calming space. When he continued to escalate, the aide took Walter for a calming walk. When he returned, he was calmer but did not rejoin classroom activities.”

This version communicates what happened factually, thoroughly, and without judgment. It provides usable data that can be acted on and referenced later.

Why This Matters

Report writing isn’t about blame or venting emotions. It’s about clarity. It’s about ensuring that what gets documented can be trusted, reviewed, and acted upon.

When we use the Report It method, we shift from emotional shorthand to thorough documentation that supports children, informs families, and equips administration to make thoughtful decisions.

Because at the end of the day, our goal is simple: to document incidents with clarity, accuracy, and professionalism so that every child is supported, every family is respected, and every team member is protected.