The early childhood period from birth to age 8 is an exciting one for growth, development, and learning. It is when children begin to develop social-emotional competence, and it is also a time when children's emerging skills may result in behaviors adults and peers find challenging. It is important that adults who care for and teach young children be prepared to address challenging behavior in positive and instructive ways. Positive approaches to preventing and addressing challenging behavior go beyond only reacting in the moment and instead aim to address the underlying cause of the behavior and teach the child needed social-emotional or communication skills. In this statement, the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children defines "challenging behavior" and "social-emotional competence," provides a summary of DEC's position on the identification of and intervention with challenging behavior, and offers recommendations to the early childhood special education and early care and education fields about positive approaches to preventing and addressing challenging behavior. In so doing, DEC reaffirms its commitment to the healthy social-emotional development of all children and provides guidance to professionals and families in preventing and addressing challenging behaviors.