Rajani Gautum, 50, pleaded guilty and was convicted on three charges of using inappropriate discipline, in the ACT Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

Gautum was among four workers police charged last October over allegations of excessive force on up to 20 children aged between one and four at North side Community Service's Civic Early Childhood Centre.

She initially pleaded not guilty to four common assault charges and was set to fight the allegations in November.

But the assault charges were formally dismissed on Wednesday after her defence lawyer Peter Woodhouse indicated she was willing to plead guilty to the three lesser charges earlier in the month.

The court heard Gautum had been observed grabbing three children, two girls and one boy, by the wrists at the Civic childcare centre on three separate occasions.

In the first incident, which the prosecution described as the worst, a colleague who happened to be the mother of the infant watched Gautum through a window aggressively "jerk" her daughter upwards by the wrists after she had "mishandled" the child while trying to pick her up causing the girl to fall forward.

After comforting her "crying and screaming" child the mother confronted Gautum who seemed "flustered and panicky" when she realised she'd been seen, the prosecution told the court.

Gautum told the mother the girl "wasn't listening".

In the second incident, the same witness saw Gautum grab an older girl at the centre by the wrist.

Gautum told the woman the girl had bitten her and "won't come to the toilet".

The girl said Gautum had hurt her and showed the woman a red mark on her wrist, which she treated with an ice pack.

On the third occasion, another staff member confronted Gautum about her "unreasonable" discipline when she saw her grab a boy by the wrist as he kicked out at her.

Gautum was stood down from the centre after the third incident and the matters were referred to police, the court heard.

Mr Woodhouse argued for no criminal convictions to be recorded against Gautum saying she had been impacted significantly financially as she was no longer able to hold a working with vulnerable people card required to work in childcare.

"It will have a significant impact on her employability in the future," he said.

"Besides being a dish-hand it's the only paid employment she's ever known... she has no criminal history."

He said the incidents were at a lower level than the "vast range" of conduct deemed as inappropriate discipline and Gautum showed genuine remorse.

Mr Woodhouse said one of Gautum's colleagues had been fined $400 and placed on a 12-month good behaviour bond for similar albeit more serious offences when she had smacked a child at the centre, while another colleague had her charges dismissed unconditionally due to mental impairment.

"There are fewer charges and the offending is less serious… being grabbing on the wrist as opposed to smacking," he said.

But the prosecution asked for Magistrate Glenn Theakston to take into account the ages of the children and said they were serious offences that warranted a criminal conviction.

"The first child was between the ages of zero and one and the subsequent children were between the ages of two and three," he said.

Mr Theakston said the charges carried a maximum penalty of $10,000, while acknowledging Gautum's crimes were less serious than her colleagues.

But he said it was appropriate she was convicted and given a 12-month good behaviour order.

"She was placed in a position of trust and committing these offences is clearly a breach of that trust," he said.

Mr Theakston said he took into account Gautum's early pleas of guilty, which was evidence of her remorse while also avoiding the need for a trial.

"It would be difficult to prosecute and difficult for children to give evidence if that was required," he said.

"The loss of that income is clearly an extra punishment."