IIts been a very long time since I wrote on my blog. I would like to share with you my experiences of a 15 day workshop that we (I and a fellow psychologist- Dr. Priyanka Goenka) held for children in Rohini and Pitam pura, Delhi. It was a learning experience not just for the participants but also for us as facilitators.
We had a fairly good attendance considering that it was our first attempt.
The focus of the workshop was on :-
- Enhancing self confidence in children.
- Teaching them sharing and team building.
- Developing social skills and etiquettes.
- Self control through anger management.
- Effective time management .
- Behaviour management.
The children enjoyed the two hour session at the workshop. There were reports of more responsible and co operative behaviours from parents. We could demonstrate to the parents that through frequent rewarding and reinforcing desired behaviours can be evoked. Non material reinforcers were primarily used such as recognition of positive behaviour, appreciation and acknowledgement –through group clapping. We encouraged children to observe others' positive behaviours and report the same. This helped us emphasize the importance of positive remarking and social tolerance.
Getting the parents to enlist their children's assets helped us bring their attention to how we overlook their positive qualities and focus on the negatives thus harming the self image and confidence in themselves.
The whole exercise helped us highlight to the parents and caretakers the importance of giving a free rein to children when it is most required. Helping them make decisions about small things that are of importance and benefit to them and letting them think independently to ensure a happy and stress free future for them.
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