Settling In

Hi friends,

Brain teaser; how do you feel when been introduced to something new; environment, people, food, clothing material, job or career? I bet you need some time to look around, adjust and settle-in, same thing for our children. When introducing a new concept, routine, meal, school, activity, family member, the children might require some time (it could be long or short depending on the child and what is been introduced) to adjust and settle-in.

Many times as parents, teachers and care-givers, we are sometimes too much in a hurry to see result (acceptance) when rolling out something new.

·         We also tend to forget that they are children, we expect so much from them! Take it easy, take a deep breath, wine back the clock and imagine being that age for a sec.     Break the instructions into simple, comprehensible bits. What was your vocabulary bank like at that age? Were you able to use as many vocabularies? Why not break it down into smaller phrases or even words? It could even be a learning opportunity instead, teach them the word whilst explaining the meaning to them.

·         Speak slowly and audibly. There’s absolutely no need to run over your words while passing or giving out an instruction. In the process, they can pick-up the right diction/ways of pronouncing certain words.

·         Watch out for responses, as we talked about earlier in this article, it will definitely depend on what is been introduced. If it’s edibles like food, please pay close attention to allergic reactions, effects before and after the meal, for environmentally based reactions like change of school, routine, activity, new family member or care giver, you might want to give it a little time as children take time to warm-up to unfamiliar adults or routines.

·         Be careful not to prompt them to giving you the answers you desire or wish to hear. Rather, implement the use of effective questioning techniques by asking open ended questions. Rather than saying; ‘Did your teacher beat you at school today?’ Ask ‘Tell me about your day at school.’  The first question has boxed the child’s mind and all you will get is either a Yes/ No. The child might actually wish to discuss other matters worthy of clarification with you instead, but by asking a closed ended question such as the first, you haven’t given them the opportunity.

·         Stay prompt to rescue them if need be. Some things can wait till later before they get to learn or experience it. Do not rush them into adolescence, maximize and enjoy their childhood.   

·         Lastly, show support consider something less strenuous, time or energy consuming. If you wish to have learnt a skill in the past and you couldn’t (possibly because of lack of opportunity, time or finance) you necessarily don’t have to lord it on the child. Find out if it’s a common area of interest, if yes, encourage the child. If not, let them make a choice close enough to that option.

On this note, I’d like to wrap-up, I am certain we will be discussing further on this topic as we progress on the blog.

Bye!