GEORGE ROBINSON FOCUS EVENING

On 26th June SNAP hosted an evening with George Robinson, the much-respected author of many books concerning the behaviour management of children. George has a wealth of experience of working with children with special needs and this was very evident throughout his talk.

It was a very hot and sultry evening but from the very start the audience was glued to George's every word. He explained that in the two hours available he could only give a taster of this vast subject but everyone present found that taster to be both informative and entertaining. His delivery was fast and full of humour and from the very outset he involved the 100 parents, carers and professionals present by gaining responses from them to illustrate the points he was making.

At times George had his audience doubled up with laughter but by the end of the evening everyone went home with some excellent strategies on how to raise a child's (and adult's) self-esteem and deal with difficult behaviour.

Below are some of the main points that George made during the evening:

• Everyone has an "internal me" and an "outside me". The "internal me" is what I think I am and the "outside me" is what I think everyone else wants me to be. The closer the "internal me" and the "outside me" are, the greater a child's self-esteem. The further apart the "internal me" and the "outside me" are, the lower a child's self-esteem.
• If you must criticise a child, put the criticism at the beginning and give some praise at the end of the sentence. The child can then better cope with the criticism because he/she has also received some praise. Self-esteem is therefore not lowered.
• Adults must provide a "good model" of behaviour to get good behaviour back from their children.
• "Touch" and "praise" are very powerful when used together. Keep praise short and sharp and use a light touch on the hand or arm to give what you are saying real feeling.
• If despite trying hard a child produces a piece of work that is not good do not say "Oh, that's really good" because they will know that you are not being honest. Say instead "I am really proud of you" or "I am really thrilled with this".
• Don't tell them the behaviour you don't want but tell them the behaviour you do want. For example don't say "don't hit the ball hard," say, "hit the ball gently" so that you do not put the idea of the bad behaviour into their head.
• When you give a child instructions get them to repeat them back to you. This paints a picture of what they must do in their head and helps them to remember it.