Relationships with children free essay sample

Know how to interact with and respond to children and young people 1. 1 There are many different things that are very important in making respectful and professional relationships with children. It is extremely important to praise and encourage children when communicating with them, this lets them know when they have done something well and will encourage them to try their best and do well as much as they can. Praising can be verbal, in the form of a sticker or merit, certificates or a prize. Younger children often find it easier to speak rather than listen when communicating, however it is important that they learn to be patient and be respectful of others when they are speaking, if an adult models this to them then they are more likely to copy and learn this behaviour. Non-verbal communication can often be very useful and effective within a classroom environment. Teaching assistants especially may use gestures instead of vocabulary as it means they can communicate with the children without disturbing the teacher or the rest of the children, something as simple as eye contact and a frown will tell the student that they are doing something wrong, they have been noticed and that they need to stop. We will write a custom essay sample on Relationships with children or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page When speaking to children it is always better to be at their level as standing over them can often intimidate them, it is important to keep distance but ensure they know they are being listened too. Children of this age are still very dependent on adults for a number of tasks, such as, getting dressed, feeding and bathing. When you are working with children of this age it is very important to only have contact with them when it is absolutely necessary, for example, when a child goes to the toilet they may need help cleaning themselves up afterwards and putting the trousers back on, when helping a child with this you must keep the toilet doors open and ensure that another adult is present. Children of this age are also more likely to be clingy and want physical contact, especially for comfort if for example they hurt themselves. You should avoid hugging as much as possible to avoid accusations of inappropriate behaviour. Children in this stage of development are still learning simple rights and wrongs, such as not to hit, to share, and to say please and thank you. When telling a child off at this age it may be more effective to change the tone of your voice instead of raise your voice to them, they are likely to find a raised voice much more intimidating and become distressed. Emphasising the word â€Å"no† to a child of this age will allow them to understand what they did was wrong. 3-7 years – When children of this age misbehave and are told what they have done is wrong, they are likely to ask for an explanation, it is very important to remain calm and explain as clearly as possible why what they did was wrong and give them a simple warning of what might happen if they were to do it again, such as time on the naughty step. Children in this development stage are becoming aware of privacy, it is important to give them this. For example, when children are changing for P. E they may try to keep themselves covered during the process, it is important that their right to privacy is respected. They are also becoming more aware of personal body parts, if they are injured or hurting anywhere near to one of those areas and attempt to show you, it is vital that it be done in a private room but with another professional adult present to avoid any accusations. This development stage is usually just further development of ages 3-7, as they continue to develop their vocabulary and understand of various types of relationships and how they differ, for example, friends, family and teachers. Girls of this age may begin to show signs of early puberty/maturing, meaning they might become more sensitive and have lower self-esteem. This means they are likely to crave more encouragement and praise when they are doing well, or feel as though they are not doing very well at something. They become more aware of what other people think of them and might begin to develop friendship groups that they will spend as much time as they can with. They might begin to have more personal worries that they might wish to share with you or ask questions about, as a teaching assistant it is important to treat the questions with sensitivity and take note of anything worrying that may need looking into. 11-19 years – At this stage of development both males and females will be going through puberty and become more dependent on each other when they need somebody as opposed to adults. This can be the age when their school work becomes less important to them and their social life becomes more important. Teachers must be aware of this and speak to parents if they feel that their work is slipping in standard. This may be the age where they will require more guidance in the decisions they are making, it is important to not dictate to them what is right and wrong in these decisions. Both girls and boys may have low self-esteem and feel they are not good enough as they become more aware or self-image and are unsure of their future. Relationships between teaching staff at students at this age must remain professional as some young people may look to a teacher as a friend and inappropriate behaviour may occur such as trying to friend teachers on social networking sites. 1. 3 Peer mediation is a method used within primary schools to encourage children to solve their own disagreements with each other with adult supervision. This involves two class nominated mediators speaking to the children that have had the disagreement, listening to both sides of the story, and deciding together on the best solution for the problem. Some disagreements between children cannot be solved using peer mediators because the issue may be too severe. For example a violent/physical problem requires an adult to solve the issue. It is important that both sides of the story are listened to in full (this may need to be done separately to avoid interruption) if the teacher did not witness the incident then they may need to use evidence such as a mark on a child where they have been hit or a witness statement from another child in order to solve the issue as fairly as possible, both children should apologise to each other and the incident should be written in the behaviour book. Children learn a lot through each development stage through observation and example. If an adult were to praise a child after doing something well it may encourage another to behave/do the same as they want to be praised as well, this promotes positive and effective interactions with both adults and the other children as they learn from each other. Ensuring that there is no favouritism of children within a class is a key part of promoting positive behaviour and interactions. If one child is told off for something and then another child is ignored for doing the same it is likely to promote negative behaviour and interactions. It is important for adults to model respectful behaviour as children learn form example. B) As children learn form example, seeing a teacher (somebody they should view as a role model) do something wrong this could result in a child believing that they could do the same. For example if an adult is seen to be carrying scissors the wrong way round, littering or interrupting somebody when they are speaking the children are likely to view this as acceptable behaviour and copy this behaviour. This then has a negative impact on their interactions.