In today’s Two Minute Tidbit Tip, Dr. Selznick discusses how to help children who give up easily when confronted with difficult problems.
In today’s Two Minute Tidbit Tip, Dr. Selznick discusses how to help children who give up easily when confronted with difficult problems.
As a former teacher, I once created a poster with the following message: “The answer to the question ‘What do you think’ is not allowed to be ‘I don’t know.'” This was an attempt to steer students away from the “knee jerk” — “I don’t know” — response. It’s important to recognize, however, that the genesis of that response is one of the most universal of all human reactions — the fear of embarrassment. And so the task, for those interacting with “I don’t know” kids, is to provide a “safe” environment for listening to, and valuing, any other response. Telling people what we think makes us vulnerable — and so that trust needs to be honored!
Ever wise.
My only push back is that I see many kids, starting at a very young age, where it seems by observation of how they handle a problem or task, that there is a type of impulsivity to their thought process/response.
I think with good individual tutoring/training (over time), they can be trained to wait a few seconds before responding, and to practice, “hmmm, let me think about it.”
For the kids I see this is enormously challenging and it turns into nagging on the parent part which then shuts the child down even more.
It’s a very challenging dynamic as you note.
thanks for the check in. Always like to get your input.