Conversation Starters for Direct Work with Children and Young People by Audrey Tait Becky Dunn

Author:Audrey Tait, Becky Dunn [Audrey Tait, Becky Dunn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Social Work, Psychology, Psychotherapy, Child & Adolescent, Family & Relationships, Abuse, Child Abuse, Human Services
ISBN: 9781784505936
Google: hl9IDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Published: 2018-04-19T05:09:16+00:00

Worries Box variation

Purpose

• To convey that everyone has worries.

• To allow the child the opportunity to name their worries.

• To allow the child and adult to make an immediate plan on how to ‘fix’ the worries and have a way of reviewing progress.

What you will need

• The Huge Bag of Worries book by Virginia Ironside (please note the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) can provide free small copies so children can keep one)

• good-quality felt tip pens

• A4 paper.

What to do

1. Read and enjoy the story together.

2. Draw out some worry characters (if you make them like Mr Men you are along the right lines). If the children themselves can draw them, then this is better. There are also some templates at the back of the book that you can use.

3. Give the worry characters names, that is, what the worry is.

PRACTICE EXAMPLE

I received a police report outlining a call from a neighbour the night before. The neighbour had reported that the parent was taking drugs and was ‘high’. The parents had a 9-year-old called Josh in their care. When the police attended, Mum appeared able to care for Josh but the home looked cluttered and there was concern about hygiene. The school had called the morning after the police visit to report Josh himself as having very poor personal hygiene and to be presenting as angry and upset. Josh was a new pupil and he was not engaging with the school staff. The school had none of his records and Mum was vague about her last address and Josh’s last school. I was on duty and went out to interview Josh as there was an immediate concern for his welfare.

I brought with me to the school a large puppet, playdough, pens, paper, The Huge Bag of Worries book, some beads and other art materials, and some bubbles. I also brought some healthy snacks and juice.

Josh arrived with the head teacher. He was screaming swear words and kicking out. The head teacher guided him into the room and then closed the door. Josh immediately went under the table and sank his teeth into my ankle! Flinching a bit but determined to be positive, I thought, ‘Well, I am not being ignored, I’ve got engagement!’ Out loud, I said, ‘Oh I think a little dog must have come to play with me because if it was Josh he would know that children don’t bite.’ Leaning over I noted that, whilst I still had a mouth on my ankle, I was not being bitten. I gently patted his head (barely touching but making a patting action) and said, ‘Hello little doggy, aw, you’re nice.’ I slid off my chair onto the floor – half under the table – and said, ‘I wonder, do you like stories?’ ‘No’ was the firm reply. Taking my big puppet out of my bag, I said, ‘Aw well, Elf does.’ Most children love Elf, and Josh was no exception. At this, I began to read The Huge Bag of Worries.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.