The complete set of 198 Hints are available in paperback from the CYC-Net Press store.
Listen
After many years in the field one has the unique opportunity to see young people the way they are today – twenty, thirty, forty years after the days when they were "clients". It is always of interest to hear the story of their lives over the intervening time. Given the tapestry of human interactions, it is almost always true that no single person can feel responsible for any successes or failures over such periods, and one is never so crass as to consider these later meetings in terms of how a person "has turned out".
But it is nevertheless true that we as Child and Youth Care workers join the lives of other people, whether children, youth or families, at times when they are experiencing difficulty or crisis, and thus at times when important life choices are being made. And, like it or not, we are in positions of influence and responsibility as we walk alongside people for shorter or longer distances at this time. We have opportunities for interventions of generosity, insight and courage which can affirm people and build strengths and skills; and in the face of challenging or angry attitudes and behaviours, we are also tempted to avoid where we should engage, control where we should teach, defend ourselves when we should risk ...
Today in our practice we will be conscious of the cost of short-cuts – and as we look into their today faces will also consider the potential usefulness of what we do with our clients – over the next twenty, thirty, forty years.
