INDEX OF QUOTES
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Many talented and sensitive workers show an understanding of the dynamics of children’s behavior and of the various ways in which the children in their care communicate. These workers are able to respond appropriately to many of the children’s emotional needs, to resolve "crisis" situations, to develop close and meaningful relationships with the children. All of these things are, of course, essential in providing fine clinical child care. So that these interpersonal skills may be most effectively brought to bear in the task of providing therapeutic care, another tool in the child care worker’s bag of tricks is also essential: knowledge of activity programming. In essence, this is practical know-how on "what to do" with children and what to have them do during the many hours when the worker is responsible for them, hours in which they are not occupied by another specific routine of daily living or by school or therapy sessions. It allows the worker to set the stage and supply the props for the important work he does in helping the children deal with their feelings and relationships. A worker cannot discuss the children’s anger if they are running helter-skelter; he cannot even get them together. Children’s expression of feelings of boredom can be sympathetically acknowledged and accepted, but if there is a real basis to them, the children will not get better just by having their feelings accepted. The withdrawn children cannot be helped to relate to one another just through talking, at least at first; they need to be doing something together. These are just a few of the kinds of situations that the child care worker will encounter frequently—situations in which he must both manage the children and promote the kind of therapeutic climate which helps them develop. To deal with these situations, the worker needs two things: his theoretical or intuitive understanding of the dynamics and feelings of the children and also, on the practical level, skills in activity programming. With this knowledge the worker has some means for drawing an active group together. With it he can prevent the children from becoming bored much of the time. He can involve the withdrawn children in an interesting activity that will help them notice one another. |
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