When she was a teenager, Moira Grigor spent much of her spare time
volunteering at children’s homes so that should could help those who
were less fortunate than her. During this time, she gained a deep
understanding of the best ways to work with children, some of which she
has shares here.
Establish Yourself As An Authority Figure
Children will often fail to take direction or even listen to somebody that they don’t consider to be an authority figure. While simply being older is often enough with most young children, those in care will often struggle to trust you and will thus not listen to what you tell them in the way that other children would. As such, you need to establish yourself as an authority figure in any way that you can.
Find Common Ground
As previously mentioned, trust is important when caring for children and one of the best ways to nurture trust is to establish common ground with the child. Talk to them about the things they like and try to figure out how you can make use of this information in order to form a connection. It may be as simple as watching a film together or chatting about a videogame, but that connection will allow you to build a relationship that makes it easier to care for the child.
Be Patient
Every child will present their own challenges, so it is important to take your time and understand how to best work around those issues in order to work with the child properly. This is a skill that Moira Grigor found to be particularly useful when she moved on to a legal career later in life, so she notes that it is important not to rush things when you first start working with children in care.
Establish Yourself As An Authority Figure
Children will often fail to take direction or even listen to somebody that they don’t consider to be an authority figure. While simply being older is often enough with most young children, those in care will often struggle to trust you and will thus not listen to what you tell them in the way that other children would. As such, you need to establish yourself as an authority figure in any way that you can.
Find Common Ground
As previously mentioned, trust is important when caring for children and one of the best ways to nurture trust is to establish common ground with the child. Talk to them about the things they like and try to figure out how you can make use of this information in order to form a connection. It may be as simple as watching a film together or chatting about a videogame, but that connection will allow you to build a relationship that makes it easier to care for the child.
Be Patient
Every child will present their own challenges, so it is important to take your time and understand how to best work around those issues in order to work with the child properly. This is a skill that Moira Grigor found to be particularly useful when she moved on to a legal career later in life, so she notes that it is important not to rush things when you first start working with children in care.
