Promoting Brain Growth In Boys
The following is a model designed to increase the brain function and development of boys. The model is broken into ten easily implementable steps.- Provide several minutes of your undivided attention several times throughout the day.
- Provide support and attention for achievements.
- Provide verbal mirroring with enhancements on descriptions when conversing.
- Provide opportunities for physical play several times per day.
- Provide opportunities for leadership several times per day.
- Provide an enthusiastic audience.
- Provide consistent and predictable structure with clear limits and expectations.
- Provide behavior management opportunities that are self driven.
- Provide many opportunities to make independent choices.
- Provide appropriate discipline that is not based on fear.
posted by Reg Adkins | 5:58 PM
2 Comments:
Liz here from I Speak of Dreams.
This is a great topic. As you may know, I have two stepsons who are now in their mid 20s, so I have some boy credentials
I have the following comments
1. Provide several minutes of your undivided attention several times throughout the day. -- I understand that, it is really concrete.
2. Provide support and attention for achievements.--Maybe some examples of support, and how small the achievements can be
3. Provide verbal mirroring with enhancements on descriptions when conversing.--I'm not sure what this would sound like in real life-- some examples, please
4. Provide opportunities for physical play several times per day. this is pretty concrete, but "encouraging and allowing boys to get sweaty from running, chasing, and rough and tumble play" is better
5. Provide opportunities for leadership several times per day.--could you give examples, especially say, in 1st grade, 4th grade, and 8th grade (age appropriate leadership)
6. Provide an enthusiastic audience.--it might be useful to talk about the difference between praise ("what a good boy! I'm proud of you!") and positive noticing ("I saw you concentrate for 15 minutes straight on that math problem set")
7. Provide consistent and predictable structure with clear limits and expectations. Me, I understand this, but some examples of limits and explanations done well and done poorly would help.
8. Provide behavior management opportunities that are self driven. I'm not sure what you mean here. Examples please.
9. Provide many opportunities to make independent choices. A model here of "micro choices" would be good. In other words, the choices don't have to be big.
10. Provide appropriate discipline that is not based on fear. I'm not sure what you mean here, please elaborate.
Liz,
I'd be happy to list some elaboration.
#2 Support and attention for achievement is largely related to the age of the boy. It can small as sitting accross the table from your highschooler while he works on his algebra, to showing up for a little-league game for your nine year old.
#3 Verbal mirroring is a little tougher with boys because they don't like to sit face to face. However, the same result can be accomplished by sitting side by side. Basically,you speak at the same time as the boy but repeating their words a few seconds later. This sounds extremely annoying but in reality is an excellent technique to coach the speaker to concentrate on the listener rather than what they are going to say next. Switching roles it trains the listener to focus on the speaker and the content and stop thining ahead.
#5 Providing leadership opportunities can be a simple as teaching the boy a new game and bringing together a group to learn the game from him. Additionally, encorporating a sports coach in your plan can add to this process when each boy is given a play or a technique to master and teach to his team mates.
#7 Setting reasonable limits can be as simple as enforcing the no television after 9pm weekdays rule.
#8 An extremely powerful tool for managing your own behavior is a "positive log." Such a tool might be utelized to record the number of minutes spent on homework each evening. Or recording the number of positive and negative social interactions in the span of a day. One of the first steps to improving behavior is the awareness of that behavior.
#9 Choice making opportunities should initially be limitted to such choices as will I do my math or science homework first.
#10. I have always held there is an extreme difference between punishment and discipline. Discipline is a series of logical and natural consequences for behavior that enhance the likelihood that the behavior will not occur again. Punishment is revenge.Revenge is frightening.
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home