Something that works

Raising children is a blessing and a challenge. Years ago when mine were little and I was overwhelmed, I sought guidance and knowledge from several books. The most helpful was psychotherapist and educator Haim Ginott's "Between Parent and Child." The wise approaches to problems that I read and learned changed my parenting style for the better. But it didn't end there. When I became a nurse and started working with hurting people, I realized I was using the same sort of communication principles, and overall they have served me well. At work I am frequently good naturedly teased for being "validating," but that is what it is all about. Yesterday as I spent some time on the adolescent unit, I observed an interaction and decided it could have been improved by applying the principles in Ginott's book. I think I will find a tactful way of telling them. Ginott also wrote the related "Teacher and Child." Parents are - after all - the first teachers. A sample of his thinking is found in this quote: "Treat a child as though he already is the person he's capable of becoming." When I have nursing students in the clinical setting, I try to teach and role model based on his sensible, respectful and non-punitive ways.