The location of the interaction with the child was in an empty class room in the school. We both sat on the same sized chairs so that I was not dominating or crowding her .I also used an empty class room as it resolved any noise barriers. I sat in a open position to let the child feel like I am letting her in, which is more welcoming, relaxing and encouraging. I tried to give her as much space as possible but I felt it was better if I sat next to her then opposite her (BECKS 2002).He said that it is taken more friendly to sit next to someone than opposite. It makes them feel more comfortable. I noticed that this made her feel comfortable and not under pressure.
Then I commented on how lovely the picture was. This was a positive start to the interaction and an important skill to use with a child. When a child in praised they grow confidence and helps to boost self esteem. This encouraged the child to talk more openly and feel more free. This changed her body language and she smiled back and said “thank you do you want to keep it”? and I replied “yes please” and smiled back to her.(DESMOND MORRIS) explained the importance of smiling. He said that smiling has a big affect on the feelings of the person praising a child also promotes a Childs good behaviour and social practice. I tried to use simple English language so it was not hard for her to understand what I was saying to her or so it didn’t confuse her.
I also used open questions rather then closed questions I asked her “what do you like doing instead of do you like playing football. From answer I found that asking open questions breaks the silence and also encouraged her to talk more to me. I made sure I did not ask her too many questions as she would have taken it as a demanding conversation rather then a friendly talk.
I also tried to keep in eye contact with the child X. By doing this it made her feel I was interested in listening to what she was saying. And not ignoring her this is called solar listening. My body language encouraged the child that I was interested in her valuing her as a person and enhancing her self esteem. If I did not give her eye contact she would think that I was not interested or was getting bored of her.So maintaining eye contact shows that you respect the child and want to listen to what she is saying as. ARGYLE (1983) AND MORRIS (1994) they say eye contact needs to be maintained to understand what the person is saying to you and for the person to understand what you are saying to them.
I also gave her choices of what colours she wanted to use .I showed respect for the child by letting her paint by herself, however I did not always ask if she needed any help. I also asked her if she could paint me a flower. I empowered her by showing I valued her skills, by saying that the flower was lovely and “can you draw me a picture of something you like drawing”? The drawing will improve the Child’s fine manipulative skills
intellectually it wills also improve the Childs thinking skills. As she will have to think about what she is going to draw. It will also improve her creativity skills. For emotional, it will allow the child to express her emotions as she will be able to draw what she feels. For social, if the child is working with others she will have to communicate with others. This is improving their PIES skills I transmitted the care values by promoting support of her picture while respecting her needs to do things her self. Empowerment means authorising or enabling, whereby you are giving the child the choice or half of the authority, so that you are enabling them to make a decision for themselves.
I also maintained confidentially by not repeating anything she said to me that shouldn’t be passed on .It was really important to maintain Child’s confidentiality because if the care worker doesn’t then the child may not trust her. And they would not feel valued and it could lower their self-esteem. Also it is their right for their information to be kept confidential.
I kept my voice as low as possible as she was sitting next to me and made sure she could understand what I was saying. As (Lyons said 1972) being friendly and talking slowly increases the chances of the child wanting to talk to you .I wanted to keep our talk as friendly as possible. And did not want her to be pressurized under any circumstances.
I also showed sincerity by giving her a chocolate and asked her if she was allergic to it and she answered no this made her happy and excited.
Then I ended my conversation by saying its time for you to go now and she replied are you going to come again and I replied ill try my best to come she gave me a smile and I smiled back saying bye.
Second interaction group interaction
My group interaction took place at the same school this time the group interaction took place in the morning .This time as I was working with a group of 5 year olds. I was told about the emergency exit and the fire exit in case if any emergency took place due to which I completed a risk assessment and also gave the witness testimony to one of the teachers who I was being observed by.
For confidentiality I will also not use the names of the children in this interaction that takes place there were 10 children 6 were girls and 4 boys.
The teacher told me I could do what ever activity I wanted so I thought I would carry on with what they were doing they were doing maths.
As I went into the class I said hello everyone how are you all as I said this they all felt welcome and really happy to see the smile on my face .I noticed as soon as I said how are you all they all stared smiling which encouraged them and made them feel as if I was not a stranger. I introduced my self and asked them all their names there was about 10 of them they all felt as if I really cared about what they had to say this started to build a relationship between us all.
I also gave them all labels with there names on it and asked them if they wanted to write their names themselves or wanted me to write it for them this is also a part of the care value base as it gives them choice I showed empowerment by giving them the right to make the decision them selves. I also put a label on my self so they didn’t feel different or stupid at any time by putting the label on .I noticed they all wanted to say something which encouraged them to talk more and feel more relaxed.
As I told them all, that I was going to write the question and they would have to answer it. I wrote the question on the board and pointed towards the question and said can you all calculate what 3pence +6pence is they all started smiling and putting there hand up but I realized that some students did not understand so I raised my voice slightly and pointed towards where I had written the question and repeated the question. I noticed by using gestures this increases the ability for them to learn as this also conveys warmth and a sharing nature. (BULL 2001) said that using gestures and words they work together and make a sentence and make it easy to understand .Another reason for using appropriate gestures was to mirror the children so they realized that I am listening to what they were saying( BECKS 2002)said mirroring is a good way of learning as it makes everything clear to you.
I noticed that a child looked completely blank so I walked up to the child and thought that he may not have heard me so I repeated the question once again but noticed that the child had difficulty in understanding but I still encouraged the child so he didn’t think he was stupid or I was picking on him so I tried to explain the question using my fingers to explain I tried to make him realise that he was really capable of doing it as I explained it to him he got really happy and smiled back to me and I said well done but I didn’t want the class to feel left out so I said well done everyone you all are so clever they all felt proud of them selves and started looking at each other in an excited way as if they had done something good and were proud of them selves.
I also proved equality in the care practice in the group interaction by giving all the children an equal chance to speak this encouraged them to talk more and ask questions.
I also respected all the children on the basis of race, belief, culture, gender, status and background by treating them all equally in all ways.
I maintained eye contact with them by looking at them one after the other I tried my best to maintain eye contact due to which they new that they were being watched by someone and they also felt encouraged and that I really cared about them and as they were all equal to me and as BOTH ARYGLE (1983) AND MORRIS (1994) explained the importance of eye contact.
I also tried my best to use simple English language with the children at all times because it sometimes made it hard for them to understand what I was trying to say to them.
To add humour to the conversation and to build up the talk I added a joke by saying I am very stupid and you all are very clever I cant even work out 1 add 1 they all stated laughing at me and felt that as if they were all Einstein I noticed that by adding humour to the conversation this built a very secure relationship between me and the children and this broke all the barriers between me and the children.
Then I asked them what they wanted to do next and I noticed that TUCKMANS (1965) theory came in view as the four stages of forming a group FORMING this was at the early stage of the interaction the group seemed to be conscious and anxious about what they were going to do STORMING this seemed to be a period of conflict the girls wanted to do one thing an the boys another so I resolved this by letting them role the dice the girls got the highest so they got to choose what they wanted to do next then I noticed NORMING the group started to work together then PREFORMING the relationship had become comfortable and more supportive of each other the groups leadership was less direct as everyone equally joined in by asking them what they wanted to do this empowered the children to be independent and showing awareness of their preference and needs
At the end of the interaction I asked them all if they were allergic to chocolates and they all replied no so I gave them all a chocolate each and the same one because having different chocolates could have made them feel different and special this made them feel as they were all the same.
Third interaction one to one
The last interaction that took place was the one to one interaction with the elderly person I visited an old peoples home in Neath hill and asked if it was alright for me to carry out an interaction the warden said it was perfectly alright so she told me when it was fine for me to come and carry out the interaction.
I first filled in a risk assessment form and got that sighed of and then handed over the witness testimony to the warden I decided for the confidentiality of the elderly person I will also not use her name in this interaction.
The day I went I was told the room number an the elderly person had been asked is it was fine for me to carry out a small interaction and as she had no objection so I was told to go in.
I felt that I should Knock on the door as this is a sign of respect for our elders and BECKIN (2002) also said that when going into someone’s room it is always best to knock on the door but I noticed that my knocking made her feel as if I was respecting her and she opened the door and said come in there was no need of that love my knocking on the door made build self esteem and encouraged her to want to talk to me.
I then told the elderly person that she did not have to talk about something that she didn’t wish to, this showed I respected for differences and the choice of preferences of others in a positive manner
I greeted her by saying how are you and pulled my hand out to shake hands as I shock hands the elderly person smiled at me as BECKS (2002) said that when people meet each other when they shake hands they show that they are unarmed by offering an open palm and this builds a relationship and I noticed that it had a great impact after shaking hands the elderly person started talking to me as if she had none me for years became more closer and friendly.
As I entered the room the elderly person went and sat on the sofa I went and sat opposite her so she didn’t think I was invading her personal space and so she didn’t feel uncomfortable but it seemed as if she trusted me and really was happy about me being there she asked me to come and sit next to her with a smile I smiled back and went to sit next to her as BECK(2002) said that if someone comes to sit next to you it is seen more friendlier then sitting opposite.
I started the conversation by saying what do you like doing and tried my best to maintain eye contact when the elderly person was talking to me because eye contact has to be good in a conversation the person who is talking will look to see that the other person is listening and then will look away and will keep on doing this but the listeners eye contact needs to be strong I tired to maintain eye contact at all times otherwise the elderly person would think I was bored or not interested in listening to what she had to say and I respect that every person has a right to speak and share their feelings to someone who is listening to them I noticed by keeping eye contact this encouraged the elderly person to talk to me and share her feelings it seemed as if she really trusted me and had a lot to say as BOTH ARGYLE (1983)AND MORRIS(1994) explained the importance of eye contact the stronger the eye contact the more secure and more clear the conversation is.
I tried my best to build up the conversation by asking open questions rather then closed questions like what do you do in your free time the elderly person had more to share with me and encouraged her and stopped the barrier of silence which would have been created in between us. Asking open questions increase the conversation but if I asked her a closed question like do you like reading the answer would be yes or no which would just end our conversation.
And during this I tried to keep my voice as low as possible and as friendly as possible I didn’t want to disrespect her by speaking to her in a high pitch voice due to this she would reply in a very calm voice and would get more friendlier speaking in a loud voice would have classed me as very rude and would not encourage her to talk to me. So I kept my voice as friendly as possible.
I tried to use postures to keep my body and hands neat and relaxed and tried not to move my legs this is very important for the listener because if the person who is listening is moving their legs or hands the person who is talking will fell disrespected and feel as if they are talking to someone who isn’t interested in listening to what they have to say so a kept a smile on my face and kept my body charm and relaxed which gave an affect that I was interested in what the elderly person had to say to me.
The elderly person decided to show me her family pictures she showed me pictures of her grand children in which I praised her by saying your grand children are lovely and she smiled back and said thank you very much this praise made her very happy and gave a positive impact on her impression towards me when a person is praised it starts making the relationship more stronger and builds self esteem.
I also maintained confidentiality by not repeating something which should not have been passed on it is important to maintain confidentiality to gain someone’s trust otherwise the elderly person would have felt as not valued and would have lowered her self esteem so to get trust you need to give trust that’s what I think and I got trust by ensuring that information would not be passed on.
As she was going through the pictures it felt as if she was getting a bit emotional so I tried to covey warmth by smiling and trying to change the subject of conversation add trying to add humour into the conversation which helped as it made the elderly person laugh this made me feel really good and as I had done something good in my life it is my saying a true person is a person who can understand someone else’s feelings as well as theirs and always tries to take the pain of someone else on to themselves by adding a bit of humour it stopped the elderly person from feeling alone and I tried to comfort her and make her feel as if she was not alone I had then decided that I would go to visit here when ever I could I asked her if it was alright and she replied yes of course what else can I want then someone coming and talking to me.
At the end of the conversation I gave the elderly person the flowers that I had brought for her to thank her and make her feel as if the interaction was worthwhile
I ended my conversation by saying take care of your self and I will see you soon; p
Comparison
I used praise in my one to one interaction I noticed that it certainly encouraged her to talk to me that was an important value used this grow confidence in her and this worked with the child X which opened up the conversation I also used praise in my group interaction but could not praise individually this would make the others feel left out so I praised them as a group by saying you all are so clever and moving my head around the whole class so that they felt that I was actually saying it to all of them this also grow confidence In them and built there self as teem this also made them think that they really could do something I also used praise the third interaction with the elderly person but in a different sense if praised as the children were this would have lowered the self respect and the self esteem of the elderly person so I used praise in a different sense like your grand children are so lovely this also had a positive effect on the elderly person which made her realize that I was actually really interested in what she had to tell me and show me. Praise is a very good care value to use which certainly starts to build a relationship but as long as praise is used differently with the different clients you are dealing with.
I also tried to maintain eye contact in the one to one interaction with the child Which was not as important as I was the one who was talking more but I still maintained eye contact when she was talking to me so she didn’t feel as if I was ignoring her and I gave her the full right to speak and say what she wanted to one will only listen to you if you listen to them and maintaining eye contact encourages them to talk more friendly. Another reason for not maintaining eye contact at all times was because the conversation was less personal In the group interaction I also tried to maintain eye contact as much as possible but the only way I could do this in a group was by moving my head around and giving them all eye contact as their was to many so maintaining eye contact with each individual was not possible but I still tried my best so they new that I was actually watching what they were doing and not just ignoring them by maintaining eye contact this stopped them from doing anything wrong as they new they were being watched by at all times. I maintained eye contact in my third interaction with the elderly person at all times this was important because I was the one who was listening the eye contact of the listener has to be strong as the person who is talking keeps an eye on the person who is listening to see if they are listening to what they are saying so by maintaining eye contact this stopped any barriers and the conversation carried on and this conversation was more personal due to which eye contact had to be maintained at all times.
I also tried to keep my voice as low as possible in my first interaction but there was a point were I had to raise my voice slightly due to disturbance from the other room due to which the child could not understand what I was trying to say to her but apart from that I tried to keep my voice as friendly as possible which made here feel as if she was talking to some one she already new and trusted to talk to .the group interaction I had to raise my voice quite e few times as it was hard for some children to understand the question and also as the children were getting to excited on what to do next at that point I had to raise my voice so that the level of noise decreased as it was getting higher and higher by increasing the level of my voice this made them quieten down and stopped noise from being increased .in the third interaction with the elderly person I tried to keep my voice as low as possible and as friendly and polite as possible I also tried to keep the pitch of my voice lower then the pitch of the elderly person this showed respect and showed that I cared about her feelings and emotions.
I asked open questions rather then closed questions by using opened questions in the first interaction this built up the conversation and encouraged the child to talk to me which gave her more to say as she was I bit shy in the beginning of the conversation but broke the silences in the conversation but I didn’t use to many open questions in the one to one interaction with the elderly person otherwise this would have been viewed as a demanding and an interrogating conversation so I tried to listen to what the elderly person had to say to me then me asking questions but as I asked a open question it broke the barriers and made her feel as if I was interested in her life. Open questions are accurate and offer reasoning with a range of clients and settings
I tried to maintain personal space by offering the clients as much as personal space as they required in the first interaction I went and sat on a chair of the same size and not to overcrowd her this would have felt as if she was being pressurized and under control but I wanted the conversation to be as friendly as possible so sat next to her to provide her support and care I also maintained proximity my not invading her personal space at any time in the interaction in the third interaction with the elderly person I also maintained proximity by sitting opposite the elderly person. encase she felt uncomfortable with me sitting next to her and so she felt more relaxed but she offered me to come and sit next to her which is taken as a more polite and friendly aspect but even after sitting next to her I still maintained proximity by not taking her space as BECKS(2002)said that it not good for a person to go to someone’s house and invade their personal space or there room.
I showed sincerity giving the children in the first interaction and in the group interaction chocolates this made them feel happy and excited about me giving them something it also made them feel very lucky that they got the chance to take part in the interaction with me and also got a chocolate at the end I also showed sincerity with the elderly person but in a difference sense if I offered her a chocolate she would have not appreciated it and may be make her think that I was being rude so I gave her flowers which made her very pleased.
I used simple English language with the children encase it was hard for them to understand what I was saying I used simple English words but with the elderly person I spoke as normal as I could as there was no need of using simple English words with the elderly person.
I used posture I kept my body as relaxed and tried not to move my hands and feet in the interaction with the elderly person as she was talking most of the time and as I was younger the her I was my responsibly to listen to her attentively without creating any barriers in between our conversation. In the group interaction with the children and the one to one I did not keep this all mind as It was a conversation were I was talking more but still made sure not to do anything that become a barrier in our conversation.
I gave the children In the group interaction a label with their name on it because I did not want to upset them by saying or pronouncing their name wrong but their was no need to give labels in the first and interaction with the elderly person because they were only individual people who the interaction was taking place with and it should not have been hard to remember their names.
