Our big thing at work is to help the kids develop safe and healthy coping skills. Whatever their issues are we want them to be able to have things they can do to help them safely calm down.
Every single day at work I ask every single kids the same questions each morning:
-Why are you here?
-Do you feel like hurting yourself?
-Do you feel like hurting anyone else?
-Are you hearing any voices in your head or seeing anything that other people can't see?
-What is your coping skill? (I often have to further explain this and give examples)
-How do you feel today/what is your mood?
-Are you going to be safe today?
Yesterday I was talking to a 5 year old who was new to the hospital. It took a few tries to get an answer to why he was at the hospital, but when I asked him what helped calm him down he had a quick answer.
5 year old: "You can take me to Home Depot or buy me an iPad to help me calm down."
Me:"Do you like playdough?"
5 yo: "Yes."
Me: writing down playdough for his coping skill
Later in the day I heard that the night before he was talking to his mom and said, "I can't believe you brought me to this place. You need to come pick me up right now. I am going to count to ten. One, Two, Three..."
I believe that the children are our future.
Every single day at work I ask every single kids the same questions each morning:
-Why are you here?
-Do you feel like hurting yourself?
-Do you feel like hurting anyone else?
-Are you hearing any voices in your head or seeing anything that other people can't see?
-What is your coping skill? (I often have to further explain this and give examples)
-How do you feel today/what is your mood?
-Are you going to be safe today?
Yesterday I was talking to a 5 year old who was new to the hospital. It took a few tries to get an answer to why he was at the hospital, but when I asked him what helped calm him down he had a quick answer.
5 year old: "You can take me to Home Depot or buy me an iPad to help me calm down."
Me:"Do you like playdough?"
5 yo: "Yes."
Me: writing down playdough for his coping skill
Later in the day I heard that the night before he was talking to his mom and said, "I can't believe you brought me to this place. You need to come pick me up right now. I am going to count to ten. One, Two, Three..."
I believe that the children are our future.
1 comment:
You can tell you know your stuff when you come up with this kind of response. Although I usually get the same "Ipad" answer when I ask anyone around here what they'd like!
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