We need to stop treating children as if they were little grown ups!
For the most part, they are self-directing and know the struggles that they need to overcome,” says Professor Sue Jennings, a pioneer of Drama Therapy and Play therapy in the UK and Europe.
She will be travelling to India to conduct a workshop in at health café Mimansa in Koramangala, Bengaluru, on November 10, and a two-day certification program on 11th and 12th.
Jennings states that children and teens will benefit from Play Therapy, “because it gives them an opportunity to explore in a safe environment issues that may be troubling them. They may be struggling with the break of the family, the death of a pet, loss of friends when moving house. Added to which, if a child has been abused within the family then there are family secrets, and therapists will often have difficulty accessing these.”
As a founding member of the British Association of Drama-therapists and a full member of the British Association of Play Therapists and Play Therapy UK, Jennings feels that teenagers, in particular, feel the stress of peer pressure.
Parents can play a key role to help their kids deal with these pressures if they are able to build a strong attachment, so that youngsters in feel comfortable to talk to them about pressure, bullying and so on.
“However not all parents have time and patience and may take a stance that it’s better to tough it out. Games and activities are all collaborative and enable participants to learn about friendships, loyalties, group work and playfulness,” adds Jennings, who has authored of over 30 books on and around this subject.
Her groundbreaking study about Healthy Attachments and Play focused on a narrow phase of child development that has far-reaching consequences later on in life. Her final word of advice: also bond socially with your child.