Case Study
Here is a case of seven year old Mike. Mike overreacted to an incident during recess. One day in the playground Mike did something wrong. One of his peers teased him and said some inappropriate words. Mike got angry and pushed the boy and started crying.
Mike complained and said that it was not his fault and the other boy should feel sorry or he should change his behavior. His teacher explained him that it is difficult to always control what other children do, but he is the boss of himself and he has a choice to deal with the situation in his own way. Mike was impressed by this thought. The teacher could see that Mike needed additional instruction in role-playing social skills during peer engagement.
1) Understand the problem: It is necessary to talk things over until you are on the right track to understand the exact problem your child is facing. Mike’s problem was that he felt angry and sad when teased by his peers and reacted physically to that by pushing the other boy.
2) Point out the bad feelings: Let your child understand that it is normal to feel bad when someone teases you. Mike was also made to understand this by working with his teacher in his decision-making choices.
3) Teach alternate ways to react: Tell your child that there are different ways to react to teasing. Mike was told that he could walk away by saying, “I don’t bother you, so please don't bother me” or “Please stop it”.
4) Replay the situation: You can replay the situation with your child in the same way as it happened originally. Interchange the roles, with different situations to discover new ways of dealing with the situation. Replay the situation and role model an improved social skill resolution.
5) Reward the achievement: If the child feels success in dealing with the situation effectively by using the tips given during role playing reward him/her with a suitable reward or gift appropriate for the classroom or the home.
Role playing may take some time to help your child in developing new social skills. But regular practice will definitely help your child to control and modify his/her social behavior.