Children and eye contact – helping your child look people in the eye
Darling, look at Jane when she says hello to you!
Does that sound familiar to you? Have you ever said it to your own child? I know I have!
I’ve always been passionate about helping children make eye contact, especially when they meet new people or talk to adults. I think it is such an important skill to have. You only have to do an internet search for “Looking people in the eye” and you’ll find hundreds of pages about how hard people find eye contact. There are forums and websites completely dedicated to the subject so it is obviously a big problem out there.
Closer to home, eye contact is something we get asked about frequently when we talk to parents whose children come to Perform. Looking into someone’s eyes when you talk to them demonstrates confidence and we all want our children to be confident and to show this to the outside world. Eye contact is crucial for good communication skills and, if taught early, it can be with you for life. Read more »
Top tips for a stress-free children’s party
My children were born in September and October so, once mid-August arrives, I start birthday party planning. Naturally, I always have a Perform Party (what else?!), so that certainly makes things easier for me. But, even taking that into account, I still find my own children’s birthday parties possibly the most stressful two days of my year!
And I know it’s not just me. Having entertained at hundreds of children’s parties myself, I know that many other parents feel the same way. However, this year, I am determined to make my own kids’ parties more enjoyable..for me as well as for everyone else!
So here are my top tips on how to ensure that your child’s birthday isn’t as stressful for you as the day they were born. By the way, I’ve assumed that you are hiring a venue and have some sort of hired entertainment or activities (though many of the tips will still apply even if this is not the case). The list is certainly not exhaustive so, if you have any suggestions or ideas, please do let me know. Read more »
Are you confident when speaking in public?
Because of my background as an actress, I’ve always mixed with people who are pretty confident speaking on their own in front of large groups of people. It wasn’t until I started Perform and attended courses in Child Protection, First Aid and various other childcare-related subjects that I realised how many people find speaking in front of others frankly terrifying.
Yes, I realised that not everyone was the all singing-all dancing type like most of my friends, but it was still a bit of a shock to me that there were clever and articulate adults out there who were frightened to speak out on their own. We’d go around the circle asking for contributions and it was amazing how quietly people spoke. I remember one course when an attendee actually left half way through the session because she found it too intimidating. Read more »
Discovering your “fun” and “firm” voices
When we train our teachers for Perform classes, one of the sections we spend the longest time working on is their voices. I’m not talking about their singing voices here; they are, after all, trained actors and singers and wouldn’t get to the training stage if they didn’t have a great instrument. What we work on is teaching them how to effectively use their voice to inspire and control children.
At Perform, we encourage our teachers to have two different types of voices for effective teaching: their energised, fun and inspiring voice for the majority of the time; and a low and firm no nonsense voice to use to ensure control when necessary. Read more »
