Special Interest Topics
These presentations appeal to a wide range of professionals and parents. Most are appropriate for a full day professional development event, though Play and Time Outs are meant to be shorter seminars.
Bullies:
their making and unmaking
There are two main ways that bullies are treated in our schools and programs. First, sensitivity programs are attempted. "tell the bully how you feel!" the bullied children are told. This backfires terribly as the bullies act conciliatory in front of the adults, and then turn around and use their new knowledge to cause deeper pain and humiliation. The second standard method is to consequence the bully. A "zero policy" stance is taken in many places - the bully is suspended, expelled, timed-out, and suffers from the removal of privildges and the imposition of sanctions. Neither of these approaches has proved sucessful in changing the bully's natural inclination to exploit. This Neufeld-created talk presents a fresh perspective in making sese of bullies. How can we reverse the dynamics that caused bullying in the first place? There is hope here for every bully - as long as there is an adult who is willing to take responsibility to make a difference.
The Art and Science of Transplanting Children
Dr. Neufeld created this course for those who care for or work with foster, adopted, and step children. How does early or frequent separation impact a child, what might we expect to see, and how can we ameliorate those effects? Why does the step-parent naturally tend to be seen as "wicked", and why do foster or adoptive children often yearn for their birth parents even if they are in a good situation and were rescued from a terrible one? How do these attachment forces affect our children, and how can we work with these forces to provide for these vulnerable children what they need? This seminar addresses these questions and more. Pamela works with many parents of adoptive and foster children, as well as with couples which include a step parent, and has found this material to be invaluable in each of these contexts.
The Teachability Factor
What are the requisite conditions in order for children to learn? Why do some children seem to learn more readily than others, even though each has the same general level of intelligence? How can we serve both the most mature and independent student, and the student who has trouble learning and behaving? This Neufeld-created seminar gets to the root of these questions, addressing the three factors that are core to our children's capacity to be taught. And if the child is immature and unteachable? Never fear, there is a fourth, fall back measure through which we can reach most any child...
Making Sense of Play
Play - at least the kind that builds brains and forwards development - is becoming an endangered activity among those who need it most. Part of the problem is the premature pressure on children to learn and to become socialized. Another factor is the amount of time that children spend engaged in screen time. The most significant factor of all is our failure to provide the conditions necessary for the kind of play that helps children realize their true potential. From a developmental persective, play is not an optional activity.
Participants of this Neufeld-created seminar not only learn what kind of play is most beneficial but also how to support this activity in children. This material applies to children of all ages although the primary focus is on young childhood.