You could use a reflective account of what you have done & how you have built up a friendship with a child.
E.g. 1.1 Reflective account 16.1.2012
Child A is a deaf child in reception who has her own LSA (learning support assistant) to look after her in class, I was very keen in knowing how to change child A’s hearing aid as there may be a time when her LSA was absent from school and as I am the teaching assistant in the class I thought it was important that I knew how they worked, I was shown how to change the batteries and the precise buttons I needed to use in order for it to work, I was then asked by the LSA if I would like to attach the hearing aid. Child A did not want to let me at first but her LSA told her it was fine, once it was attached I gave her the ‘thumbs up’ or ‘shaky hands’ to which she responded with’ thumbs up’.
I felt at that moment that I had started my first point of a relationship with child A as she never approached me previous to that and will now approach me if her hearing aid is not working or if some other child in the playground has upset her
1.2 As part of the children’s science work I was asked by the CT to work with a certain group of children, the project covered how to make a light bulb work by using a battery and a small number of electrical wires. The children had a few ideas and suggestions to which I remarked ‘what do you think would happen if you attached the wire to the battery using the alligator clips?’ once I had said that, they then figured out that by using the battery as the main source of electricity they could attach the wires using the alligator clips and make the light bulb work.
Throughout this project I had advised and given them a few ideas and suggestions but had not given the answer in order for them to figure it out for themselves, which was the whole aim of the project in the first place. This is a practical example of how I could help with ideas and suggestions however, I deal with children on a regular basis who sometimes find themselves in trouble for being naughty or doing silly things and who usually end up with no one to play with at lunchtime, in this situation I take them to one side without an audience and ask them why they think no one will play with them and what could they do in order to remedy that. By asking them this it gives them the opportunity to talk about ideas and ways of turning their behaviour around in order to have more positive relationships with other children
1.3 It is important to let children and young people make choices for themselves as it develops their sense of independence and individuality, as adults we tend to forget that children can make choices and in giving them those choices it will allow them to gain some control in their lives which will make them feel confident and in control. Sometimes I find that a child who is quiet and reserved will sometimes prefer to play with children who are more outgoing but often find themselves in trouble, this choice is made because they would like to be more popular and see the more outgoing child as someone who’s behaviour can be imitated and replicated, more often than not the quiet child will revert back to making friends of their own but if not then I will always give the child the choice of playing with other children who are similar in nature or find themselves getting further into trouble by continuing to play with mischievous children.
When working with children who behave badly in class or have a tendency to be easily distracted, supporting them in making the right choices can be a very rewarding experience. The child or young person must have ground rules laid down of what is acceptable and what is not and be kept away from any triggers that could cause them to act inappropriately, if I was to see any sign of unacceptable behaviour then I would reinforce the rules to the child, if that behaviour still continued then I would remove the child from the classroom until they had a chance to think about what had happened, this distraction would give them a chance to compose themselves until they could continue with their work in the appropriate manner.
In order for older children to make the right choices they need to know that they are supported in what they do, even if the choice is the wrong one then at least they know that you will be there to support them. Making choices is part of growing up and the process is made easier if they know they have a good role model that they can go to talk things through with.
If a young person is not allowed to make simple choices and have them made for them then they will never learn responsibility or gain any resilience in their younger life. Children who are ‘molly coddled’ or wrapped in cotton wool are more vulnerable and susceptible to disappointment than to children who are given the choice to choose for themselves
1.4 As part of our literacy lesson I was instructed by the class teacher to support a group of mixed ability children in writing the letter ‘e’, I decided to choose 3 children at a time as it would be easier for me to give each child individual attention as well as working as part of a group. Some of the children struggled with their coordination in writing the letter and needed help and support, once I had given these children lots of praise and encouragement they were able to overcome their apprehension and set about doing some of the task themselves in which they showed great pride in having succeeded. Although my attention was mostly centred on supporting the children who needed my help, praise and encouragement was also given to the children who had accomplished the task on their own and without a lot of help from me.
Obviously change it to your own surroundings and experiences but hopefully that will give you an idea.
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develop professional realationships with children?
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