"The child's natural desire for attention is at the heart of all the different roles they take on in the Class room,” says William Purkey, Ph.D., a psychologist and author of Teaching Class Clowns (and What They Can Teach Us). “The endless quest to feel special and unique, to be valued and seen in a social group—that's a basic drive of human beings.” In this Article, I would like to talk about the different class behaviors, and to give you few tools to help your kids with attention seeking.
Mr. Popularity. A born leader, he's a wanted commodity at birthday parties, where other kids crave his attention and approval. One of the biggest tasks of life is figuring out how to connect with other people, and the born leader's natural charisma helps him navigate groups, and feel comfortable with public speaking. He may use his power to exclude children or boss them around. He may also try to milk his charm, sweet-talking his way out of trouble. Encourage your child to be a social butterfly without winging toward King (or Queen) Bee territory. Talk about how he can use his playground prestige to befriend the new kid or say no to cliques. Help your kid get a grip on the fact that not all life's opportunities will be handed to him.
The Chatterbox is got a serious gift of gab, so the Chatterbox will lure anyone into long conversations. The gift of gab is great, but explain that he'll keep friends and family happy and do better in school if he gets the yapping under control. If he needs help, develop a hand signal to let him know when it's time to cool it down.
The Teacher's Pet. A people-pleaser strives to make adults happy by doing well on schoolwork and being genuinely helpful in class. She can be sensitive. A disapproving look from an authority figure can make her dissolve into tears. One low grade can derail her. Usually this comes from a need for perfection in an educational system that stresses grades over learning. Praise for her hard work—and downplay standardized tests, and above all emphasize on how much you love her. Explain that learning is more important than wanting to please the teacher.
Getting a genuine laugh makes the Class Clown glow. She is the ultimate entertainer. Class Clowns use their sense of humor to make friends, and defuse tense situations; skills that will serve them well. Heck, they may even turn this gift into a career. She could use her biting wit to mock other kids or sass the teacher. Plus, all the laughing sometimes masks the fact that these kids are struggling in school—or bored stiff. Help your child's teacher find ways to put your kid's positive energy to work; when your child crosses the line from funny to fresh, don't give her a pass.
To learn more about the author, and the services she provides to LA parents, please visit HomeParentCoach.com. Ana can be reached at anaedelson@gmail.com.
