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Written by: Hong Kong Speech and Swallowing Therapy Centre
Senior Speech Therapist Eunice Siu
In our daily interactions with others, we not only observe others’ behaviors, but also “explain” and “predict” others’ behaviors. Theory of mind is the ability to infer or substitute other people’s mental states, such as their thoughts, beliefs, desires, and intentions, etc., and to use this ability to explain other people’s thoughts, perceptions, and predict their behaviors. Theory of mind can be subdivided into “emotion recognition”, “beliefs” and “pretend play”.
The developmental period for children’s theory of mind is from approximately 3 to 7 years of age. However, before the age of 3, children need to master the following skills to effectively develop theory of mind skills.
1. noticing and imitating the behavior of people around them
2. recognizing the emotions of others and using words to express them (e.g., happy, sad, angry, surprised)
3. participates in pretend play
4. understands that different people have different desires and preferences
5. understands that people will act to get what they want (e.g. reach for candy)
6. understands the causes and consequences of unsympathetic emotions (e.g. if I hit my brother, my mom will be mad and then she will scold me)
Ways to improve theory of mind are:
1. Use more psychologically relevant words when talking to your child
Using psychologically related words to communicate with children can help children understand their own and others’ psychological conditions more specifically. Examples of psychologically related words are “think,” “pretend,” “know,” “believe,” “feel,” and words related to emotions. Pay attention to what your child is trying to say and then respond. For example, “Ah! You want cake”, “Don’t be afraid! You think I’m gone, but I’m still here,” and “Mommy’s mad at you for hitting your brother. Parents can also explain to their children the psychological situation of others, e.g., “Mei-mei is smiling so much when she receives a birthday present, she should be very excited.
2. Participate in role-playing games with your child
Role-playing games encourage children to put themselves in different situations and characters’ perspectives to draw inferences about their behavior. To begin, children can pretend to be common everyday characters, such as mothers, doctors, teachers, and drivers. Parents should pay attention to the fact that both the words and behaviors in the game should be substituted for the role played. This activity helps children experience a variety of emotions, thoughts and interactions in different social situations, and learn to observe, imitate, anticipate, review and adjust their thoughts and behaviors.
I hope parents can make good use of the opportunity to share and communicate more with their children in daily life, so that they can learn to “look at people’s eyebrows and eyes” (meaning read people’s faces) and become a “mind-reading detective”!
Source：
Hollin, P., Baron-Cohen, S.,& Hadwin,J.(1999). Teaching children with autism tomind-read. West Sussex, England: Wiely Press
Lowry, L.(2015).” Tuning in” to others: How young children develop theory of mind. The Hanen Centre.
Spastics Association of Hong Kong (2005). Connecting: Developing social skills in children with autism. Spastics Association of Hong Kong.
Teacher’s thoughts:
The entire project is beneficial and essential for our teachers and children, because it allows them to learn and grow in the process. For children, their curiosity was aroused and they enjoy learning in various activities. Most importantly, they can learn to care and love everything around them. Meanwhile, teachers can transform traditional teaching approaches into new and diversified teaching methods, so that teachers have a thorough understanding of the well-designed activities to match the abilities and interests of each child, which is undoubtedly a wonderful experience for both teachers and children.
Teacher’s Sharing Time
Teacher workshop
Star of the week
Thematic activity – Caring for the Earth
Thematic activity- Natural Fertilizer
Thematic activity – Recycled paper
Filming “The Garbage Mountain” Theatre
Supervisor’s Comment:
By participating in the "Promoting Positive Education, Towards Whole Person Development" project, the school's working atmosphere, teachers' professional development and children's learning have been greatly improved. This project enriched my knowledge in planning and designing courses. In addition, when all teachers shared their personal goals, they revealed their talents and interests, which has definitely helped them to build a sense of satisfaction and lead a better life.
This project can help children establish a positive learning attitude and take the initiative to participate and enjoy school life. Children’s learning motivation has been greatly improved, and they look forward to learning new knowledge every day.
Learn to promote environmental protection message
Challenge yourself
Caring corner
Teacher’s thoughts
The FFL competition allows children to be more creative while building various things by building blocks. During the competition, the children suggested to build a harmonious park for all age groups and the disabled. They also encountered some problems they had never faced before. To solve those problems, they discussed and challenged themselves to achieve their goals. In the end, they were satisfied with the creation of their ideal LEGO park.
These simple Lego bricks are fun and can provide our children with high-level STEM skills. In the Lego classroom, children used Lego gears and other accessories to learn scientific theories; “When I turn one of the gears, why are both gears moving?” During the entire game, the children observed the “gear” and explored how it moved. Literally, they found the answer-“The gear shafts are connected to each other in parallel.” Then the teachers further explained to the children to help them better understand and facilitate them to learn from playing.
Children’s comment
1. “Mr. Li and Miss. Cheung, I’ll see you in the LEGO lesson!”
2.「我可唔可以玩住LEGO等媽媽嚟?」
3.「上個星期係LEGO堂玩咗齒輪之後，爸爸琴日帶咗左我去科學館都見到齒輪呀!」
4. “When can I have LEGO lesson again?”
Teacher Training
LEGO Education Enhancement
Fun Lego Classroom
Use IPad control
system
Written by :Family Dynamics Child Play Therapist
Marriage and Family Therapist, Ms. Lee Wai Zi
In today’s society, it is indeed not easy for parents to maintain a good state of mind and body. I have met with many parents and found that the difficulty most parents face is not that they do not understand their children’s feelings and needs, or that they do not know how their behavior affects their children, but that it is difficult to maintain a trusting and optimistic attitude towards their children when they are in a situation. Often, parents become increasingly anxious as they worry that their child’s problems will continue and worsen, and repeat ineffective ways of dealing with their child’s problems.
So, how can parents maintain the best mental state to face the stress and challenges of disciplining their children? Here are some tips for parents to consider:
1. Be more sensitive to your own stress levels
Parents are human beings, so there will be times when they are depressed or physically and emotionally exhausted. The purpose of parents being sensitive to their own mental state is to remind themselves that they need to take care of their own needs first. It is difficult for parents to be sensitive and responsive to the needs of their children when they are in a highly stressed state. Conversely, inappropriate responses may harm the child and damage the parent-child relationship.
2. Use resources effectively to relieve stress
When parents feel stressed, they should try to explore and make good use of their own internal and external resources to regulate their negative emotions. For example, find family members or friends to talk to, do things that can relax you, and find positive thoughts and beliefs to encourage you. The purpose is to give yourself a proper rest and temporary relief from stress.
3. Turn your mind around and reflect
If a parent’s stress continues and increases, professional help is needed. Sometimes, these pressures come from more than just external influences. Parents’ self-worth, worldview, and perceptions of things can affect how we parent. For example, some parents worry that they are not doing enough to fulfill their parental responsibilities and end up pushing their children to study or participate in activities, or even that they are not flexible enough to respond to their children’s needs when they are stressed and negative. If
parents are aware of and take care of their own feelings and needs, they can prevent their negative emotions from affecting the next generation.
Therefore, parents who love their children must first love themselves. Only when parents are healthy and happy can their children grow up healthy and happy.
