• Stijn

Core concepts of our workshop

In our workshop, we help children to become little lions. Children learn to recognize their emotions and how to deal with them. To give you a better understanding of how we achieve this, we give you a sneak-peek into the core concepts of the workshop.  It is built around 4 pillars: 

  • Identifying protective factors

An example of a protective factor is having a role model. But also knowing who your friends are or knowing where to go in case of an emergency. In the workshops, we teach children to be aware of these protective factors and to explore their options with the help of a workshop coach. A study with almost 3000 children from Limpopo (South Africa's northernmost province) indicated which factors children themselves describe as necessary to facilitate their well-being. From their perspective, having proper education and being able to learn in schools, emerged as the biggest source of well-being. They also put life skills programmes and learning about positive adaptation high on their list.

  • Building confidence

By knowing their own qualities and knowing where they can still work on, children can gain confidence. The amount of confidence differs throughout a child’s life. This is due to social factors (friends, school or teachers), a change in personality (becoming more introverted or extraverted or having negative experiences) or sometimes even biological factors, like hormones. In any stage of a child’s development, (re)discovering their own qualities can give their confidence a boost. Furthermore, learning about each other’s strengths will help them build their identity and concept of self. 

  • Managing emotions

Our workshop helps children and adolescents to manage their emotions. Managing emotions and expression can be a challenge for any child. Studies have found that children from disadvantaged backgrounds have even more difficulties expressing their emotions. This has to do with various factors. In some cases, parents or teachers may not spend time with children to talk about their emotions. In other cases, they may simply lack certain emotional skills because of the coping mechanism that they’ve created to protect themselves from negative experiences early in their life.

  • Exploring resilience

When children and adolescents grow up, they are vulnerable. This is because their brains and personalities are still developing, but also because they are often exposed to stressors.  Children that participate in our workshops come from disadvantaged backgrounds. They have often been exposed to violence (at home, at school or even on the streets). Besides that, they often grow up in a stressful environment, with a lack of education, money and access to food. By helping them boost their resilience, they learn how to build an emotional shield. This helps them to positively adapt to these challenging circumstances and eventually to thrive. Resilience is not something you’re born with, it is something you have to learn. Children can internalize this learned behaviour and use it in stressful times.

Children connect with these 4 mentioned pillars in a playful way. While they are drawing, moving around and playing games, they learn how to use the 4 concepts in their daily life. Are you interested in the possibilities to implement the workshop into your school curriculum or community programme? Contact stijn@littlelionschildcoaching.com

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