I ran across an intriguing listing on Ebay for a DVD containing vintage social skills films and bought it for about ten dollars. It came yesterday and I played it. It was GREAT! The DVD contains over an hour of old educational films from the 50's mostly with titles like, "The Fun of Being Thoughtful", "How To Settle Disputes", and "Helping Johnny Remember".
(You can get it too at http://www.qualityinformationpublishers.com/. Look under Social Guidance)
I called Orangeboy in to watch and his siblings followed. They all three sat down and watched these old black and white films for almost an hour! It really did have some good social skills instruction and I, personally, found it to be quite enormously amusing. Wow, everyone was so happy and positive and nice in the 50's! If only we could be like that today - just imagine!
Okay, I'm being a little silly here, but really, I think this DVD could be helpful in reminding or showing Orangeboy how getting along nicely with others can make life go smoother - AND give him some specific lines to try out. They're not cartoons and they are very clear and overt in teaching specific behavior. I'm also reminded about Temple Grandin and how she pointed out that being raised in the 50's probably helped her a lot because people were more neighborly and connected back then. She said they always had people coming over and hanging out. They did a lot of socializing at home which gave her many opportunities to learn and practice social skills. Kids today don't usually get that.
I know nobody comes over to our house unless it is arranged ahead of time and that doesn't happen often enough. Neighbors don't just drop by. We don't even have kids ringing the bell and asking if someone can come out and play, like sometimes happened "in my day".
These days it's scheduled playdates and karate lessons, and if they're lucky, the kids will get 15 or 20 minutes to interact with their peers at school on the playground.
Ahhhh... the good ol' days...that happened two decades before I was born...
Oh well, I'm going to play some solitaire now.
Too funny! Reminds me of those puberty film strips.
ReplyDeleteI've often wondered about the impact of neighborhoods on our kids. I guess we're a bit lucky b/c there are some kids up the street that gather in the summer, and their parents have made sure that Sayer is welcome. I hear such stories about mean kids in the 'hood.