UlrikeDG
Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus
Years ago, on the old ParentsPlace.com board, Monika told me about the "sandwich" technique. It's where you sandwich every criticism between two positive statements. For example, "You've got the straps nice and tight. Looks like the harness tie is a bit too low, though. Let's move that up to armpit level. It's great that you're working so hard to keep your child safe!" It's very effective, and I should probably use it more often.
One technique that I do use often is to acknowledge how easy it is to make some mistakes. If it's something I've screwed up before, I admit it. There's nothing so disarming as an expert saying, "Yeah, I did the same thing! That's actually what inspired me to become a tech--knowing that I read the instructions and did my best, and it still wasn't right." If it's an error I see frequently, I tell the parent so. If 95% of kids are improperly restrained, no parent should feel like they're being singled out as a bad parent for unintentional misuse!
Does anyone have any other good techniques? Maybe something you learned outside the CPS world or something your instructor taught you in your tech class? Non-techs are welcome to participate! This is an area that doesn't come naturally to most of us, and I don't think it's discussed often enough.
One technique that I do use often is to acknowledge how easy it is to make some mistakes. If it's something I've screwed up before, I admit it. There's nothing so disarming as an expert saying, "Yeah, I did the same thing! That's actually what inspired me to become a tech--knowing that I read the instructions and did my best, and it still wasn't right." If it's an error I see frequently, I tell the parent so. If 95% of kids are improperly restrained, no parent should feel like they're being singled out as a bad parent for unintentional misuse!
Does anyone have any other good techniques? Maybe something you learned outside the CPS world or something your instructor taught you in your tech class? Non-techs are welcome to participate! This is an area that doesn't come naturally to most of us, and I don't think it's discussed often enough.