overview:
Three professionals who are well versed in dealing with child-rearing and educators will teach you the tricks of family-friendly entertainment facilities.
If you’ve ever visited a family-oriented business, such as a theme park or entertainment center, you know that many of them have young employees with little or no experience working with children. Often visiting these businesses can be frustrating. Of course, you can’t blame the teenagers who work in their first jobs. However, it is accepted that companies need to better train their employees to work with children. After all, working with children is not for everyone.
I don’t blame the employees who are frustrated working at one of these family entertainment venues. As a mother, I am often frustrated! However, I am often looking for ways to communicate effectively with my children. I believe family-oriented companies should do the same when training their employees. It will make work and customer experience infinitely better.
I spoke to several people who are familiar with working with children of all backgrounds about how companies can better train their employees.
Meredith Tekin — President of the International Accreditation and Continuing Education Standards Commission, an organization that trains and certifies individuals to work with children with autism, mental health and cognitive disabilities, he believes that companies should be checked by training. Employee said there are many items that could be added to the list. First, business he leaders should consider working with “trusted partners or suppliers, such as certification bodies that have offered programs for a long time.”
“Make sure your content is from multiple clinical and professional perspectives, including those of experienced individuals (such as autism or disability),” says Tekin said Mr. “Also, repeat and strengthen training. Make sure staff and managers discuss the impact of the process and provide helpful documentation.”
When communicating with children, employees should communicate in different ways.
“Speaking in a friendly yet direct and clear way helps avoid confusion. Many people do not understand certain jargon and sarcasm, or take things literally. It’s possible,” said Tekin. “Sometimes kneeling or getting on a child’s level can help, but not all people are used to making eye contact and talking to others up close.” and other differences may be non-verbal, but remember that that doesn’t mean they can’t communicate. Your best bet is to ask when in doubt! “
More than anything else, Tekin said the best way to succeed is to recruit and screen employees properly.
Is there a checklist that these companies should have when hiring new employees? For example, experience working with children in previous jobs.
“Training helps build empathy and understand different perspectives, especially for visitors with disabilities, where staff do not have personal experience,” says Tekin. “By providing specific, up-to-date and relevant training, we can fill knowledge gaps and enable and empower our staff to do their best. It’s about letting you spend your time.”
Whitney LazerDirector of Education at the San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum recommends following the “three C’s” when working with children.
“Keep expectations clear, concise, and consistent,” says Raser. “The shorter your ‘rules’ are, the more sticky they are for a child, and often the easier they’ll understand. Most of our expectations are that we can’t go beyond her 3- to 4-word statement.” is not. For example, “use kind words” or “stay with adults”. Additionally, these phrases are the same whether they are used by the floor’s Visitor Services Associate or members of the leadership team. Consistency is key. ”
Raser also recommends using visual aids to communicate with children.
“Children may have language differences or neurological anomalies from venue employees. You can grab things,” Raser said.
Finally, Raser said it is important that all employees “approach their work with humility, empathy and a sense of lifelong learning.”
“Organizations should reach out to local nonprofits that work with children from neurodiverse and linguistic backgrounds,” Raser said. is eager to share its best practices with other community partners who seek culturally relevant and/or research-based approaches to best support children. New ideas and learnings can support our ongoing work to make the space more inclusive, so it’s important that we participate in this work and these partnerships often.”
Janelle Owens — Director of Human Resources at Test Prep Insight, an EdTech company, and previously worked in Human Resources at Target and Wells Fargo.
“Role-playing during employee orientation and training can have a significant impact on how employees behave once they start working on their own,” says Owens. role-playing can create an environment where employees can subtly reveal their prejudices and prejudices. It can play a pivotal role in preparing for anything.”
Owens also said business leaders should remember: It should be flexible and dynamic. ”
“We double down on role-playing training for younger team members who may be doing their first real job,” Owens said. You can use their experience and general maturity to discuss training issues, ask for their opinion, and find out how they’ve handled specific issues in the past. , green employees need to lead and train by example, and this is best done through role-playing, in a way it’s a form of ‘learning by doing’. Additionally, using role-plays to train younger employees has the added benefit of making them more engaging. This is a more active and participatory training that gets the attention of young workers, especially her teenage workers. ”
As a parent, what are your tips for business dealing with children? Leave your ideas in the comments section below.
___
San Diego Moms is published every Saturday. Have an idea for a story? Email hoaq@timesofsandiego.com and follow @hoawritessd on Instagram.
