Letting Labels Out of the Box for Irish Childrens’ Mental Health
August 26th, 2009 |
A GoodTherapy.org News Headline
While most people have memories of being scolded for their behavior at some point during their childhood, not all will remember being perpetually labeled as a “bad” or “misbehaving” child. Those that do may have struggled with such labels growing up –and may still grapple with the concept as adults. Turning this trend around is the idea behind “Gem Kids,” a program developed in Ireland to help children move beyond the labels that peers, parents, and teachers sometimes give them in an effort to identify behavioral “problems” and explain them with clinical terms or preconceived ideas. The group hopes that through helping children see past these terms will avoid self-fulfilling prophecies and create better opportunities for behavioral success.
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I was always one of those “bad” kids… I really think it has affected me in adult life, fortunatly i’ve gone through therapy to work on a lot of the issues associated with it. Looks like this program could be very beneficial.
Labelling children is the most degrading thing anyone can do to a child. I dont see it any different than abuse. Even in adulthood one doesnt see beyond and failure becomes certain. Stereotyping definitely stems from childhood.