In the last two blogs, we posted sample social behavioral stories to help kids learn the social and behavioral skills necessary for camp. Is a social story really enough?
When I wrote the two social behavioral stories, a part of me said to myself, “You’ve got to be kidding! Seriously? You think kids will read it and suddenly use self-control?”
There is a science behind self-control. Social behavioral stories are only a small part of it. In the next few blogs, we’ll take apart self-control in bite-size pieces so that we can walk away with practical strategies after understanding it much better.
There is a fancy theory called the process model of self-control. In short, there are 4 steps on the road to self-control:
- Situation
- Attention
- Appraisal
- Response
Here’s a quick example:
Situation: I’m on a diet (well, when am I not on a diet??? ) and then I go to my sister’s daughter’s engagement party.
Attention: I see the yummy chocolate caramel Siegelman’s cake on the dessert buffet table.
Appraisal: I tell myself that one slice of Siegelman cake is not the end of the world. I’ll restart my diet tomorrow morning.
Response: I eat just one slice… and while I’m at it, I also have a chocolate jelly ring… or two. And to wash it down, I have just one pina colada drink.
So now what???
Remember these four steps because the solutions lie within them! Stay tuned and you’ll learn some great ideas!