❛ Don’t ever disappoint a child ❜
is a self-initiated awareness—raising campaign to improve children’s lives all over the world.
In my teaching activity far too often I came across this sad pattern: the life stories of children presenting learning / behaviour disorders are plenty of disappointing episodes. Children which are often neglected, undergo a process of sadness, anger and finally apathy. But parents and care givers can easily stop this: just don’t ever disappoint a child! How do you do this? You do not disappoint a child (1) when you give him or her enough structure to cope with life’s difficult choices and demanding challenges. This requires resilience which in turn builds self-confidence. You do not disappoint a child (2) when you keep your promises. And you reassure the child not by meeting all his or her fancies but by meeting all his or her reasonable expectations. This is how self-confidence is built.
Are you one of those people that spend more time on their mobile than paying attention to their children? What if your mobile could remind you what really matters?! This humble gif is designed to do just that! The flower lying on the pavement represents the damage done to children all over the world by reckless caregivers.
I’ve made up this campaign for I believe that by «not disappointing children» we are shaping a better future! Children can be spared a great deal of disturbance in their development but on the other hand, if we keep on developping a disappointed society the future might not be such a great time to live in like Portuguese psychiatrist and author Daniel Sampaio points out: « (…) Se não formos capazes de, precocemente, proteger e ajudar a crescer as crianças, não seremos capazes de ter escolas a funcionar, por mais formação que dermos aos professores; continuaremos a ter os tribunais de crianças e jovens a abarrotar de processos de difícil resolução; e os serviços de saúde continuarão a ter mais casos de mau prognóstico, afinal susceptíveis de terem sido prevenidos.» Daniel Sampaio1
Bonus: If you are interested in reusing one of the photographs in your own design you can do so by downloading it from my unsplash account.
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1. Daniel Sampaio in «XIS» paper edition of Público portuguese newspaper from 2005, January the 15th.
1. Daniel Sampaio in «XIS» paper edition of Público portuguese newspaper from 2005, January the 15th.
