Page 8 - UNIT 1 Getting Started: The Empowerment Approach

Traditional Tug of War ‘Control’ Methods:

Child controls Adult controls

Permissive Authoritative & Authoritarian

Approach approaches

▪ Child’s ‘wins’ control ▪ Adult ‘wins’ control
▪ Childs own needs are met. ▪ Adult needs met
▪ Adult sacrifices their own needs. ▪ Child’s needs less important

The problems with control and compliance methods:

1. They do not work all of the time or with all children

2. They only work whilst the adult is in control and monitoring the child – they do not teach independence

3. They work well in the short-term but do not get to the root of the problem.

4. They do not teach the long-term pro-social and pro-learning skills needed to do well

Based on the work of Diana Baumrind