Page 29 - GM-Tanya the Tattling Rattler

The Tattler then goes to an adult to get them to fix the problem and adjust reality to fit their expectation (make them share, choose me, play the game I like). Instead of using Good Thinking and the skills of compromise, cooperation or doing something else, they demand that someone fix it. It is often very easy for an adult to accept the role of the intervener rather than help the child learn more effective coping skills. In doing so, we inadvertently validate
their Stinking Thinking, “Things should always go the way I want them to go.”
The other downside of tattling is that it is sometimes the result of vindictiveness. The child watches for the other child to do something wrong and then tattles on them o get them back. There are situations th t do require an adult’s intervention and the story illustrates when tattling is acceptable. This is a guide for both the children and adults. By using this criterion, you are able to redirect a tattler without being punitive, “Is this one of those situations that does need a grown-up’s help? If not, then tell me about another way that you can handle it. “
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