Guide-Child Relationship

The guide builds a trust-based relationship with each child under their care. Such a relationship empowers the child to bring to their awareness their own existence, choices they make and their impact on the world.

  1. The guide develops a warm, friendly relationship with the child, in which good rapport is established.
  2. The guide accepts the child exactly as they are. The child’s current cognitive and emotional state is a culmination of their life experiences. Unless the guide accepts the child, the broad spectrum of early childhood experiences, and the resulting personality, they cannot build a genuine, non-judgemental relationship.
  3. The guide builds a feeling of permissiveness in the relationship so that the child feels free to express his feelings completely.
  4. While handling behavioural difficulties, the guide is alert to recognize the feelings the child is expressing beneath the exhibiting behaviour and reflects those feelings back to the child in such a manner that they gain insight into their behavior.
  5. The guide maintains a deep respect for the child’s ability to solve his own problems if given an opportunity to do so. The responsibility to make choices and to institute growth is the child’s.
  6. The guide establishes only those boundaries necessary to anchor the learning to the world of reality and to make the child aware of his responsibilities in the community.