Performing in kindergartens: how to deal with the fears of the youngest children?

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Performing in kindergartens: how to deal with the fears of the youngest children?

Children in kindergartens, especially the nursery groups, are under stress. I am telling you this as a certified psychologist. Very often one can observe such a picture: you come to a kindergarten, they bring kids to us and they begin to cry. In this article I will tell you how to deal with the kids' fears.

Firstly, establish contact with the children before the performance

Very often we try to do our show of bubbles as close to a concert program as possible. We try not to appear in front of the children until our performance begins, and then we jump out from behind the scenes to loud music.

For a young child of 2-3 years old this is scary. Put yourselves in their shoes. A big-sized stranger comes and suddenly, with loud sounds, he or she jumps out. There are no mom and dad around; of course, their teacher for them is a trusted adult, but not to that extent. Naturally, a kid is frightened and begins to cry. It's better not to do such things.

Most often, it is the nursery group who are the first brought into the hall. While they are being seated, you calmly say hello to them in a quiet voice, try to make contact. Say: "Guys, it's great that you came, I'm so glad! You are so beautiful and smart! How did you eat today? We will blow bubbles now, but we must wait for other kids." Speak in an even voice, then the child will begin to trust you at least a little and calm down.

Secondly, do not perform for only nursery groups. Mix them with older ones

This is an organizational issue. If the kindergarten is very large, for example, 120 people, then they should be divided into two runs. Try not to allow such a situation: the first group is only a nursery one, and the second – only older ones. Let a group of young children mix with the groups of older ages. Because kids from nursery groups will look up to their older inmates. They trust them more, they will look up to them and learn how to behave, when they need to applaud, etc. It will be more natural, kids will not be so scared.

Thirdly, do not frighten children with your appearance

Probably, many will try to argue with me and say that children of this age love life-size dolls. After all, they are often ordered for birthdays. This is understandable, but only is mum is around. In kindergarten everything is different. Thus, the kids behave differently.

Be very careful that you don't look frightening. You do not need to paint your face too much, or wear weird clothes. Do not forget that you have little kids in front of you. For the older group the costume of the Hatter is Ok, but for the youngest it is scary. Therefore, pay attention to your appearance, do not scare the kids.

Fourthly, place an adult person inside the soap bubble first

We all try to always place people inside a soap bubble. This is the most common trick during the show. You must make sure that to be the first person to be in a bubble is an adult: a teacher, a manager, a nurse, etc. The child will see that being in a soap bubble is not scary and it does not hurt.

Next, you do not need to grab a young kid from the first row to place him/her inside a soap bubble. Try to do this with a few older children first. Otherwise, they will cry, and this will not affect your event in a positive way.

And finally, fifthly, speak in a calm voice, move smoothly

Try to speak in a friendly, even voice. Your movements during the show should be smooth. No need to run, scream, grab children. I often see this in the work of some animators. It is clear that they are trying to act as some funny characters. But still, it is necessary to understand that there are little children in front of you, not five-year kids, but two-three-year-olds. It is about them and their fears that we speak in this article.

Make kids happy, go to kindergartens, that's great. You probably will not find so many positive emotions anywhere else. It so happens that after the event I even happen to see little pools under the chairs. I.e. the children wetted their pants with delight. They clapped loudly, shouted, they really liked the holiday that you gave them.

Summary