Observation in Children’s Homes
- Author:
FURSTENHEIM, M.D.
Psychiatrist, Hampshire County Council Child Guidance Clinic It is the aim of this paper to stress the value of observation in Children’s Homes and the help that can be given by it.
Such help implies that the helper must know the child and his individuality better than he does himself, and probably better than his parents, teachers and relatives do. But how can this knowledge be gained ? Only by observation. And who should carry out this observation ? Psychologists ? Or Wardens and Foster-mothers of Homes ? Or both ? The answer is ” Both working together in close co-operation.
At the outset of the Child Guidance movement such co-operation was missing. The Psychiatrist had to rely entirely on his own methods, and before these were scientifically developed, on his impressions only, and it was on his judgement alone that what was likely to be the best environment for the child was decided. So far so good. But each child was seen under special conditions by a special kind of personality, and both these factors might have influenced the picture made of the personality of the child. Might not this picture change in a different environment, under continuous observation by another kind of person ? Observation and Investigation It follows that there are two methods of examination, both of which contribute to our knowledge of the child’s personality.
First, there is that of investigation, often confined to a single interview ; and secondly, that of observation, which is continuous. The former involves the use of special methods ; the latter should be as simple and unobtrusive as possible, for children, like adults, modify their behaviour as soon as they feel they are being observed.
There are so many different features which go to make up a child’s personality that certain aspects only should be chosen specially for the Warden s observation.
First, a distinction has to be made between the more permanent characteristics of the child’s makeup, and those that are variable. The permanent characteristics are part of his (or her) natural disposition, the skeleton or framework of the personality ; the variable ones are acquired, and change with the environment.
Investigation is specially directed to acquiring fknowledge of the child’s disposition, that which rules and conditions the success of his daily life J Observation is concerned with his physical and emotional modifications, under home influenceThe two are complementary and should help and complete each other.
Investigation includes a careful case history, the use of intelligence and other special tests, a physical examination, questioning and analysis. A single interview can be enough for the purpose of making a right decision as to a home and thus saving many costly detours, but just because it is a relatively shoi’t method, observation should confirm, criticize, correct or at least improve upon and complete the preliminary judgement, based on the investigationSkilful observation helps to determine how great has been the influence of the environment on the child’s make-up. It also gives valuable help reporting facts which further confirm the conflict revealed by the scientific investigation ; and stressing its seriousness. For example, a clever child from a broken home may accuse his mother of unfair handling, and of giving punishment without reason. The investigation may rais6 doubts as to the boy’s reliability, but it is th6 observation in the children’s home which may sho^ him to be such an unreliable character and dotf1’ inated by his spitefulness. Plans originally made for placing him in a camp school can then be changed, * / wish to thank the various foster-parents, Wardens and Superintendents of Childrens’ Homes in Hampshire for th&r. kind interest and helpfulness shown towards me when writing this paper; also Dr Cronk, County Medical Officer, a’1 Dr Mary Capes, Director of the Clinic, for reading and revising it.?W.F. a?d a school chosen where special psychological treatment can be given.
^he Difficulties of Observation Wardens who are not used to collaborating with a psychologist are sometimes inclined to feel that desire for methodical observation is a new burden. They emphasize the difficulties of the ^sk before they really study and understand the Method. These difficulties should be discussed under their various headings.
?-ack of time . This difficulty cannot be underrated at the present tune, when Homes are understaffed, and when duties, some specifically related to the war, are many a?d distracting. Even in peace there is always Plenty to do. Further, the children are away from early in the morning, and possibly they only return ln time for tea, which is followed by various duties and occupations lasting till bed-time. All observat’on has to be carried out “as unobtrusively as Possible”, for reasons already mentioned, and unally it is desirable that some time should be left t? the children for completely free play, or play, at anV rate, unhampered by observation.
discipline and Observation as has been noted, observation of which he is avvare will change a child’s behaviour, how much ^ore will discipline do so ! And, as every psychologist with some practical experience will agree, U’scipline is necessary to keep order in the small c?nimunity of the Children’s Home. But discipline be good or bad, and this can readily be observed while watching the children’s behaviour.
? Bad Discipline may either be too lax, leading to disorder, with disturbances in the relationships etween children and adults, and between the cjuldren themselves ; or it may be too strict, which e,irninates the value of observation by placing too J^uch emphasis on naughtiness and mischief, and ,eaving no scope for little acts of sympathy, mutual e’P and unselfish sharing, or for initiative and enterprise. Too strict discipline interferes with ^tural and permissible self-expression, and even auses this to take an asocial turn.
. Good Discipline may be called ” free ” discipline, 0r its purpose is to teach the proper use of freedom nd liberty. Discipline is a means to an end only, nd a certain amount of liberty is a necessity to ^t its success. The more freedom a warden is ole to grant, the greater is the measure of his Uccess. For example, it is always a good sign if tuidren can talk freely to each other during meals, an ^ rernember their good manners, whether an uult is with them or not.
i ^rouP Discipline and individual discipline. There turther the question of the discipline of the group ersus that of each individual. Some children can Vvh’kept *n order with a minimum of discipline, hile others need much firmer handling. General discipline implies a regular daily routine, which is wholesome for all members of the Home, in which the older children help the younger by word and example. But this does not mean that the routine should be the same in every detail for all. For example, older children should stay up longer. A highly strung, sensitive boy, with interests of his own, may be encouraged to spend his spare time with his hobbies, while others do group work under the supervision of an older boy. The children will not resent this if the situation is tactfully handled, and the little dullards will really do and feel better if their leisure is organized. This differential discipline, whether for varying groups or for individuals, will never interfere with, but will find its limits within, the general discipline. Observation, useful in judging the value of general discipline, is indispensable for differential discipline. Awareness of this may help to overcome a last important difficulty, that of unwillingness.
Unwillingness
Wardens who are willing to report will learn to do so quickly, and are often eager to tell what has been of long-standing experience. But an interesting problem is presented by those who frankly state that they do not wish to approach the problem from a psychological angle, and who, by passive resistance, try to discourage the psychologist in his endeavour to bring about co-operation on equal terms.
Further, some wardens, often very good ones, seem reluctant to ” give away ” their children, or, like some parents, wish to keep their faults and little offences a secret within the home circle. Young workers, especially sometimes feel guilty for the faults of the children in their charge, and fear blame for them. This particular form of unwillingness usually disappears with increasing understanding.
The most serious form of resistance is that of workers who are unable to enjoy detached observation of children. Perhaps their interest lies in technical rather than in personal matters, as with the teacher who may be an excellent mathematician or historian, but is quite unable to understand the differing personalities of his pupils. Others may be so self-centred, so engrossed in their own problems and sorrows, that they lack, at least at the beginning, the equanimity, humour and kindness indispensable for such observation. Such people often have real difficulty in controlling their own tempers, and may vent their moodiness on the children, under the guise of strict discipline. Such discipline intimidates the children and deprives them of their spontaneous, naive behaviour, and thus all opportunity of learning from observation is lost. For such unhappy men and women, very often themselves the victims of too severe and unindividualized discipline, there is no better help, apart from psychotherapeutic treatment, than that of forgetting themselves in the observation of children.
Methods employed in Observation
Observation should not be occasional or casual. It should always be steady and methodical, whether it is being practised for the purpose of answering the questions of a psychological collaborator, or whether the observer is acting as far as possible for the psychologist when he is not available. The more numerous and more accurate the facts known, the clearer will be the psychological picture, and the easier will it be to distinguish between the transient reactions in the child’s personality, caused by environment, and the permanent features of his temperament. Such observation, then, is of invaluable help in estimating his probable future reactions in other circumstances.
No observation is unimportant in this connection, and incidentally this provides a partial solution to the problem of lack of time. Opportunities for observation are found in the shared life of the fosterparents and children. It is of significance to know how the different children behave while getting up in the morning, while washing, dressing, and helping each other ; how they behave over meals, in their different jobs and games, what parts they take in little plays, in telling fairy tales round the fire, or reading together. It is unnecessary and unwise for the whole group always to be together, and it is important to notice the differences of behaviour in the smaller and varying groups. The observer, though doing his own work, will soon know which child is the pluckiest, which the humourist of the group, which the most helpful to the smaller ones ; also who is the grumbler, who lacks endurance, and who always knows better than his fellows. The important thing for the observer to realize on these occasions is that he is not there as a policeman, a representative of authority, or a teacher. He is there to observe. He is a student of psychology, interested in the differences of physique, intelligence and character of the different children. Opportunities for observation are thus unlimited, but some scheme and method is needed to ensure useful results. The following plan has proved satisfactory in the writer’s experience and is offered as a suggestion. Nobody should feel bound to use it exactly in this form.
Three main fields of observation are considered :
Health, Behaviour, and Achievement. Health means physical development, (as far as the layman can judge it), progress in height and weight ; sleep, (dreams and nightmares) ; appetite, motions, micturition; masturbation ; mental health, (as far as immediately recognizable to the layman), moods, (evenness and oscillation), daydreams, fits, tempers, tics, nailbiting, faults of speech, thumb-sucking.
Very soon the observer learns to distinguish between spontaneous, periodical inner changes, and more incidental reactions to outer stimuli (which should be noted).
Behaviour and conduct, (a) Towards Objects, (tidiness, carefulness or the opposite), manual interests, hobbies, phantasy, persistency; (b) towards plants and animals, (cruelty or otherwise)! (c) towards persons. Here a distinction should be made between social behaviour towards adults (superiors, visiting parents etc.), and that towards other boys and girls, (aggressiveness, placidity? friendship, faithfulness). Other social features, like a child’s courage should be noted. Is he a good or bad mixer ??an informer, ringleader, follower, isolationist?
Achievement in all directions, (a) Intellectual progress at school, (general progress and interest in specific subjects) and outside school, (choice of books, letters, share in plays and pantomimes, puzzles); (b) Progress in sports and outdoor games, walks, wrestling, dancing, swimming ; (c) Technical progress, (housework, needlework, handicrafts).
Unusual features, not in these categories, such as pilfering, truancy, etc. may be mentioned in a las1 paragraph.
A useful procedure for the observation itself Is to work for a while with the children, and then to sit aside, near enough to keep some contact, while not interfering with their liberty, and to write down notes. Observations on each individual child should be entered from time to time on a report sheet with the headings for the personal dataThe main part of the sheet has, besides a margin for filing purposes, a not too broad column, with the abovementioned or similar headings. These are a useful aid to memory, even if they are answered by a free report on the larger blank part of the sheetQuarterly reports, complementary to school reports, show the child’s progress or regress. They help in handling him, they are a record of measures taken by the Warden and his psychological helpers, and provide signposts for future judgements. Summary. We have considered in this paper, the purpose, difficulties, and methods of observation in Childrens’ Homes. Three distinct attitudes observers were noted : that of the policeman,? keep order, that of the student,?to understand > that of the friend,?to guide. These three functions should be combined in the person of the WardenJ
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