Teaching Fundamental: Provide the Why
As a mentor, using effective teaching strategies is essential. There are countless teaching strategies proven to work. When teaching a new safety life skill, sometimes you have to be direct - "Don't touch the top of that hot stove!" However, orders combined with sharing why the information has value will have a better chance of changing behavior.
When my kids were infants, they always were secured by car seats and later seatbelts. Seatbelts were fixtures for every ride. Without a seatbelt, stress and fear materialized for everybody.
Once while riding through the countryside with my father and very young daughters, we pulled over for a short walk. When we returned to the vehicle, we piled into my dad's car. He was the driver. He did not notice that one of my daughters did not have her seatbelt fastened. He started the car and pulled out onto the highway. My daughter became feverishly frantic. As if competing in a jujitsu tournament, she pulled and grappled with the unsecured seatbelt. She called out for help and yelled, "Wait!" I quickly help her secure the seatbelt, and we were on our way.
My daughter understood the value of utilizing a seatbelt. But what if she had not grown up using a seatbelt? Later in her life, how would I have instilled the sense of importance in her mind?
Military instructors have a proven way of changing behavior and shaping minds. Can mentors, coaches, and parents use military instructional techniques as a way to teach youth? Absolutely! While in my early twenties, my drill sergeants helped me wear a seatbelt.
When I was growing up, I never wore a seatbelt. While assigned to the backseat, I remember sleeping, playing, and fighting to find a comfortable position. In my early memories of car rides, I do not remember seatbelts being available in vehicles -I am pretty old. I now wear a seatbelt all the time. What motivated me to change my behavior?
The United States Air Force personnel changed my perspective on seatbelts. They did not ask me if I wanted to wear a seatbelt. Whenever I was in a vehicle (on-duty or off-duty), the seatbelt was to be used. It was an order. The order was not a casual suggestion - if you would like to wear the seatbelt, we would greatly appreciate it. Instead, they were clear demanding directives. I can not remember what they told us recruits would happen if they caught us without a seatbelt, but I remember how they told us.
If caught without a seatbelt, we had a perspective that the consequence would have been severe. However, I certainly had a choice to wear a seatbelt or not. I wore my seatbelt.
Direct messaging can work to change behavior. What if my two-year-old and four-year-old daughters had decided that they were no longer going to wear a seatbelt. They would have learned quickly the mistake of not knowing who was in charge. They were going to wear their seatbelts. If they had communicated that they did not want to wear a seatbelt, they would have received a direct message from me, "You are going to wear your seatbelt!" I would not have yelled, but my message would have been firm and easy to understand.
My drill sergeants were also easy to understand, but they also explained why we should wear a seatbelt. Facts and stories accompanied direct orders. For example, if in an accident, survival opportunity increases with seatbelt security. Information and statistics helped me transition and make seatbelt wearing a habit.
The United States Department of Transportation recently provided estimates about people involved in vehicle accidents and lives saved by seatbelts. In 2017, seatbelts saved 14,955 people. Visualize a packed Olympic gymnastics stadium. Usually, those stadiums hold 15,000 people.
Providing a real-world explanation of why it is essential will help change youth behavior.
Stories and facts are excellent for persuasion. Make the stories age-appropriate. There is no need to provide some horrific story to small children. Most new drivers can probably handle more specific information about what happens to a person when they fly through a windshield.
Teach youth habits that support a happy and healthy life. Along with supportive information and stories, telling them what to do is a teaching technique that works.
The photograph in this post is an image from Glorify, Inc. We have a Glorify license agreement to use images and design tools from the Glorify site.
