Member Ruth Kroboth asked:   

Why are our teachers' children causing the most trouble?

We find that most behavior problems come from kids when their mom or dad is teaching their class. I know my own children are much better for others than for my husband or me. Your own kids always seem to feel a little freer to push the limits with you when they wouldn't for anyone else. Before we rotated we could place teachers in classes where their own kids weren't. Now you're bound to have your own kids come through your classroom once in a while. Any advice for these situations?

RESPONSES

From JanS

I certainly have experienced both ways when parents teach their own children- sometimes it is great and other times it is a challenge.

In our program the workshop leader is responsible for teaching and not for re-directing behavior. If a student is being disruptive or not paying attention, it is the role of the shepherd to speak quietly to that child, sit down with him/her and help the student get back on task, or take the child out of the room if it is necessary. That way, even if the child's parent is the workshop leader, the parent is NOT put in the position of dealing with the child's misbehavior.

It might help if expectations are clearly stated to both shepherds and workshop leaders, verbally and in writing, so that shepherds can feel confident about dealing with behavior issues when the parent is present. That can certainly be a sticky situation, but if we can help instill the idea that in the church, every child is "my" child, it can go a long way toward building a safe and fun environment for children and adult volunteers alike.

Finally, a thought just crossed my mind:
So many parents coach their children's soccer, football, baseball teams. Does the misbehavior for parents pose a big problem in those settings? I sure don't hear a lot about that being a problem. If not, why not? And what can we glean from that?

From Neil MacQueen

I taught Sunday School and led children fellowship groups for all three of my daughters, and didn't have a lick of trouble. Why?  LOL  other than being a super-parent  I think it was because I involved my kids in the planning, setup, and execution of lesson activities and fellowship songs and games. We practiced things together, and I had them help demonstrate things to the class. They were a great source of INTEL as well, what worked, what didn't, how the kids felt about things, etc. (I also coached all three of my daughters in various sports, and didn't have attitude problems there either. Why? Because I was fair, fun, and brought them "in" on my thought processes, etc.)