Revelations about Training from a Toddler

I have had the luxury of late to spend some very valuable time with my young son. He is a very active, inquisitive toddler and the miraculous joy of our lives.

While spending time with him the other day, the thought struck me that the lessons I am learning while teaching my son can be applied to teaching others.

I will start off with a few examples of what I mean and I welcome others who have had similar experience to chime in.

First, let me say that I do not claim to be an expert on child rearing nor do I claim to be an expert in the area of training. What I will claim to be is an observer of many and a student of all (even my toddler son).

Revelations about Training from a Toddler:

1.) Every moment of every day is a teaching moment. Toddlers are learning machines and take in stimulus constantly (even when we don’t want them to or expect them to). The revelation here is to always be “on” when teaching or training people. People are constantly taking in stimulus and processing it, even when we don’t want them to or expect them to. The one moment you let your guard down or say something you didn’t mean to say is the one moment they will latch onto and not let go of.

2.) If the toddler is sleepy, hungry, sick, cranky, wet, messy, or just plain out of sorts they are still learning, but maybe not learning what you want them to. The revelation here is to expect adversity and difficulties when training or teaching people. You will never have the perfect class or group that is all “on” at the same time. There will always be “one of those” in the room. The key to handling situations like this is to meet the needs of as many people as you can while not teaching the wrong things by your reactions to those who are less than engaged in the crowd. Oftentimes, empathy and compassion go a long way. Also, it helps to make sure your “toddlers” are rested, fed, well, happy, dry, clean and altogether in sorts prior to attempting training. Thank you Maslow.

3.) Repetition . . . ad infinitum. My son wants to read the same book over and over and over again until one would think he would tire of it. The joy comes after the gazillionth reading of the same book when my son actually began reading it to me (what joy). The revelation here is to keep at it even though you think you have communicated the principle you are training until you are blue in the face, it may take that one next time before your audience “get’s it”. A popular illustration of a new preacher in a church preaching the same sermon over and over and over again until one of the parishioners asked the preacher, “Why are you preaching the same message?” The preacher calmly replied, “I will continue to preach it until someone hears it and acts on it.” Everyone learns at different rates, our challenge as trainers and teachers is to keep all of our trainees engaged until all trainees are trained.

4.) Fun time is learning time. It is so cool to watch how much my son retains and processes while he is playing. Play is serious business to a toddler, during play they are learning valuable motor skills, gaining reasoning skills, honing communication skills and making valuable associations. The revelation here is to turn the training experience into an emotional experience to improve retention. This does not mean to pull out some hokey game that will have the extroverts tackling each other to win while the introverts look for a place to hide. This means to utilize as many of the senses as possible to teach people. Reading about how dyslexic people are taught proper written language skills by utilizing an alphabet made from different colors and flavors of Jell-O inspired me. I am living proof of this type of learning. I can still recite the first 30 elements in the Periodic Table because a science teacher tapped into my love of music and taught me a song to help me remember them.

5.) “The child has to want to learn.” This wise quote came from our pediatrician when we inquired about proper time to potty train and the proper method of stopping the dreaded thumb sucking. The revelation here is to make sure the pre-work before the training is done in such a way that the participants come ready to learn. The Gleicher, Beckhard, Harris Change Equation captures what I am talking about here. The equation (Dissatisfaction x Vision x First Steps >Resistance to Change) simply states that people must be dissatisfied with their current situation; must have a vision of what is possible in the future; must have achievable first steps toward changing before change can take place. Otherwise, the resistance to change always wins. Thus, before the first words of the first training session take place work on the “D” (dissatisfaction) and the “V” (vision) of the change equation and let the training reveal the “F” (first steps) and you will have a better chance of success.

There, I have gotten the ball rolling. I welcome input and wisdom from others.