Mind Your Manners

Parents too realize the importance of grooming their kids in social skills. “I wanted my daughter to work on her accent,grammar,pronunciation and voice modulation,” says Poonam Garg,whose 16-year-old is attending the workshop. At another summer camp organized by 94.3 My FM,Pallavie Kakkar has worked on a set of skills which are varied and involves the participants full-on. She begins by explaining to the kids the importance of personality development,before she takes them through the mores of correct body language,and skills like public speaking and the art of telephonic conversations. “Personality development is the need of the hour and future. The earlier we begin,the better,” says Kakkar. Likewise,the British Library’s summer workshops focus on personality development,as much as they stress on general knowledge. Suprita Gill,resource person for the workshop,Act,Speak,Create and Enjoy,uses dramatic play,story enactment,imagination journeys,theatre games,music and dance to develop the participant’s personality and confidence. The activities provided kids between the age group of six-10 years with an enhanced awareness about the importance of correct communication.

Sresht Solutions in Panchkula,a firm formed by a group of young people who have worked for several years in the education and corporate sectors is all set to deliver high-end behavioural and soft skills’ experiential training. Gaurav Wahi,Abhik Dasgupta and Geetika Jain recently did a personality development session at Gurukul Global for kids aged between six-fifteen,that involved puppetry,theatre games,interactive activities and improvisation. “As kids they are less conditioned as compared to adult participants,so we tried to help them find out things they enjoy,” says Jain. “Initially,many of them refused to talk or get involved. By the end of it,many shared their experiences,did role plays and were confident in their skin,” says Wahi.

At Spiritu-all in Panchkula child psychologist Rajshree Sarda believes in motivating and encouraging children to a higher level of awareness.”We use drama and dance as mediums of expression for the holistic development,giving fun-filled lessons for personal growth,” explains Sarda. Their ongoing two-week has a special program to make children aware of their emotions and how to deal with them. Parents too are being subtly coached into understanding the various phases in their child’s life and how to deal with them. “It’s essential to inculcate good habits that last a lifetime,” adds Ramit,theatre instructor at the organisation.