I have been working with children and young people now for over twenty-four years and love the awe and wonder they have when learning about how they work and how our world works. The best part is what I call the light bulb moment when they understand a concept, have explored how it works, can see how that concept has either changed the course of history or improved the lives of themselves and others and then go on to use this concept in the future. In the home environment and in schools as parents and teachers we provide and model tools, techniques and strategies for children and young people to learn all sorts of things.

Children and young people learn best by copying and mirroring those around them, through stories and language and through play and imagination. Through these, they also quickly start to build their own beliefs, purpose, behaviour, ways of communicating their wants and needs and own identity. Personal development, habits, use of language and communication skills are all developing in different ways.

This personal development part-how we think about ourselves, our own thoughts and feelings and the language we use to describe ourselves and what has happened to us has a big impact on how we behave and communicate. Sometimes those thoughts,  feelings and language are super helpful and other times they might stop us from functioning in a healthy way. This is where NLP can help.

Neuro-linguistic programming, or NLP, brings together the mind, language and the notion of programming, or informing the brain and how they relate to each other. In looking at how we use language to create our model of the world, NLP explores how the dynamic between mind and language affects our state of mind, behaviour and even our physiology. It can help children to use their brain to better effect, right from the start, using the most appropriate language to understand and express themselves. This in turn can help engender strategies for life, and for success.

NLP identifies the challenge that a child or young person is experiencing and the language, thoughts, feelings, values, beliefs and behaviours that is having an impact negatively and provides tools, techniques and strategies to grow in confidence, curiosity and ability to communicate well and to better manage emotions. Words used positively, lead children to have appropriate reactions to different situations, allowing them to have a more positive outlook on life. The words that are transmitted to them daily are what build their thoughts and have an effect on who they are.

It is my experience that children and young people want to learn how to make themselves better in all sorts of different ways and to have a positive impact on the world around them. All the personal development work that I have undertaken so far with children and young people tells me so.

Just as our children and young people may need some extra help to learn how to ride a bike, develop friendships or learn to read. Our children might also need help- the tools, techniques and strategies to think, act, communicate and behave in better ways. NLP is here to help by providing these tools, techniques and strategies to change and build positive futures.

By Naomi Emison

Naomi Emison