We have so many interventions that sometimes even some of our favorite devices can be forgotten. These techniques used to be regulary included in our popular Breakthrough Strategies to Teach and Counsel Troubled Youth Workshops but not so often now,though perhaps they should be. So, here are some old but golden strategies that should be used not forgotten.

If you love these solutions, and want more, our web site has information on our workshops and books plus hundreds more attention-grabbing, ready-to-use interventions to turnaround troubled youth and children. You can find our site at http://www.youthchg.com/live.html.

** FOR YOUTH WHO DISRUPT THE CLASS OR GROUP

To teach hand-raising, wave your arms all around and name that "windshield wiper arms" or "helicopter arms." To show students correct hand-raising technique, hold your arm in the air and still and call it "flagpole arm." Using these images may work better than conventional approaches.

** FOR YOUTH WHO CAN'T IMAGINE EVER CHANGING

Have the youth create before and after ads, similar to weight loss commercials. You can even photocopy weight loss ads from magazines and let students insert their own pictures or art work that portrays their own personal before and after. This device is especially good with withdrawn children who dislike talking.

** FOR YOUTH WITH LOW SELF-ESTEEM

Have the kids create a magazine about what they do well over the next month. The magazine can feature a picture of the student on the cover and highlight successes that the student has. Name the magazine "Esteem Magazine," with a motto of "for students who know that Esteem is more than hot air." The magazine may also contain articles on self-worth and lists such as "The Top 10 Things People Like About Me."

** FOR YOUTH WHO THINK SCHOOL IS A WASTE

Here are the very latest numbers that show once more that education pays and pays and pays! These new numbers make an old intervention even more profound and even more powerful! Use play money to illustrate or put this information in a chart on your

** FOR ABSENT YOUTH

For kids who are frequently absent, bring in a lot of legos or lincoln logs. Ask the students to copy a model you create out of the legos. The students will easily do it and discuss that with the class. Next, begin to make a second model but this time, part way through the building process, ask some of the students to leave the room, then hide several legos inside the model. Recall the students and ask them to compare their model to yours. Assist the class to notice the poorer quality that resulted from the absences then discuss if being absent matters.

** FOR YOUTH FACING PEER PRESSURE

Peer pressure to use drugs and alcohol is nonstop but here is a quick device to chip away at the power of the pressure. Divide your students into two groups. Give one group bags of M&Ms and give the other group bags of litter. Allow the students to mingle. The students with the litter will try to get others to take their bags while the students with the candy will want to keep their bags and will not force others to take the M&Ms. Relate this phenomena to peer pressure to use substances by discussing that people seldom need to pressure people to do good things, only bad.

Get much more information on this topic at http://www.youthchg.com

Author Ruth Herman Wells MS is the director of Youth Change, (http://www.youthchg.com) Sign up for her free Problem-Kid Problem-Solver magazine at the site and see hundreds more of her innovative methods. Ruth is the author of dozens of books and provides workshops and training throughout North America.

• The John Wayne Vs Apron String Approach to Parenting


• A Single Parent Finds A Way To Teach Her Kids About Being Savers Vs. Over-Spenders


• How to Increase Childrens Reading Habit in A Developing Country


• Baby Strollers - On A Budget


• Are We Breeding Bad Credit Teenagers?


• The Teenagers Nightmare: Loving Mom


• A Mothers Dilemma On Preschool Homework


• Designing Relaxing Evenings for You and Your Children


• Managing the Morning Crunch


• 100 Top Baby Names


• Chore and Reward Systems that Work


• Parenting: How to Help Your Firstborn Become Friends with the New Baby


• Parenting: How to Set Limits for Young Children


• Parenting Your Children Positively: How To Stop Being Your Childs Personal Servant


• How Your Kids Can Make Their Very Own Puppet Theater