The Turtle Technique and self-control in children

The Turtle Technique it has been employed over the years in consultation work with very young children. The objective of this technique is to work on the impulsiveness and self-control of the little ones.

Sometimes, when children get angry or something does not go as they wanted, they tend to act impulsively and therefore the response they emit can be classified as maladaptive within the environment or context in which said behavior occurs. Examples of these can be: kicking, insults, yelling ...

What is the Turtle Technique?

It consists of telling the boy or girl in question a little story that has as its protagonist a turtle that is also experiencing the same situation. In the story, the little turtle is given a strategy or solution that in some way helps him control his behavioral problems. This same technique is used later with the child, being able to remind them of it when required. And so what we are going to do is establish a time between the child becoming upset or angry, so that the intensity of the emotions decreases.

Let's start telling the story just like a professional does.

It is a little turtle named Manolita , that gets into a lot of trouble. When she is at school and some homework goes wrong, she immediately feels very angry and breaks it, when the teacher scolds her she gets very angry, when she is playing in the yard and another boy or girl pushes her unintentionally, she does not stay still and defends himself by kicking him / her ...

In such a way, that all this series of behaviors carried out by the little turtle Manolita, are very sad for her. After behaving like this, he feels very bad, he experiences feelings of guilt because he thinks that it would have been better to solve his problem in another way instead of hitting or insulting as he has done..

This whole situation caused the little turtle many problems; the teacher punished her without going to play in the yard, the classmates never wanted to play with her ... So Manolita felt very sad and depressed.

One fine day, when Manolita returned home feeling very sad about what had happened at her school, she found another very large turtle. That turtle, who was many years old and therefore very wise, said to him:

- Manolita, don't you realize that the solution to all your problems is found in your shell? When you come across a situation that you don't really know how to deal with, you should get into your shell and count to ten.

Little Manolita, listening to her, thought that perhaps it would be a good idea, and said that the next time something similar happened to her, she would follow the advice that that wise turtle had given her..

The next day when he arrived at school, he did so. When he felt that he was getting angry because the homework that the teacher had given him were very difficult and did not come out, he would get into his shell and count to ten, then he would decide to go out and see everything differently; I was not so angry anymore.

When she was in the playground playing with her friends and they pushed her, to control that anger that invaded her, she used the same strategy; she got inside her little shell and counted to ten. When I left, I was already somewhat calmer and I did not feel so much desire to face them.

Day after day, the little Manolita tortoise put into practice what the older tortoise had told him, and little by little both the teacher and his classmates began to realize his great change in attitude; She no longer broke homework, did not push, did not insult ... All this had very important benefits for the well-being of the little turtle, she felt happier because she no longer had to bear the scolding of the teachers, her friends wanted to play with her and not her. isolated, their parents were very happy with their new change ... The technique of getting into their shell and reflecting for a few moments had very significant benefits for our protagonist.

As we can see, it is a very simple story, which can be adapted as we want at all times..

With this technique, what is intended is to offer children a strategy that delays the response, in other words, it is a way of gaining self-control externally, since children are quite emotionally immature at those ages and therefore they have a hard time managing that impulsiveness.

At what ages is the turtle technique usually applied?

The Turtle technique is appropriate for preschool and elementary age children. The image of the turtle is very suitable from 3º and 4º. Some children cannot respond very well to this signal, so it is essential to use another image, such as the word “Stop”. The important thing is not the image that is used, it can be a turtle, a cat, a dog ... What is really significant in regard to the behavioral plane is the procedure of said technique with the goal of achieving self-control.

Effects of the Turtle Technique on children's self-esteem and self-esteem

Mastering the capacity for self-control very well can also be very significant in other emotional planes such as self-esteem or self-love..

1. It is the children themselves who are learning to control their own emotions and behaviors without having something external that forces them to do so.
2. They do not perceive themselves for longer than they have already done as “bad children” while their good behavior contributes to their receiving positive feedback from the school teacher.
3. They experience more mature feelings, since they are using the problem solving skill instead of giving vent to their tantrums.

Other applications of the Turtle Technique

The information that we have so far on the technique indicates that the teaching of all these skills is much more effective and is internalized more quickly when it is carried out individually in a clinic in the respective sessions together with the therapist. It is not only better for each individual child, but in managing the entire class. This technique can be carried out both in schools with special educational needs as well as in schools with a regular regime. In the same way, it can be used in the school itself by the teacher with the child who deems it appropriate.

It has been seen that this technique has been very useful in the intervention with children suffering from Attention Disorder with Hyperactivity.

As we already know, the characteristic that therefore defines a child with ADHD is that he is always in continuous movement, he is unable to concentrate, to maintain his attention at school or during other extracurricular activities such as (toy libraries, workshops, crafts, storytelling ...). little turtle, is that the children respond to this and there is no need to increase the dose of medication they may be taking; or in some cases, where a more optimistic vision is kept, even that this behavioral treatment is enough to help the child to self-control himself, without the need to resort to pharmacology or waiting for the hope of being able at some point to get rid of it Totally or partially.