Kids are great... not always! In companies, workshops can have a flop effect if they are not adapted to the context of the participants. With children, it's the same! Leading a troupe of several children can sometimes look like an anarchic team meeting. Christophe Cotin Valois, CEO of Welcome Max and father of two, offers here his feedback on design thinking facilitation methods applied with children on vacation and shares his 5 practical tips.
For several years, I have been doing this simple exercise which aims to involve children in identifying and planning suitable activities and times.
The first year, we worked with their mother on a schedule of activities ranging from household chores to leisure. The idea was to try to satisfy everyone while clarifying the general organization. But it didn't work. We had defined the activities and time slots without the children; in fact, they were not sufficiently involved in this common project for it to succeed.
The second year, we had learned from our past mistakes (#Test&learn) and decided to focus on a single objective:involving them in household chores. We chose to apply our human-centered design methods by "gamifying" the process and using a participatory method of deductive questioning:"What is a vacation?" “In your opinion, holidays are only for children or for everyone? What makes vacations so bad sometimes? What should we do to make it enjoyable? Parents don't always feel like they're on vacation, why do you think? What could we do to make it a vacation for everyone? » Thus, the children determined for themselves what it was necessary to do in order for everything to go well, and what he could do on his own.
We then prototyped together a way to divide the tasks, and some fun bonuses (ex:to give a kiss to grandpa) giving rise to our wheel of fortune. The kids were hooked! In the end, the tasks were distributed in a fun way (every morning, they rolled a dice to determine how many notches to turn the wheel). The children focused on their own tasks and not on those of others. Conclusion:no more suspicion, no more problem of disengagement with the group, no routine, no injustice. They were really proud of their work, and very happy to contribute to the general good mood.
With the current confinement, many parents have to juggle all day long between children and work. Days need to be rearranged, parents need to be creative in keeping their kids busy, and so on. To help parents who would like to test design thinking methods with their children, here are 5 tips for a one-hour workshop (arm yourself with large sheets, markers and colored post-its):
1- Generate interest
Before the workshop, ask the children individually about the fact that we are going to discuss to take into account their expectations and discuss the terrible injustices that generate tears, tensions and frustrations... Then bring the family together and start the workshop with a unifying speech , making sure to cite the individual claims that you have taken care to collect.
2- Generate a positive thinking pattern
Rephrase frustrations as “it would be fairer if…” Highlight special cases, the need for singularity, the right to error, to imperfection. Anchor exchanges in satisfaction and funny moments during chores. Direct the emotions towards the positive by creating the idea that it could always be so fun. In general, everyone agrees, even if it means rewarding each good idea with a candy.
3- Identify the common enemy
What causes conflict? What will happen if we don't find a solution? It is then advisable to evoke the subjects which generate problems and which should be changed for the group to function better. This ranges from snack times to new Uno rules, of course screen time, emptying the dishwasher, and more. We then evoke the greatest injustice by listing everything that parents do, every day:“can you list me what parents do every day? "Isn't that unfair?" »
4- Get the solutions generated by the group itself
Finally, we conclude by asking them what they could do to make it fairer... The ideas come out, often very cute, the "to do" is done, the facilitator will blow a few to direct them, but overall the solutions arrive quite quickly. All that remains is to distribute them and random distribution can avoid heated debates.
5 – Make the support playful and scalable
For starters, the post-they effect and colored tape has its effect! The secret ? draw small pictograms to make the whole thing very visual, especially for the little ones who do not yet read well. In the realization, it is also possible to print images to be cut. Do not hesitate to use colored papers, markers, cardboard and colored repositionable tape. The main thing is that everyone brings their stone to the building. There will certainly be adjustments to be made, be flexible and modular (long live the post-its and the mask in tape). At the end of the week, take stock and adapt the support:be #agile
Co-design allows you to take on the subject and bring out your own solutions. The informal format frees the floor, you don't feel judged. We have fun and we build together for a common goal. The key is not to jump into the sky by planning everything; you need improvisation, moments of letting off steam. Finally, you have to agree to change course and correct.
Source:WelcomeMax
