Materials
* Activity cards with role plays related
to conflicts between the different members
of the family.
* Paper and pencils
Activity 1: Telephone
As an ice breaker, have the kids stand in a line or a circle and explain the "Telephone" game. The first person will think of a sentence and has to whisper it to the next person in line. The message has to travel to every person and the last person has to say it out loud. If the message is different from the original, try to find where the message was altered.
Activity 2: Identifying the conflicts
Procedure:
1. Pass out paper and pencil to the children and ask them to write one or two conflicts that may arise in a blended family. Give them around 5 minutes to do it.
2. After, collect the papers and read the answers aloud so that the children can discuss them. Do one at a time and ask the children to raise their hands before answering. Everyone is entitled to participate and the counselor may follow the go-round dynamic to allow everyone to share.
3. After discussing the issues the counselor may ask if anyone has any came up with additional conflicts and discuss them If the counselor knows of particular problems that weren't written on the sheets, he can add them whenever it is convenient.
With non-writers, ask them to mention the conflicts aloud and then the counselor should write them on the black board.
Activity 3: Resolving Conflicts
To help the children resolve interpersonal
conflicts the students will pair up and participate in a role play that
addresses particular situations, allowing them to come up with a possible
solution. The counselor should prepare these role plays in advance
and include any situation that he or she is aware of being relevant
for one of the children. After each presentation, the group should
discuss the effectiveness of the solution that was presented and other
alternatives.
Processing Hints
When dealing with blended families, remember to consider the different intrafamilial relationships with the blended family as well as the parent they do not live with anymore.
Some of the role plays may stir up strong emotions, in which case the counselor may want to schedule an individual session with the child.
Ideas for Role Play
* Child feels that the step parent shows favoritism for his or her
own children.
* Child is constantly fighting with step-siblings about (specific
issue).
* Child feels that his own parent pays too much attention to the
new members and feels
neglected.
* At the child's birthday party, both the father (mother) and step-father
(step-mother) are
present and he/she feels confused about how to act with both of them.