Talking to 3yr-4yr olds?

Re: Talking to 3yr-4yr olds?

Mrs Dot Dot — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 21:18:15 GMT

Hi... have done a few of these... some v sucessfully, 1 definately not! The unsucessful one was to about 30 4-5 year olds (with a short attention span) ... took along my dog, dressing up, bandaging stuff etc and when there, got told they weren't allowed to touch the dog, we couldn't do any bandaging at all and a supposed 1/2 talk was supposed to be an hour... to 4-5 year olds!!!! They were bored and I was really struggling!

Anyway, since then, always check what we are allowed to do and if we are not allowed to bandage then there isn't much point in going, if they are really young.

What we have found to be really sucessful and takes up time is dressing up... surgeons and vets in consult rooms.......op gowns/ consult tops- we have some with paws on/ gloves/masks/stethoscopes/ syringes go down well.. the little one look so funny in their huge op gowns! Make sure the teacher has a camera and what goes down well with the teachers is if you take some of the really long orange exemination gloves that are used for cows etc for them to try on.

Bandaging is the other thing that uses up time and goes down really well... we take soffban and vetwrap with faces/bones etc on... you only have to do a finger or a hand quickly and what they really love is that they can take it off and put it back on again. they are usually very proud... there will always be the odd child that doesn't want to dress up or have a bandage on so I try and give them something to look after or hand out, or see if there is a cuddly toy that they can bandage so they can still take part.

Always ask the teacher if they can all write down a question they would like to ask beforehand, so they have prepared something.. this, again takes time to answer.....

Taking along pets...... for Brownies etc it is fine, but last time I went to a school we weren't allowed to take any because they now have to get written permission from the parents which takes time etc... H&S??!!!!

Anyway I now love doing them, now I've found out what works, and don't be afraid to ask the teacher to lead/ help you out with questions etc as this makes life easier for you.... Good Luck!

Re: Talking to 3yr-4yr olds?

Sal the 1st — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 18:04:48 GMT

love doing these -

they like empty product boxes so they can have a pretend vets after you have gone - I always used to take loads. stethoscopes are usually very interesting to them I used to have some huge felt fleas and a 20ft stuffed tapeworm that used to go down well and also a pet monster for them to guess the name. we used to do a bit of a story about 'fred the flea' and the things he could get up to and where he could hide etc (dont think I caused to many nightmares!) and I think it worked quite well on our frontline sales - you could always tell the weeks I had done talks I am all for pester power . I think the 'specimen pots' used to come from Bayer if I remember correctly.

I used to ask what sort of pets they had and then get them to describe what they ate and how they looked after them - was definitely stumped on a couple of the answers over the years - the little boy with a pet dragon, and the little boy with the new 'pet sister' who he thought should go and live nextdoor because she cried too much and made a bad smell.

I used to do a colouring/painting competition with them (if that is what the teachers wanted) and used to find a small prize for the winner (they usually did this after I had gone thankfully)

Re: Talking to 3yr-4yr olds?

Mac Feather — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:50:40 GMT

I have done a few talks to playgroups etc and some of the things the kids ask and say are hilarious! They really loved when I took my dog along and tried to bandage him,listen to his heart etc. I found it alot of fun.

I remember a company (cant remember which one) used to give out 'specimen pots' with pretend worms in them- most kids loved them altho one went into hysteria thinking the worms would escape!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: Talking to 3yr-4yr olds?

chontvn — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:31:34 GMT

Aww thanks guys def some great ideas lol!

Re: Talking to 3yr-4yr olds?

Fiona Leathers — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:08:01 GMT

Dressing up!! Gowns, surgical masks, rubber gloves (marigolds are much more fun!), scrubs, hats...plenty of furry toys for them to mend - if possible get a animal shaped pyjama case with a zip and hide FBs in the tummy, bandages for them to mend the dogs.

I used to take my dog and cat into the nursery do they could all get to touch the animals but lots of places don;t let you do that anymore, It was great cod you had to tell the kids to be reeeaaaalllyyyyy quiet or they would scare the animals and they were!!

Re: Talking to 3yr-4yr olds?

Maisy — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:48:00 GMT

Pictures and a friendly laid back pet always helps with children! I've found they also like stethoscopes and listening to their own hearts (!), gowns/gloves/surgical hats also go down well too! See if any of your reps can help with making goody bags (Petplan and RCW tend to be generous), and have a chat about their own pets too.

Good Luck!

Re: Talking to 3yr-4yr olds?

Katie Tallett RVN MBVNA — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 12:41:19 GMT

we did one earlier in the year and i took my (nearly well behaved) child friendly dogs in with me for the kids to meet and have a listen to their hearts. also we took xrays of fun things like snakes (whole) and pics also. we took a consult jacket for them to wear whilst they were 'checking' the dogs heart which they loved (both the kids and the dogs). also, gloves, masks and hats usually go down quite well! my lab sat to have a health check - eyes/ears/teeth whilst we explained that doggies should brush their teeth too etc!!

me and the girls did get mobbed at the end tho!!

Re: Talking to 3yr-4yr olds?

Shane — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 12:26:46 GMT

bring pictures, lots of pictures of cats, puppies, bunnies... lol. Visual stimulation is important at that age.