An emotional short about children with different abilities

"Lorenzo's saucepan" is an emotional tale by Isabelle Carrier. The author recreates the daily life of a different child through tender illustrations. His difficulties, his qualities, as well as the obstacles he has to face, are metaphorically represented in a clear and intelligent way.

Below you can see this story in audiovisual format:

• Related article: "Tips to help children cope with their schooling"

What does this story teach us?

This week, Alejandra Escura, collaborating child psychologist at the Mensalus Psychological and Psychiatric Assistance Institute, rescues an animated short that tells the original story of Isabelle Carrier in order to offer some practical guidelines for the fathers.

Are these types of stories worked from the Psychology consultation?

The stories that especially use a metaphorical language to transform apparently complicated processes (due to the emotional charge that they entail) in simple concepts, they are fantastic psychoeducational tools that are of great help in individual therapies and relatives.

Its power lies in the ability to speak clearly about what we fear so much and present it as a natural process approachable from a constructive perspective. With stories like the one we present today, we understand that accepting the conflict, the situation, the difficulty, etc. always adds up.

What do we "add" to "Lorenzo's saucepan"?

Well. We especially highlight the importance of following Lorenzo's path precisely because of the richness that this highly functional vision of the saucepan provides. He ends up carrying his red saucepan in a bag, which allows him to overcome the difficulties that previously hindered him. All this is achieved thanks to the security offered by an adult reference, a person who, with love and dedication, leads the way while offering independence to experience it.

How do parents usually react to the presence of the "saucepan"?

Parents fear that the little one will suffer and react to this alert. In reality, your anticipatory anxiety is one of the elements that can generate the most emotional tension. For this reason, we work together with families to increase self-awareness about the effects of anxiety at home.

When this anxiety is very high, parents only see "the pot." If this happens, the overprotection that the alert arouses can seriously hamper the child's ability to acquire resources in a healthy way.

What examples of attitudes related to overprotectiveness can limit a child's personal growth?

For example, an ongoing award system. Sometimes parents over-reward (physically or verbally) in order to motivate the child. The result is a disconnect with positive reinforcement as it loses meaning. If the child does not feel that he has made an effort and receives an award, what is the point of her? For this reason it is important to recognize the achievement but also to normalize it so that, in this way, the child believes in her ability to naturally pursue goals. Seeing that the elderly trust him is the best way.

In this sense, speeches that enhance wit (eg: «I liked how you did« X »,« I see that you have achieved «Y» without having to do «Z», etc.) offer extra information to the child that does not reveal the «saucepan» and, instead, shows a particular strategy inherent to their modus operandi.

There is a moment when Lorenzo hides under his saucepan. What guidelines can help parents in these cases?

At first it is important to encourage the little one to express how he feels and show understanding. Putting words to emotions opens a channel of communication that increases the child's capacity for insight and helps him connect with others. On the other hand, enhancing his capabilities again through action will be our goal. The action is what will show the child how to hang the pot instead of looking continuously through it.

That said, we would encourage parents to get out there with their children in order to enjoy a sport, a walk, a excursion, a dinner, a family visit, an educational outing, etc., reducing the importance of the saucepan and giving it to the child and the activity per se.

Living and feeling with the saucepan turns the person into a free being who finds the resource in himself. On the contrary, keeping your eyes permanently on the saucepan causes its size to increase (this is when thoughts related to limitation erupt).

What would you say to all those parents who are reading this interview?

The saucepan is natural, it is part of that person, so it is important not to see it as an obstacle but as a opportunity to acquire essential resources that make her the protagonist of her own history of lifetime.

As parents, being there to listen, understand and accompany is the best way to offer the child the opportunity to experiment, learn and grow alongside the saucepan.

• You may be interested: "Positive discipline: educating from mutual respect"