I was researching for a CEU course that I am writing and I came across this new technique that teachers are using in the classroom. It is called “Tootling”.
Besides the cute name, it caught my eye and held my attention because it makes so much sense. As adults we are used to hearing tattling, where children report on their peers or sibling’s bad behavior. Tootling is the opposite of tattling. Kids are trained to let their teachers know the positive actions of their peers in the classroom.
Teachers encourage their students to tell them things about their friends, like:
“Sara lent me a pencil because I forgot mine.”
“Eli gave me some of his chocolate bar today.”
“Mikey, let me have a turn on the slide at recess.”
The studies that have been done on this technique have shown that it has improved the atmosphere of the classroom and enhanced peer relationships overall. It has also helped in reducing the instances of bullying because children are taught to recognize and praise pro-social behavior in even a struggling or socially awkward peer.
So I was thinking whether or not you can use “Tootling” with siblings. I know that many of the Parenting Experts encourage using similar techniques at home. Positive Discipline encourages parents and children to compliment each other at the beginning of their family meetings. In “How To Talk So Kids Will Listen” the authors recommend letting children do the same before the sibling fighting starts or when it has gotten unbearable.
I brought this up with my family. I told them that I needed to write an article (this one!) about tootling and I told them a little bit about it. I pointed out the fact that it helps kids who are being bullied just because I think that is something that always needs to be stressed. I asked them if they thought we could use this in some shape or form at home.
They all agreed it could be used at home, but they had their reservations and questions:
“So how many times would we have to tootle before we could actually tattle?”
“Can we use the same tootle multiple times or do we have to think of new ones each time?”
“Does this mean we can’t fight anymore?”
“Can we start with a tootle and end with a tattle, like, ‘A. I really like the way you play basketball but you stink at baseball’Would that still be considered a tootle? Maybe a tootle tattle?”
Love my kids. But I am still determines to figure out how this can work at home. I will keep you posted.