6 Tips To Working With Kids

[William Draven]

1) Never Talk Down. Kids are smart. They're a hell of a lot smarter than many adults give them credit for. Don't talk down to or dumb down your message when talking with them. They'll not only sense that they are being patronized (even if they don't know how to correctly identify it) and they'll turn against you, or possibly have their feelings hurt.

2) Kneel, Don't Bend. When having a conversation with any child who is shorter than your hips take a knee when talking to them. Never bend over at the waist to talk to them. Bending at the waist can be intimidating, or can make them feel diminished. Kneeling puts you on the same level as them, and thus they often communicate better to you that way.

3) Visual is Better. When working magic for children visual effects, and comedy effects trumps all. Never expect an eight year old to "pick a card" and remember it. If you HAVE to do an obligatory "pick a card" trick then use animal flash cards. It's easier for them to identify with animals or colors than stuffy old adult cards.

4) Volunteers! Kids LOVE to be involved. Use as much audience participation as you can. Kids love to laugh too, so comedy effects are always a plus.

5) Use The Special One. Anytime you are working a mitzva, birthday party, or special event, never miss the opportunity to use the birthday boy/girl in one of your tricks. It is after all their special day, and the parents will love you for it too!

6) Don't Use Force. Some kids just don't want to participate no matter how much coaching and encouragement they get from their parents or friends. It's okay to not participate. Don't force them. If you can obviously tell they don't want to help you out with something, then say something encouraging like "Maybe next time you can help me?" and move on. Never make them feel bad for not wanting to participate.

 

[RealityOne]

1) Never Talk Down. Kids are smart. They're a hell of a lot smarter than many adults give them credit for. Don't talk down to or dumb down your message when talking with them. They'll not only sense that they are being patronized (even if they don't know how to correctly identify it) and they'll turn against you, or possibly have their feelings hurt.

Yes, but nonetheless make sure that how you say things is understandable for their age. A lot of words magicians use, kids don't understand. "Your going to make the card leva what?" "Levitate... how about float?" "Why didn't you say that?" You need to know that kids don't come in one size -- there are differences between 3 year olds, 5 year olds, 7 year olds and 9 year olds.

2) Kneel, Don't Bend. When having a conversation with any child who is shorter than your hips take a knee when talking to them. Never bend over at the waist to talk to them. Bending at the waist can be intimidating, or can make them feel diminished. Kneeling puts you on the same level as them, and thus they often communicate better to you that way.

Definitely a good idea to drop to their level. I find kneeling too dramatic. Better to bend at the knees but not go all the way to the ground.

3) Visual is Better. When working magic for children visual effects, and comedy effects trumps all. Never expect an eight year old to "pick a card" and remember it. If you HAVE to do an obligatory "pick a card" trick then use animal flash cards. It's easier for them to identify with animals or colors than stuffy old adult cards.

Yes, but children also love stories and can follow effects with plots. Children also learn in many different ways - by hearing, seeing, moving, repeating. Watch Dora the Explorer to see Howard Gardner's Theories of Multiple Intelligence in action.

4) Volunteers! Kids LOVE to be involved. Use as much audience participation as you can. Kids love to laugh too, so comedy effects are always a plus.

Yes, but I see too many magicians acting like idiots and using gags to get kids laughing AT THEM rather than presenting magic in a way to get kids to laugh WITH THEM.

5) Use The Special One. Anytime you are working a mitzva, birthday party, or special event, never miss the opportunity to use the birthday boy/girl in one of your tricks. It is after all their special day, and the parents will love you for it too!

Exactly. And it shouldn't be for just any effect... it should be for the best one.

6) Don't Use Force. Some kids just don't want to participate no matter how much coaching and encouragement they get from their parents or friends. It's okay to not participate. Don't force them. If you can obviously tell they don't want to help you out with something, then say something encouraging like "Maybe next time you can help me?" and move on. Never make them feel bad for not wanting to participate.

A reluctant participant is the worst kind. Kids actually know their limits. To add the correlary, don't pick the kid that is the most eager - they often want attention and may be difficult to control. Find the kids that are interested but under control.

Let me add:

7. Never Embarrass a Kid

OK, you should never embarrass a spectator. Period. But don't make a kid volunteer feel stupid. You will turn the rest of the audience away from you. Magicians always wonder why people don't volunteer... hmmmm.

 

[deck]

What do you do when the difficult kid (the attention seeker) is the birthday boy/girl? Also may I just say these posts of yours, William, are very helpful

 

[DH MagicTime]

love it, was working with kids today. I did the same trick to this kid for about 10mins straight and normally I'll move on but he loved it so much i decide why not

 

[RealityOne]

What do you do when the difficult kid (the attention seeker) is the birthday boy/girl?

You should meet and talk to the birthday kid before the show. When you do that, you should be able to gage how the will be as a volunteer. Absent the kid being disrespectful or obnoxious you should be able to win them over by asking them if they want to help you perform (note, the asking part empowers them to ake their own decision and commits them to be helpful). Then tell them this is going to impress your friends, "but is is important you listen and do exactly as I tell you... Otherwise it might not work."

Also, have a variety of effects where you use spectators as volunteers. Within those effects have a variety of levels of participation - from waiving a wand, to picking a card, to holding sponge balls. If you have a difficult birthday kid, use them in an effect where they can do no harm (although most of your effects should be foolproof so that there is nothing you can o to screw it up).

Make all of your assistants look good. Thank them when they come up and give them compliments and applause when they are done.

If you have an assistant that is isn't working, ask them to sit down and pick another one. Of course, do this as nicely as possible, but you MUST be in control of your show. This goes for assistants who get up there and decide they are scared or too shy and those that don't cooperate. Before I would do this, I would ask them a question.

If they are too scared or shy, I say "are you OK with being my assistant?". If they say yes, I reassure them "don't worry, we will have fun." If they say no, then I would ask them if they want to sit down and just watch. I also tell would them if they want to help later to raise their hand.I've never had to even ask the question because I'm good with kids and naturally make them at ease. But it helps knowing what I would do if I had to.

If they are obnoxious, I would say (dropping to their level as Willam suggests), "I need you to help me out here and follow instructions, can you do that for me?" if they say yes, I praise them and make it seem like we are a team. "Excellent. I'm glad I can count on you. Now (insert name) and I are going to show you something amazing.". They've committed and been praised for it, they won't be a problem. I've used this once or twice and it works. If they say no, then you are justified in "well, i need someone who is going to listen to instructions to help me, I'm going to have to ask you to sit down and pick someone who will listen." I suspect that at that point they will say they will listen (essentially, acknowledging that they were pushing your authority and now realize you were serious). If they don't, they sit - of course being told that they can change their mind and volunteer for another trick if the will listen. I've never had to have a kid sit down.

 

[Infected Mushroom]

I especially agree with the first tip !
Thanks for the good helpful tips.