Outline of My Second Oral Presentation
What We Teach Our Children
This is a
presentation of Road Rage and Aggressive
Driving By: Dr. Leon James and Dr. Diane Nahl, Prometheus Books,
By: Amy Beeler
Instructions for this oral presentation are found at:
www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy22/g22-oral.htm
A. Road Rage tradition is passed to the next generation: Children mimic adult actions and feelings. They do and say what they see being done by elders.
B. Years before they get behind the wheel, they imitate the values of their parents & other authority figures.
1. Ex: following an argument over whose parking space it was, a father gives the finger and yells obscenities at the other driver. Other man gets out of car…and kids want to get him. “No let’s get him first!” “Get him, daddy”
II. Teaching a New Generation: Need to focus attention on how children learn to interact with drivers on the road while they’re still very young passengers.
A. Help them develop emotional intelligence as future drivers in order to help them become safe passengers as well
1. Model appropriate behaviors
2. Rewarding good behavior; not just punishing the bad.
a. Verbal Rewards: “Thank you for being a good passenger today” “You wore your seatbelt the entire trip, so I felt you were safe” “I was so glad you helped me concentrate on where I was going”
b. Rewards: little treat, special parent play time, computer time, social TV, a sticker, etc.
B. Rewarding kids for good behavior in the car, teaches the value of being a good passenger. Without backseat management, driving kids can be a major headache b/c your emotional territory is constantly breached. (i.e.: carpools)
C. Set a good example. Children are always watching and learning.
III. Children Against Road Rage (CARR): founded in 1997, when the CARR workbook was created as an interactive website for collecting and promoting a driving psychology learning curriculum for children. Parents/ teachers can find a variety of anti-road rage awareness activities to keep children from being the next generation of aggressive drivers.
A. Helps children by making them more aware passengers by focusing their attention on when and where they’re being exposed to aggressive driving.
B. When they are taught supportive driving attitudes, concepts, and actions and they become more aware of the behaviors and attitudes they’re exposed to, they have the choice to reject hostility toward other road users.
C. Exercises:
1. Recognizing aggression on the road
2. Appropriate and Inappropriate passenger behaviors
3. Observing Driving
4. Drivers behaving badly ratings
Helpful Links:
www.unece.org/trans/roadsafe/rs4aggr.html
highbeam.com/library/doc0.asp?docid=1G1:86806843&refid=ink_pubnews
www.soc.hawaii.edu.leonj/409as2005/beeler/home.htm