As hypnotherapists, working with children can bring you more joy than any other work. They even enjoy helping to work on their problems. You will find that they have a lot more power than you ever dreamed possible.

Children can't change their environment, their schools, teachers, or parents. It doesn't even have to be an abusive environment, but something in it triggering them. Children average thirty negative statements to one positive. If there is any magic hypnosis it is with children. Because they have not set up the blocks that adults have. Children are open. They believe what you tell them, and that they can do anything.

It's time for all of us to learn the simple yet totally effective techniques of working with children that will give you the total confidence to handle almost all the problems that children suffer from.

When you help a child, everyone in the community knows about it, whether it is with sports, memory retention, recall, or other issues.

It is the best advertisement you can get. What happens when the child wins the race, or wins a scholarship? They tell everyone who it was who helped him! No amount of money can buy that kind of advertising.

Children are a wealth of information. You learn from every child you experience. Working with children has brought me more recognition, more clients and more advertising I could buy.

When a child is coming in, I always talk to the parents on the phone first and find out why they are bringing the child in. Then I have a session with the parents and child together. At this time I stress that anything said to me is confidential; no matter what the child says. This way the children know they can trust me (according to the rules of law).

I work with newborns on up. I make tapes for them and tell them how much they are loved, how happy and healthy they are. Tell them they can be anything they want to be, and do anything they want as they grow up, that everyone loves them. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we had all grown up with these thoughts? And that we felt good about life? Teach these babies to love and respect themselves.

Puppets can also be useful with children three years and older. Make sure the puppet you choose is cuddly and without scary eyes. You don't want to frighten the child. You can have the child work on the puppet and the puppet work on the child. In this way the child becomes familiar with the dialogue and it is non-threatening.

When working on scripts for children, remember to make them different, as you would for men and women. There was a survey that found the average woman speaks 25,000 words a day. And the average man speaks only 12,000 words a day. Little girls may want to take their best friends along with them on their trip, whereas little boys like to explore and be by themselves. They want to come back and tell their friends about it. Girls want more talk and boys want more action and games.

Use whatever method is needed for each individual child. There are children who come to me who are sexually abused, beaten, and in the court's care. There is the child next door who has no self-esteem and can't do oral book reports. There are children who have recurring nightmares, wet the bed, have weight problems, or have allergies and illness.

Each one needs our help no matter what the problem is. Children may need more work than adults. This is because we are sending them right back into the same environment they came out of. They can't change their environment, their schools, teachers, or parents. It doesn't even have to be an abusive environment, but something in it is triggering them. Remember, children average thirty negative statements to one positive, "Don't; You can't; You're Stupid." Listen to all the negative programming going into their minds everyday.

What is said to them goes straight to their subconscious. Until they are older, they cannot filter out what is being said to them. Therefore, a lot of adults come in for issues that happened before they were five years old.

When working with children, the trick is always to be in control, but let them know they can trust you. If you feel you are losing control, stop and continue in another session. Once you lose control you lose their respect and you may never regain it. Get on the child's level. I may get right down on the floor with them during a session. Never talk over their heads or pretend that they are not in the room when talking about them. You may be their lifeline so never cancel an appointment with a child.

Teach the children that they have much to offer and give to the world; that they have talents and abilities they don't even know they have.

There are children who have been placed in slow learning groups because they don't fit the usual mold. They are not left brain, analytical; they are emotional and creative. They cannot do what left brain children can; but if we turn them loose with the right brain and the right teacher, LOOK OUT WORLD! I know we can't reach every child, but every child that we help by changing his/her attitude, will change the attitude of many other children. It's contagious. When you walk into a room and people smile, you smile. When these children have a good attitude about themselves they are going to go out into the world and spread it. They will become the leaders.

Teach your children that they have the ability to accomplish anything they try and do it well. Teach them that they can be happy, healthy and beautiful. Make them feel very safe and secure. Teach your children that they can set the world on fire. Don't you wish the fire had been lit in you when you were young? I want to light a fire in you now to help children. Every one of you has the natural ability to help. You do not have to be taught to do that. You just open up with love from your heart to their hearts.

Working with children can bring you more joy than any other work. They even enjoy helping to work on their problems. You will find that they have a log more power than you ever dreamed possible. We need to start putting our children first. This is all in your hands. One person can make a big difference. Help children now and the future will take care of itself.

Children are our greatest assets.