European Network on Family Group Conference
Family is asked to make a plan first
I have a family plan!
Tony is 12 years old boy. He is aggressive and often gets into conflicts with his classmates as he challenges them into fighting and boxing. The boy lives with his grandparents. The parents are divorced, the father has no contacts with the family, the mother works in another country to support her children and herself. The teacher of the class advices the family to try FGC.
The mother comes back from abroad and the family gets together – the mother, the older brother, the grandparents and two friends and classmates with their mothers. The teacher and the pedagogical advisor present the problem and the possible consequences for the boy. So the family circle makes a plan how to support the boy to overcome his aggressive behavior in school. The boy agrees to follow the advice from the teacher when there is a conflict in class and not to go into fight with the other boys. Tony’s friends support him at school. The mother talks with him about life in school and all other themes that he finds interesting twice a week over telephone and Skype. Each Saturday Tony goes for a walk with his brother and they have ‘boys’ talks. On Wednesdays the mother or the grandmother contact the teacher to find out how is Tony doing at school. The grandparents award him with a special homemade cookie each week when he has not been aggressive.
Ten months later the family is still following the plan. The boy is doing his best not to use any violence and its behavior has visibly changed for better. The family is in a regular contact with the school. Just recently a teacher heard Tony saying in the school yard where few other boys are fighting: “O, have this family of mine plan, so I don’t fight… even when I am angry!”
A story from Bulgaria
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