Don't Give In Mr. Chin!

It’s useful for children to be taught about the value of hanging in there when the going gets tough. The act of doing the hard stuff is driven by the belief that ‘I can hang tough in tough situations.’ This thinking becomes habitual the more the child negotiates difficult situations successfully. Teachers and parents can help their young charges develop this very important capability in a fun way.

Read this story to your students about Mr. Chin. 

Let me introduce Mr. Chin. He is married to Mrs. Chin. They live in a house in a place called ChiniChinChin. They are the Chins from ChiniChinChin and they have a problem. Mr. Chin gives in.

Mr. Chin would start jobs around the house and he would get tired and not finish them.  He would say ‘I give up’ and he would have a rest and fall asleep.

He dug half a hole in the garden and built half a shed. He mowed half the lawn and shaved half of his beard. He did look funny!

Mrs. Chin said, ‘Have you finished your job Mr. Chin?’ But Mr. Chin was fast asleep in his favourite chair.

Mr. Chin went to the doctor and said ‘I give in when I have tough jobs to do.’ He said ‘you have give in disease.’

‘What’s that?’ Mr. Chin asked. He said, ‘when the job gets tricky you think ‘this is too hard and you give up.’ This stops you from being successful. This is Success Stopper thinking!’

'What will I do doctor? I’m not being successful and my jobs are not finished and Mrs. Chin is sad too.'

He said:

If you want to feel much better

And get all your jobs done

This is what you need to do

And you can have some fun!

When you want to stop

And you are about to give in

Instead of resting in your chair

Say ‘DON’T GIVE IN MR. CHIN!’

Mr. Chin went home and told Mrs. Chin what the doctor had said and Mrs. Chin listened carefully.

The next day when Mr. Chin had mowed half the lawn he said to himself, ‘this is too hard. I think I’ll give up.’ Then he remembered what the doctor told him and said, ‘DON’T GIVE IN MR CHIN!’ And guess what? Mr. Chin finished the whole lawn and he felt very good. Mrs. Chin was happy too.

If you drive past the Chins from ChiniChinChin you will notice that everything is finished! Well-done Mr. Chin. You didn’t give in!’

When your child or student is trying hard say:

‘Don’t give in Mr. Chin!’

When your child or student has completed a task say:

‘You didn’t give in Mr. Chin!’

When your child or student is giving up say:

‘Don’t give in Mr. Chin!’

If they try hard and still don’t quite get there ensure them that sometimes things can be too hard but they kept trying and that’s OK.

Whyalla Foreshore - Whyalla, South Australia

My Wings Are Like A Shield Of Steel!

Unconditional Self Acceptance (USA) protects us from the slings and arrows that life tests us with. It is how we deal with adversity that is key to remaining strong and purposeful in living our lives productively. USA affords us a degree of psychological resilience and hence is a very useful 'habit of believing' to teach our students. How do you teach this? This questions has been addressed in previous posts and here is another idea to think about. 

The cartoon character BatFink could protect himself by deflecting bullets with his 'wing shield.' Psychological resilience is a little like having a protective invisible shield that will allow factual and reasonable information through but will reject those things that are untrue and harmful. Unconditional Self Acceptance helps students understand that whilst they will experience failure and rejection, they themselves can never be failures or rejects. Their positive traits, characteristics and capabilities can't be cancelled out or taken away. They remain worthwhile because as Albert Ellis says 'they exist.' This is helpful to all those students who will argue that they are hopeless and without worth.

You may have other ideas to teach this important insight. All suggestions are most welcome!