Interactive interviewing with a child

To obtain information from a child then one must be sure to relate the interviewing session to a normal routine that the child is acquainted. Recently I had a chance to interview a twelve year girl known as Megan. The interview was held in her house in her room as this was the place she really felt free and spent most of her time in it drawing. Megan by nature is a talkative girl who does not withhold information. In the recent past, the behavior of Megan has drastically changed as she does not talk to anyone anymore. She loved drawing and in that case I asked her to draw whatever was in her mind at the moment. She drew a picture of her home and painted a dull color round it and a dark cloud hovering over their house.

On a second diagram she drew her school with many classrooms and pupils interacting with one another but at the far end of the drawing she drew a girl seated on her own lost in her thoughts. She then gave me the pictures to have a look at them as she finished a previous art she had started before the interview. In this one she drew her family members at a dinner table all looking happy in a very big house illuminated with light. “What of the last picture?” I asked. She told me that this was their previous lifestyle and that she wished that the hard times would come to an end and return to normal. I reviewed the interview and found out that while providing details of her first diagram she was emotional and almost cried this showed that the situation had taken a toll on her.

She shrugged her shoulders and lowered her voice while talking of her father to show that she had almost lost hope in is recovery. In return, I hugged her as a sign of assurance and comfort and told her that everything would be all right (Fleisher & Gordon, 2014). To make my work easier I carried out a previous interaction with her mother and I got some basic information about her. For instance, I knew that she loved drawing and as a result I made my own drawing to show her on the material day thus this activity helped me get into her thoughts as she believed we shared the same passion in life. The interpersonal dynamics of Megan are normal for a child of 12 years as no much energy and coercing is needed to build up a relationship with people (Klykylo & Kay, 2012).