178 The Explosive Childmind that you may feel as if you’re slogging through
mud in your first attempts at Plan B. It can take a while
to get into a Plan B rhythm.
However, as you’ve read, it’s also the case that there
are some specific skills that are necessary for a child to
participate in Plan B discussions. As you’ll see, these
skills were already described when the pathways were
reviewed in Chapter 3; now we need to put some
thought into how these skills can be taught. We’ll cover
that topic next. And while we’re at it, we should be sure
to touch upon other skills reviewed in Chapter 3, just to
make sure we’ve got all our bases covered.
SKILLS NEEDED TO PARTICIPATE IN PLAN BThere are three basic skills necessary for your child to
participate in Plan B discussions. First, he must be able to
identify and articulate his concerns. Otherwise, we won’t
be able to get two concerns onto the table and the Plan B
ship won’t leave port. Second, he needs to be able to con-
sider a range of possible solutions, or the Plan B ship will
run aground. Finally, he needs to be able to reflect on the
feasibility and likely outcomes of solutions and the degree to
which they are mutually satisfactor y. Otherwise, the Plan
B ship will chug in random directions, perhaps never ar-
riving at a desired port. If your child is lacking these