Introduction
The Concept
Do you want to stop worrying and start having fun with your kids? The Case Method Miracle is about how to use the Harvard Business School case method with a child. As a result the child learns to make wise decisions and build internal strength. To make it work with kids, Anne Jones has stripped it to its bare bones. Any parent or caregiver can do it, anytime, anywhere. Less timeouts, yelling and screaming, or telling the child what to do. The genius in the approach is that the case method teaches the child to think for himself.
Anne graduated from Harvard Business School. She is a mother and used the case method with her son. When she saw the miracle happen, she researched why it works, and wrote The Case Method Miracle to share it with other parents. It blends the clear thinking of a Harvard grad with the passion of a mother.
The case method—as the author has defined it—is easy to do. All a parent has to do is tell their child a one-minute story about another child in a situation—with which the child can identify—where he has to make a choice. “Once there was a little boy…” The boy makes a choice. At the end the parent asks, “Was that a wise or unwise decision?” Or, “What should the little boy do?” That’s it. The parent stops and lets it sink in.
When the child states the wise response, the parent affirms the child with hugs and praise, “Great job, you know how to make wise decisions.” He receives the message, “You got it.” In addition, rewarding the child with an expression of love capitalizes on his most powerful desire, to be loved.
“Jones Shows Alumni How to Deploy the Case Method to Raise Confident Kids”
When Anne Jones (MBA 1997) was in her first year at HBS, she says she often worried that she didn’t belong there.
“I was thinking, ‘how am I here?’ but it was the case method that helped me get over that feeling of overwhelm,” says Jones, a native of Finland who competed in track on a full scholarship at Georgia Tech before graduating at the top of her class with a degree in Systems Engineering. Read More
The case method miracle takes place when the child starts making mindful, wise decisions in his or her own life, both in situations that resemble the told case stories and in situations that do not.
The key outcomes are grit and self-reliance for the child, and mutual bonding with the parent. Thinking through the case and making a judgment or a decision about what the case protagonist should do prepares the child for the same kind of challenges in life ahead.
This brief experience— likely taking less than a minute—strengthens the bond between the parent and child. The child gains confidence that he has what it takes to handle the situation. It becomes easier for him to stick to what he knows to be wise, and to focus on the task at hand. He becomes more self-reliant and perseveres to stand alone, even passionately, for what he believes is right.
Amazingly, a method developed in a prestigious business school works brilliantly with children! The Case Method Miracle makes that available to parents everywhere.
