What would you do if…?
This activity supports young people discussing how they may address concerns about gambling with their friends.
Time:
10-15min
Resources:
Picture of a target, blue-tack
Materials to print:
What Would You Do If: Scenario handouts
Method
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Select what statements may be most relevant for your group and how many you want to use. Cut the scenarios individually, fold each piece of paper and put them all in a basket.
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Explain to the group that each scenario describes a situation which a friend might tell them about, and that the aim of the game is to discuss if they would be concerned about their friend and what they could do. You may want to discuss confidentiality and to ask participants to refer to friends generically, without making names.
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Explain that the target represents a gradient of risk and concern: the bull’s eye being the highest level of concern/risk and the outmost circle being a level of no risk and no concern.
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Ask each participant to pick a statement from the basket.
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One at a time, ask a participant to read out loud the scenario they have on their paper, and to place it on the target according to how concerned they would be for a friend in those circumstances.
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Ask the rest of the group to share their views: you may want to support them in considering the risks involved in that scenario and the possible consequences. Based on the outcome of the discussion, they may move the statement to a different circle of the target.
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If the discussion highlights that the scenario represents a situation with some level of concern or risk, ask them to share their thoughts on the following three points:
why there might be a concern, what kind of risk could the scenario involve;
what they could say to their friend;
who they could share their concern with (e.g. highlight that they should share any concern with a parent, teacher or other reliable adult).
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Move on to the next person, with anew statement.
Alternative options:
This game can be done in pairs or in small groups.
Instead of using the picture of a target, you could ask the group to stand in a circle, and to step closer or further away from the centre based on their perceived level of risk/concern for each statement.
Additional notes:
If a participant shares that they themselves or someone they know is or was in one of the scenarios that they read, please make sure that at the end of the activity you follow up with a one-to-one conversation, to check if there is any cause of concern that you may need to address.