Internship as a child

Engaging in an 'internship as a child' means spending time with children in their natural surroundings and being a part of their everyday lives. The experience can open up for a new understanding of children and their way of living. 

The internship is turning the 'participatory design approach' on its head by inviting the designer into the life of a child instead of inviting the child into the process of the designer. This is a valuable approach to adopt early in the process even before the specific development process begins, in order to confront existing assumptions about children and as a way to experience and identify new potential opportunities. The recommendation is:

Just do it - even though it can be frightening to enter into someone's private life; but if it is done respectfully, with openness and curiosity it can be a joyful, surprising and rewarding experience for both child and designer.

An 'Internship as a child' is a way to understand the needs and experiences in the contexts of the everyday lives of children (Gunn, Otto, & Smith, 2013). Approaching the internship with an open mind without any predefined agendas can be a way to identify new design opportunities grounded in and with relevance for the everyday lives of children.