If you’re anything like me, the idea of inviting people into your kid’s Safety Circle makes you really uncomfortable. Like, REALLY uncomfortable.
The best way to push through your discomfort is to PREPARE and PRACTICE!
Some basics:
🌟 Think about your tone. Try to keep it light. If you come in heavy, whoever’s listening is more likely to get defensive. Yes, it’s a heavy topic, but you can ease your way into the “heavy” piece of it.
🌟 Remember, you are *educating* and *inviting*. You are *calling them in* not *calling them out*. There is no blame here. (thank you @consentparenting!)
🌟 Figure out your intro–how are you going to bring up the topic? Maybe something like “I’ve been learning about child safety recently and…” or “as you know, I’ve always been concerned about child safety. As part of that…” or “did you see <such and such> in the news yesterday? It really got me thinking about how to keep my kid safe!”
🌟 Explain what a Safety Circle is and its responsibilities (see future post!)
🌟 Know your audience What questions or concerns will they have? Prep your responses.
🌟 PRACTICE! Honestly, I find practicing almost as nervewracking as the conversation itself, but it’s so important to get your mouth used to saying the words CONFIDENTLY.
🌟 Have something you can give them in writing that they can reference.
Consent Parenting has great “Consent Letters”. I’ve also put together a letter specifically for inviting people to a Safety Circle (see future post!). You’ve got this! Comment below to let me know how you prepared or are preparing for your conversations!