We had a wake up call for our parenting
A short while ago, we were faced with Little Miss Hair Helper sharing some…well, somewhat disturbing, information with us. If anything, it made Mr Hair Helper and me realise that there was still some work to do on equipping and empowering our children in keeping themselves safe, especially if we aren’t around.
I love it how when life throws you a quick curve-ball, something will do the rounds on social media that will be worth reading, and be truly helpful. We came across this article, where this Mum shares her experience of having taught her sons about “tricky people” and how they were equipped to deal with a potentially life-changing scenario.
From the outset of becoming parents, we were determined to strike a balance on the “stranger danger” topic. We never wanted nor do we want our children to grow up fearful. I was never the kind of Mum to turn my baby away, if someone paid her attention – yes, folks, I had a Mum once turn her baby away from me when I smiled at her little one on a bus! Until now though, we’ve bumbled along simply keeping our babies close and under a watchful eye. Now that they are getting that little bit older, they are no longer under our constant protection…and we simply had to do something and be more pro-active.
The article that I mentioned above, also recommends two books by Pattie Fitzgerald. Needing to start somewhere, I purchased both of the books.
Super Duper Safety School and NO Trespassing by Pattie Fitzgerald
I agree with many of the reviews, in that the books are both written in child friendly language. There are 10 safety rules that she outlines. It is probably best to tackle one or two at a time, given that small children will have a short attention span. We’ve read both the books to Little Miss and Master Hair Helper, and they will definitely be books that we pick up and re-read every once in a while.
What I’ve really enjoyed is that it’s given us a frame of reference to chat to our children about their safety. Every now and again, we can slip one or two of the rules into conversation, or role play situations especially with Little Miss Hair Helper.
We really hope that these “rules” are never something that either of our children has to truly use like the Mum from the blog article. But, at least we know that we are empowering our children to be aware of the world around them without being fearful.
These books are available to purchase through Amazon, and can be found in the links below:
