School has started, and grade 9 these days sure doesn’t look like grade 9 did for me back in 19-something-or-other. Have we come a long way? In some ways we have. In other ways, our kids are over-exposed to traumatic content and navigating obstacles that weren’t anywhere on our radar when we were growing up. As the adults in their lives, though, we still have an integral role to play in advocating for their safety.
DO YOU WORK OR LIVE WITH KIDS?
Whether you’re a parent, or someone working with kids in a professional capacity, we encourage you to get curious about what behavioural issues are really trying to tell us, and how to navigate those sometimes (often?) awkward and difficult conversations with the caregivers in their lives about what we’re noticing. Caregivers are usually in the best position to create safety for their kids. Perhaps you are that parent. Or, perhaps you’re trying to figure out how to talk to that parent. Before you start that conversation think about how you would like to be approached. How can you tap in to the expertise of the other person. We all see the child from different angles. The more we can understand what other people in the child’s life are seeing, the more holistic picture we’ll have of their life.