23/05/2022
New post on our sister page.
I often get asked by parents how they can teach safety and awareness skills to their children without scaring them. My answer? Play. Kids (and adults) learn best through play.
I use a few different games to get the kids to look around and see what’s going on. Nothing scary, just simple “what can you see?” and “what would you do?” games. Make them fun and enjoyable and it’s amazing how quickly kids spot things or figure things out.
When you arrive somewhere, ask them how many exits are there? (remember, windows can be an exit too), which one is closest?, where could you hide if you needed to?, ask them if they needed help who could they ask? – I have them point out adults who would be likely to help, for example members of staff or mothers and/or fathers with children. I’m not a big fan of teaching “stranger danger” because if my kids are lost, chances are they need to ask a stranger for help and if they are told to NEVER speak to strangers, what do they do? Instead I prefer teaching my kids how to select an adult who “feels” safe to them.
One thing we teach in our SafeZone:Kids and SafeZone:Teens classes is to be aware of how we feel. Coach Tony Blauer, founder of the SPEAR System (https://www.facebook.com/groups/tonyblauersPDRgroup - www.blauerspear.com), says you can’t be situationally aware unless you are aware of what’s going on inside yourself, so one question I ask my kids when we get somewhere new is “How does this place make you feel?”. That gets them thinking about their instinctive response to a place and helps them ask why they feel that way. If they feel good, they carry on happy; If they feel bad, they will look around to try to spot what is causing that reaction. Likewise, if a person makes them “feel” bad they should move away and find a trusted adult for help.
Another game I often play with my children is the “What if…?” game. When we are out and about I will ask them questions like “what if we got separated? What would you do and who could you ask for help?”, “what if an adult comes up and asks you for help?” (my kids know an adult doesn’t really need help from a child so they should exit immediately and tell a trusted adult) or “what if you hurt yourself right now?”.
This simple game serves several purposes: a) it makes them start to think for themselves and take responsibility for their safety and feelings, and b) it gives me an insight into how my children are thinking and feeling so if the “what if?” event really did happen, I have an idea on how they would respond so can base my response on that knowledge.
Together we will come up with a plan based on the answer to the what if question: If the child has agency in creating the plan they are more likely to remember it and use it.
This type of brain based learning is what makes the SPEAR System different to other self defence systems out there. For more information on local kids and teens self protection classes, why not drop me a WhatsApp message and join a trial class?
http://1stresponse.uk
