Have you had your safety circle talks yet? How'd they go?!?
Are you planning on having them soon? If so, what are your concerns?
I finally had mine!!!
🎉
They went great!!!
The safety circle includes:
My partner and myself
My partner’s parents
My kid’s friend’s parents
My kid’s teachers (he has 3)
Conversation 1:
I started with my in-laws, which was the most awkward conversation.
Remember in a previous post I said to keep your tone light?
Yeah, I failed at that.
I froze and went for the “I have something to ask you. It’s a bit uncomfortable…” intro.
NOT what I was going for.
But it went well anyways!
After I went over expectations and handed them the letter, my MIL and I talked about how it’s hard being a parent.
Conversation 2:
This conversation was with our neighbors. Their kid is friends with our kid. We often chat about the book (‘Your Whole Body’), so it was an easy segue into Safety Circles. I said something like, “Oh, by the way, you know how I wrote this book to help prevent CSA? Well, one of the best ways to prevent it is to have a Safety Circle <etc., etc.>. Anyways, do you want to join? I’ll drop off a letter later that puts it in writing.”
They were very interested and receptive!
Conversation 3:
This conversation was with my kid’s teachers. I don’t get much time to talk to them in person, so I decided to send a brief email letting them know they’d be getting a letter and providing a quick intro of why I’m sending it and what a Safety Circle is.
They were also very receptive and thanked me for my proactive approach!
~
Even though the talks went well, I didn’t enjoy them. But I’m relieved I did them and that my kid now has a group of adults who have explicitly agreed to watch out for him.
🎉
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