Games, The Safety Builders Of Mental Focus
We mention all the time that real child safety, online or offline safety, begins with mental focus, what we call the Powers of Focus.
The Powers Of Focus for your child is their ability to take information in and process it in a meaningful way. This means they can, at their age, analyze it so they can understand it.
The importance of being able to do this for a child is CRUCIAL in their safety. If children can take information, even at an age as young as four or five years old, and have the ability to understand and analyze it, they will be able to keep themselves safe in unsafe situations.
Mental focus also has other benefits, things we call “Secondary Benefits.” It also has great benefits for them as a person and for YOU Mom and Dad and your FAMILY. Everyone benefits!
First, it gives your child a better understanding of the people around them, their environment and their place in the world. This translates into higher self esteem. It DIRECTLY translates into an awareness of their immediate environment which leads to better perceptions of potentially dangerous situations. A child who perceives danger as it begins to unfold can get away from that situation before it fully develops. They can avoid being caught in it.
They will also be able to share their knowledge with others. This is important to understand becuase it means with you or other family members, too. When they do this your child actually TAKES OWNERSHIP of what they see and perceive. It empowers them and gives them confidence. Knowledge is power. You’ll also notice your child’s ability to make good choices for themselves increases with your guidance.
This is EXACTLY what you want them to do in order to be able to keep themselves safe. You give your child the ability to make the RIGHT choices for themselves.
You will be able to interact and guide your child without them feeling they are threatened by what they say or think or feel. Your child will feel comfortable and confident in coming to you with whatever is on their mind or concerns them. This includes threats to their personal safety.
So, HOW do you put this in place? How do you teach your child the Powers Of Focus? We are believers in kids learning by means they do best: Playing Games. We teach simple, fun games for you play with your child at home a few times a week, for 5 minutes at a time.
But did you know you can also build on this? You can build very good focus abilities into your child’s skill arsenal with some additional “games.”
We like the Grocery Store Game as a challenging mental focus building exercise. When you head shopping with your child, ask them to pick out things like:
-how many yellow vegetables they can spot
-how many grandma’s are shopping
-what color is the checkout clerk’s hair
-how many carts are in front of you at the checkout counter
Once your child begins to master this game, start to play it UNANNOUNCED. That’s right! The more your child’s focus abilities increase the more you can hone them with instant games unannounced and played on the spot.
You’ll even find yourself having fun, too, with your child as you play focus games. You can play advanced games at the gas station, car wash, airport or road trip. Anywhere! Your child’s increased focus abilities in perceiving their surroundings and immediate environment, no matter how new, just may allow you as a parent will worry just a little less about your child.
Will you ever not worry about them? Probably not. But with good Powers Of Focus, you can be a little less stressed knowing your child can keep themselves safer and comfortable coming to you with any perceived threats in order for you to help them.
Preston Jones and Joyce Jackson are child safety experts in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA. Keeping Kids SafeTM is a comprehensive personal safety course covering the full gamut of the things kids need to know today to be safe in their environment. Their entire APPROACH to child safety is UNIQUE.Some of the ideas they use you have heard. Some of the techniques they have you have seen. What they do is put it all together in a very effective and unique way. One, they teach kids to keep themselves safe. Two, they teach parents to reinforce their safety techniques at home by making families better with safer kids.
Keep Kids Safe by Looking After Yourself :-)
I have returned to my role in child protection this week from a fabulous time in Halifax and Mackay, QLD. Yes folks, Halifax and Mackay.
Halifax is a hidden treasure of coastal plains with islands of hills shaped like a gathering of women lolling in the warmth of the sun of a balmy morning. Child safety was a critical issue for the lovely lady and her family that I spent time with. My local friends took me bush, down to the river, out to the beach for a BBQ and an evening of pool, beers and country gossip. Further to the south, the undulating scenic backdrops of Mackay won my heart. Its strands of beaches and hub of community arts, cultural events and celebrations of the environment are a tempting draw card to stay… It was also encouraging that issues of child sexual assault and abuse were openly discussed, even at the 5-star dinner.
My time-out-for-myself included being welcomed into new friend’s homes across four nights, bush walking, ocean dipping, dining on ice-creams and then there was that sticky toffee pudding, an evening of inspired conversations and a walk along the marina, a discovery day starting with breakfast by the river and finishing with a bus tour of the beaches, and a last supper of garden vegetables with delish pasta overlaid with yarns from open hearts; even the train journey was an adventure! Throughout my endevours there were many opportunities to highlight issues of parenting and child protective behaviours~ nice to see so many people not avoiding the topic, and feeling comfortable to put in their two cents worth.
In the past I have hesitated to take so much time out for myself – what about my little stress-head foster child?! His separation anxiety. His needs of constant reassurance. Well… my boy had a ball! I don’t think he even noticed that I wasn’t around 
The time apart – we call it “stretching” – was totally worth it for both of us. I have returned inspired, invigorated and ready to make more dreams come true. He has grown taller (really!), appears more confident and is displaying a resiliency to disappointment that tells me he is feeling safe, stable, loved and protected.
Definitely, it is worth it for parents and foster parents, or any caregiver, to take some solo time to immerse themselves in the world of the senses and inner contemplation. Enjoy!
The Effect of Trauma on Secure Attachment in Children
Safe Kids: Taking Each Other for Granted
Challenges Faced by Foster Parents in Australia
Divided we may fall but united we can stand against child sexual assault
The children who should be touched with the soft hand of a teddy bear are being touched and molested to fulfill the evil intentions… This is the heart sinking reality of a child sexual abuse.
A Harsh Reality…
Though it is a hard to believe fact but yes it is true that sexual assault has become one of those common experiences faced by almost sixty percent of children in the society. Forget about teenage assault cases, we have as many as them with girls below ten years of age also. Does that not make your hair stand on end?
The action of sexual assault is not only confined to female gender, however, male child is also subjected to this heinous crime committed by heartless or I would say mindless people.
It is not surprising at all if I say most the sexual assault cases reported have the perpetrators which belong the family itself or to put in other words, in most cases the perpetrators are the close relatives like a distant uncle or very close and old neighbors as well.
A seed of this evil …
Innocent children are warned about the danger of becoming a victim of sexual assault by a stranger outside the family circle and what is neglected here is that older brothers, step father or guardians are potential enough to abuse them by offending the relation taboo which is thought to be a strongest wall they will ever cross. The real problem lies in our system only which initiates as well hide such criminalities.
No evil is so powerful which cannot be overcomed…
‘YOU’ as being the protective pillars of your child in form of parents, should take all the measures to be vigilant for such crimes, and protect your child from any kind of sexual abuse, whether it is your son or daughter.
A mother or the female guardian in such a case has to play a vital role. The warmth of a mother child relationship can go a long way that helps the child to overcome the traumatic experience of sexual abuse. For this purpose you need to communicate with your child politely. You can start it with a very small exercise of sharing with him/her what happened during the school hours. It is one of those tips of parenting counselors often give to parents to bridge the communication gap between the children and their parent. There are other ways as well, do not completely rely on nearby relatives for taking care of your child, make sure you give charge to a responsible person in your absence as this will ensure safety of your child.
Australian Blogging Conference
My big daughter and I are about to jump on a plane to go to the Australian Blogging Conference in Brisbane. Although it is only a one day event, we live thousands of miles away from where it is being held so we are taking the opportunity to spend an extra day in our State’s capital and enjoy all that Brisbane has to offer (aka Jade wants to go shopping).
We both fly regularly (her for pleasure, me for business) but neither of us can get used to the amount of time spent hanging around in airports. While she reads magazines, I people watch. I tell you it is amazing how public child abuse sometimes is and even more amazing that few speak out against it.
Look out airport patrons – it’s blog against abuse day and my senses are sharpened to the overt and covert domestic terrorist dangers to children. I encourage non silence around the issue. Please parents, don’t end up fodder for this blog!
Stay safe everyone. I’ll be back at the keyboard on Monday.
Imaginif you gave a blog against child sexual abuse
Child sexual assault – the scourge of modern society and one of the greatest social problems of our times. Today is Blog against Abuse day and a day Imaginif encourages others to give a blog about ending child sexual abuse. Imaginif there was a world without child sexual abuse. Imaginif you added a blog against child sexual assault to the link field below!
As many as one in three children (prevalence statistic) are said to be sexually assaulted. Despicable and I’ve had a blog full. What we’ve been doing hasn’t worked effectively. Systemic change is slow and in the snail like process, children, our children, are still assaulted and often left to lead a life marred by silence, confusion, changed cognitions, and fear. Surely we all need to be acting to protect our children? Surely we can all do a little to lift the silence and stand united in our care for child safety.
Change toward a more protective way of life is not just the responsibility of governments: it is the responsibility of each of us, of YOU and ME. What are YOU doing to help end child sexual abuse. I have devoted my career to working in the area and I have privately chosen to financially support preventive and treatment programs. Is it enough? No. I need your help to roar against child sexual abuse. This will cost us nothing.
Every year Imaginif financially supports a charitable agency concerned with child abuse. This year, 2007, Imaginif is a proud supporter of the abused child trust. Our financial donations stay local and assist in both preventative and post care of abused children. Imaginif also loans some financial support to a grass roots orphanage in Cambodia. Without organised care, the children are at risk of sexual exploitation (sexual abuse) from international tourists and domestic opportunistic crime workers. Domestic terrorists those that prey on children are. Guantanamo Bay is too good for them.
Part of the definition of being a professional is the ability to clearly articulate what it is that you do. Are you a professional blogger? Are you a professional parent? Are you professional in your collective attempts to end child sexual assault. Single voices against child sexual assault are not heard. Collective roars are.
Who is with Imaginif in our roar against child sexual assault? Write a post about how you want child sexual assault to end (there is no proforma for this – just a post from the heart saying what you would really like to say) and add that post to the Mister linky above.
Strength in numbers. People copy, people follow. The more that stay silent around child sexual assault, the more copies silently made of what is not working to protect our children. The more that blog against child sexual assault, the greater following of articulation, secret breaking and public discourse. Blog out against child sexual assault.
Please, give a blog about child sexual assault. On your home page, blog against child sexual abuse and add that post to the meme above. Show the world that we have a blogging support network of people who give a blog against child sexual abuse. Copy the Mister Linky code for, ”We give a blog against child sexual abuse” meme and put it on your site too.
Article by Megan Bayliss
