When you or your child is about to participate in an activity and you are feeling unsure or afraid..try the following technique.

STOP: yourself from saying Be Careful, or Watch Out…or from stopping them or yourself from participating in the activity

BREATHE: Acknowledge how you feel and take a deep controlled breath.

REFLECT: Look at the situation with fresh eyes and ask yourself:

  • What is the potential for serious harm?

  • Why does this situation make me feel uncomfortable?

  • What skills is this child learning right now?

  • Why will this activity benefit me /them by participating.

    RESPOND: There isn’t one right response for every situation. If the child is in danger by all means do act quickly! However, some situations might require you to do nothing and other situations might require you to help the child foster awareness or problem solve. 

    Fostering Awareness

  • Notice how….that branch is bending, those rocks are slippery

  • Do you see…the people near by, the rock…

  • Try Moving…slowly, feet low

  • Try using your …hands, feet

  • Can you hear…rushing water..

  • Do you Feel….stable, safe, the heat of the fire

  • Are you feeling…scared, excited…

  • Where should you go next?

    Problem Solving

  • What is your plan with…

  • What can you use….

  • Where will you go….

  • How will you…

  • Who will…..

    When we say “be careful” we are not helping children learn anything about about the risk in the given situation, nor how to manage that risk.

It is OK to state “I am feeling uncomfortable with…” and ask yourself (or the child) why that may be… and then figure out what safety measures could be put in place to allow the freedom to participate in the activity.

We must be able to get to a place where we can assess if the benefits outweigh the risk.

DO BENEFITS OUTWEIGH THE RISK?

NO = intervene, remove hazard, involve child in mitigating/putting safety measures in place - then continue

YES - BUT I AM STILL UNCOMFORTABLE = Stay Calm. be steady and supportive - encourage problem solving and fostering awareness…

  • I am feeling uncomfortable - can you tell me why? Do I understand the trigger for myself?

  • What can you (or I for myself) do to help me feel more comfortable?

_________________________________________________________________________________
For activities such as camping in bear country - the best way to ensure you are feeling more secure about this would be to practice using your bear spray (you can purchase inert bear spray from Kodiak) and ensure you understand what to do based on how a bear is acting - and what to do if the bear makes contact. When we have a safety plan - we feel more confident being outdoors as then we know we will be able to handle the situation properly.