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Sleepovers are great for your child to bond with friends, learn how different families work and develop some independence. But you might be wondering about their safety. Here are some tips to help you balance their need for safety with their need for independence.⠀ .⠀ 1. Know who else will be there - this includes other children, older siblings and their friends, family friends or relatives. The more random people in the home, the more risk so you may want to wait for another time when less people are around.⠀ .⠀ 2. Share your family rules. Let the parents know your family rules around things such as bathing, toileting, nudity, entering bedrooms etc. and ask that they maintain these rules for your child.⠀ .⠀ 3. Empower your child. Let your child know they can say “no! stop it! I don’t like it!” to anyone at the sleepover and you will support them. Let them know they can call you anytime they want to and if anything makes them feel uncomfortable they should tell you immediately.⠀ .⠀ Image: white text on green background says “Are sleepovers safe?”⠀ #brisbanemums #raisingteens #raisingkids #raisingboys #raisinggirls #raisingresilientkids #sydneymums #perthmums #melbournemums #childsafe #childsafety #childprotection #brisbanepsychologist #traumainformed #safeguarding #safeguardingchildren #momsofteens #momsofboys #momsofgirls #protectingkids #researchinpractice #pracademics #socialworker #youthworker #childabuseprevention #aussiemums #goldcoastmums #mumsofboys #mumsofbrisbane
How do you keep your child safe at the beach? 🌊 Your answer may vary depending on their age - but I bet you teach them to “swim between the flags” 🚩🚩 and “listen to the lifeguard.” Right?!⠀ .⠀ Aussie lifeguards have done an amazing job at creating a culture of safety at the beach - so we all know what to do to stay safe and enjoy the ocean.⠀ .⠀ So what about when your kids join a new sports club 🏀 or dance 🤸🏾 group? How do you keep them safe in that environment? Seems a bit more complicated right?⠀ .⠀ Ideally - any organisation that works with kids will have a strong culture of safety - just like our beaches. In this organisation the Code of Conduct is like the red and yellow flags.⠀ .⠀ The Code of Conduct 📜 should apply to staff, volunteers and kids. And it should be simple enough for kids to understand 🧠 We often tell children about the rules they must follow - but do they know the rules that adults must follow? 🤔 ⠀ .⠀ Have you seen the Code of Conduct for your child’s cricket team or dance school? If not - ask for one! 💁🏼‍♀️ And let them know they need to promote it to all staff, volunteers, parents and children to create a culture where you know your child is safe.⠀ .⠀ As always - if they need help - they can get in touch with us. We have a free Child Safe e-course that can get them started. Link in bio. ⠀ .⠀ Image: Child standing at the edge of the ocean looking at the horizon. Image by Max Goncharov on @unsplash . #brisbanemums #raisingteens #raisingkids #raisingboys #raisinggirls #raisingresilientkids #sydneymums #perthmums #melbournemums #childsafe #childsafety #childprotection #brisbanepsychologist #traumainformed #safeguarding #safeguardingchildren #momsofteens #momsofboys #momsofgirls #protectingkids #researchinpractice #pracademics #socialworker #youthworker #childabuseprevention #aussiemums #goldcoastmums #mumsofboys #mumsofbrisbane
Last year I sat through a 3 hour dance recital where the only child I wanted to see was on stage for 45 secs 😳. ⠀ .⠀ So I had a lot of time (about 2hrs, 59mins and 15secs) to think about the indicators of a “child safe” dance school. There were 2 key things I noticed...⠀ .⠀ 1. They prioritise child wellbeing 👧🏽 At her dance school - every child gets to trial each class and choose the one they like the best. The most important thing is that they have fun and enjoy themselves, rather then send them to the class with lowest numbers or where they are “best suited.” Like any organisation working with children - this should be top priority. It should surpass concerns about performance, reputation and profit.⠀ .⠀ 2. They were inclusive 👯‍♀️👯 Each dance was carefully choreographed to allow every child a turn at the front - while it might have been tempting to put the less talented kids at the back 🤭 every child had equal time to shine. This meant I got to see the diverse range of children, which included children with disabilities, all having fun dancing front and centre.⠀ .⠀ These are some of the more subtle signs of a child safe organisation. Check out other tips from @keepkidssafeindance ⠀ .⠀ Image: Text says “Dance schools. What should you look for?” . #brisbanemums #raisingteens #raisingkids #raisinggirls #raisingresilientkids #sydneymums #perthmums #melbournemums #childsafe #childsafety #childprotection #brisbanepsychologist #traumainformed #safeguarding #safeguardingchildren #momsofteens #momsofgirls #protectingkids #researchinpractice #pracademics #socialworker #youthworker #childabuseprevention #aussiemums #goldcoastmums #mumsofboys #mumsofbrisbane #dancemum #keepkidssafeindance #dancekids
Happy “Safer Internet Day” 💻 📱🥳. It’s never too early but you can be too late to educate your kids about keeping safe on-line.⠀ .⠀ If your kids are looking at internet connected screens then it’s time to know how to protect them. There are soooo many great resources out there for parents.⠀ .⠀ Some of our favourites working in this space:⠀ @alannahmadeline - online resources for parents of all ages (free)⠀ @esafetyoffice - for parents, teachers and anyone working with kids (free)⠀ @miafreedman - Safe on social toolkit for parents (paid)⠀ .⠀ What other resources do you use to keep your kids safe?⠀ .⠀ Image: Girl and boy playing with iPhones from McKaela Lee on @unsplash . #brisbanemums #raisingteens #raisingkids #raisingboys #raisinggirls #raisingresilientkids #sydneymums #perthmums #melbournemums #childsafe #childsafety #childsafetyincyberspace #childprotection #brisbanepsychologist #traumainformed #safeguarding #safeguardingchildren #protectingkids #researchinpractice #pracademics #socialworker #youthworker #childabuseprevention #aussiemums #goldcoastmums #mumsofboys #mumsofbrisbane #sid2020 #saferinternetday
Such an important question! When looking for a daycare centre - there are so many considerations like location, cost and availability. While safety is probably your #1 priority - it’s kinda hard to assess right? 🤷🏼‍♀️⠀ .⠀ We recommend asking the Director 🧑🏽‍💼 a few key questions about their strategies for keeping your child safe... for example - how do they screen their staff? ⠀ .⠀ Legally staff in early learning must have a valid Working with Children Check, but that won’t pick up someone who was fired from their last job for yelling at kids or - god forbid - someone who is attracted to children but never offended (or never been caught 😕)⠀ .⠀ Director’s need a pro-active strategy that covers advertising, screening applications, key interview questions and reference checks.⠀ .⠀ So when checking out daycares for your child - ask the Centre Director “How do you screen staff applications?” - If they can only talk about Working with Children Checks ... that’s not a great sign 🙅🏻‍♀️⠀ .⠀ If your Daycare Centre needs help with better screening practices - let them know that we can help. We are about to launch a new online training about Child Safe Recruitment that will educate Directors on all they need to know. ⠀ .⠀ Image: White text on a green background reads “How safe is your child’s daycare?” #brisbanemums #raisingteens #raisingkids #raisingboys #raisinggirls #raisingresilientkids #sydneymums #perthmums #melbournemums #childsafe #childsafety #childprotection #brisbanepsychologist #traumainformed #safeguarding #safeguardingchildren #momsofteens #momsofboys #momsofgirls #protectingkids #researchinpractice #pracademics #socialworker #youthworker #childabuseprevention #aussiemums #goldcoastmums #mumsofboys #mumsofbrisbane
This is what a Pracademic looks like! 👱🏼‍♀️👩🏻But seriously why are we called Pracademics?⠀ .⠀ We started our lives working at the frontline with children in foster care. We loved the work and soaked up any ideas or research that might help us in our role. But it was also incredibly frustrating when research just wasn’t practical for the challenges we faced. So we felt researchers needed to understand the real work more.⠀ .⠀ But the same was true in reverse. The work could be relentless and there was little time to read research, let alone think of how it applies to our work. We knew our services had to get better and understanding and applying the latest research. ⠀ .⠀ So what is the answer? Well we think it is a move towards Pracademia - where researchers and practitioners better understand each other’s work. In an ideal work - everyone would be a Pracademic, but for now we are focused on bridging the gap between those two worlds.⠀ .⠀ And if this rings true for you - you can join our community of Pracademics! Link in bio. ⠀

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