Children who feel emotionally secure and well-loved are less vulnerable

Children who feel emotionally secure and well-loved are less vulnerable because they are less likely to respond well to a person’s attempts to charm them or coerce them. They are also more likely to tell and be believed if something does happen.
A good relationship with your child reduces the likelihood that someone will choose your child to abuse. A good relationship with a child is:

• Warm and loving
• Respectful
• Empathic (you care about how they feel)
• Open (where people feel they can talk about how they feel)
• Where you’ll be available for them when they feel good, AND when they feel bad.

You can develop a good relationship with your child by:

1. Having fun together
2. Being consistent (not unpredictable) in the way you react
3. Developing a culture of listening to each other
4. Show interest in what your child thinks about things.
5. Showing you care about how they feel (even if you cannot always change it). 

This week, we would like to invite you to think about the quality of your relationship with the kids around you. Consider:

• How do you show you’re available to listen? (e.g. looking at them when they speak, nodding your head).
• How do you show you care about your child’s feelings? (e.g. “Oh honey, I can see you are really upset”)
• How do you handle your own feelings when your child tells you something which upsets you? (e.g. give myself compassion, take a deep breath, think about how I want to react. Tell them I am glad they told me, and keep my voice calm and warm).
•  What fun have you had together this week?

For information about connecting with your child check out Aha Parenting  https://www.ahaparenting.com/Default.aspx?PageID=7652287&A=SearchResult&SearchID=11209610&ObjectID=7652287&ObjectType=1

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