8 Tips to Help Kids Feel Safe When Expressing Themselves
For children, safety and trust are the building blocks for any environment where they feel comfortable enough to express themselves. So, as parents how do you go about developing that?
How to encourage children to express themselves:
Listen to understand, not respond: learn how to actively listen to your children, this can be done through direct eye contact and nonverbal communication (nodding).
Be Reliable: stick to your word. An easy way to lose your child’s trust is to break promises and/or lies to them.
Teach your children about boundaries: explain to children what accountability means and lead by example to teach them how to create and maintain boundaries.
No judgment: once your child views you as a reliable part of their support system, do your best not to judge the things they share with you. Remember to actively listen.
How to create a safe environment for LGBTQIA children:
To create an accepting environment for LGBTQIA children, the child must be able to trust their parents or guardians. This should be a judgment free zone where parents:
Reassure them they are loved: remind your child that you love them regardless of their sexual orientation/gender identity.
Spark conversation about their life to encourage sharing and trust: be curious and have engaging conversations about this aspect of your child’s life, try not to pry but be a listening ear once trust is established.
Research your child’s sexual orientation/gender identity: do your own research! Just like any other topic you don’t know much about, it’s up to you to educate yourself. Do not expect your child to educate you on the matter.
Get involved in advocacy: educate yourself and those around you through advocating for the fear treatment of LGBTQIA people. Join a local queer advocacy group or a gay-straight alliance group at school if available.
“Remember that each action that creates trust is like a marble being put into the ‘trust jar’. Breaking that trust is like taking a handful of marbles out of the jar. It is way better to consistently build trust than to have to try and regain trust that has been broken,” - Cindy Glass