ProtecTeens and Kids WA

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The best research a teacher can do is to know the kids in front of them.

I believe this with all my heart. Spending the time getting to know our students, building that working relationship and rapport with them, is so important to support their best learning outcomes.
Knowing "enough" of their background also helps us support them emotionally, and allows us to choose the language we use with them.
There are a multitude of reasons to know the kids in front of you.

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To all the men who parent, have a great day.

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Today my school celebrated Book Week.

An 11th hour change of costume saw me joining colleagues in dressing as Inside Out characters.

I was Sadness, and it was such a fabulous teaching moment with all the students who said to me "you can't be happy, you're Sadness".

We cannot be sad all of the time. It has its place, we will feel it at times. But not *all* of the time. We need to seek out help if Sadness becomes a predominant emotion.

Do we have this in Australia??

I know I could have used one when I was on the stand in the early 90s.

This is a sensational initiative

I. Love. This!

I'm in Scotland at the moment and this was in a public toilet.

Framed picture says "Free for Everyone. Period"

In the wall hanging it has an assortment of products - pads, tampons, liners.

The catch phrase (under the above heading) is "Everyone deserves a period of dignity."

I'm based in Australia, WA, and have never, ever seen products offered free.
I'd love to hear your experiences from around the world...

Always worth a re-post.

Do not panic if a child chooses you to disclose to. This is a huge compliment to you.

It is also a responsibility that needs to be handled correctly and with care, so I created the below poster to offer guidance through the situation.

Please save to your phone. Share it. Print it.

The likelihood that a child will ever attempt a second disclosure is all but impossible. It is imperative we get it right the first time.

I'm not normally one to promote anything on Network 10's "The Project", but if you missed tonight's episode you missed a good one.
Okay, one good segment. Superb segment.

Daniel Principe, part of Collective Shout (whom I had the privilege of seeing at my son's school earlier this year), was included in a Table Talk about "Toxic Masculinity figures influencing teen boys".

As parents, we need to be invested in our children, especially through their teen years. If we are allowing them access to tech, we also need to be having conversations about what they could be or are seeing. Even when we feel uncomfortable with the subject matter, we need to push through for our young adults. They need this from us.

Schools have a role to play as well, but we need to start (and keep having) the conversations at home.

If you need assistance with where or how to start, please be in touch.

Toxic Masculinity Figures Influencing Teen Boys Influencers like Andrew Tate are making a bigger impression on teenage boys than their parents believe and are serving as role models. So, why are teenage boys so attracted to toxic masculinity, and what is being done to help?

As we in the West are about to head in to the school holidays later this week, I would just like to put out a gentle reminder to all my fellow Education people.

Sometimes holidays AREN'T a happy time for our kiddos, as it means they are home longer with people that may be harming them in some way.

As we are all too aware, the stats for sexual abuse show that it is highly likely the perpetrator and victim know each other.

Please keep this in mind as you go to wish your students a "happy holiday". As much as we wish they all lived in warm, safe and loving homes; sometimes there is more going on than we know.

I 《finally》 used my "Cars R Us" feelings cards today with some Year Twos.
These are such a great resource for helping make an important lesson (how to recognise how someone is feeling) a bit of fun.

How deep and long lasting are the effects of coercive control, you ask?

Eight years or so on the outside, and I still cannot cut potatoes the other way, "because I don't come home to eat mess* food".
(*mess as in minesite eating hall)

Its just there, in my mind, before I even realise what I'm doing.

Because cutting them the "wrong" way lead to a talking-down.

Love!!!

My new "school bag" and t-shirts just arrived.
Love love love 💛💚💙

A new year brings new opportunities, and wow have I been given an amazing one.

Still working on the finer points, but in short I will be assisting students with social skills, regulation skills and restorative skills.

Bringing my protective behaviours and trauma informed learnings deeper in to my role.

Gee, has it really been that long since I've posted here? Thanks for hanging around!

I've been doing a load of study, continuing with the child and adolescent mental health certificate; but also diving much deeper in to trauma informed care.

The image below is a simplistic statement on what we can do to "heal" trauma. Offering safe, empathetic relationships are our best chance at assisting someone with trauma the chance to recover.

Image Credit: ?? (Taken from Pinterest)

Sometimes, what seems to be easy going for us can have others treading water. We each respond and react differently to various situations in life.

Before we decide for others that they should "get on with it" or "get over it".. just pause for a minute. Do you really know how deep in the mud they are?

Image credit Moody

I've just spent the last ten minutes discussing this image with two of my boys - aged 12 and 13. We chatted about how organs move, bladders get squished and the feeling of being kicked from the inside! Of course, the "where is the va**na" and "it comes out of THERE!" were discussed as well. They're now well versed on the concept of dilation.

Images such as this are brilliant to start all sorts of conversations.

I've added the labels of various anatomy just to show how the body changes to accommodate a baby inutero.

I cannot credit the original artist, as I can only locate the image on various sites, but no acknowledgement of artist.

Thanks to letstalk.mentalhealth for these graphics.

There is so much more to abuse and PTSD than what is commonly believed. I'm one of many trying to expand the conversations and increase knowledge.

Images such as these are an easier way to digest tough information and are a good place to start reassessing what we know.