From serious to silly!

A few times a year, we have a talk with our girls about protecting themselves from assault. I read the book Protecting the Gift a couple of years ago, and it really changed the way I think about "stranger danger." I highly recommend that book! Did you know that most kidnapping and assault (including sexual) of children is not at the hands of a stranger? Most occurs at the hand of a trusted family friend/acquaintance/family member. Many parents don't acknowledge that and therefore don't educate their children properly about how to protect themselves or what to do if they find themselves in a dangerous situation. Anyway, that's why we often and openly talk to our girls about being mindful of others and what to do if they are being harmed.

All that to say, this past weekend, we had one of those talks. Well, the older girls are used to it, and they just nodded and kept quiet, for the most part. Cora, on the other hand, was quite vocal with her questions and opinions. We highly encourage our girls to fight back, and that is recommended in the book above. We even let them "show us their moves" without actually harming us...or that's the goal anyway. After I had talked for a few minutes, Cora informed me that, "Mom, I really don't think I'm going to remember any of this tomorrow." Okay, Cora, that's why we go over it so often. Her burning question was, "Can I kick him in the goober?" Oh dear. And our answer, "Yes, please do!" Next, all three girls decided to do some Kung Fu Hillbilly action (please stop now and watch that video on youtube!). Around that time, Cora promptly gave me a right hook to my jaw. I actually saw stars. The good news is that the force of it drained my sinuses a bit.

I think that went well, don't you?

Peace,

Nakia