WHAT We Teach in Think First & Stay Safe
Core Lesson Concepts
Using Our Built-in Computers: Staying Healthy and Safe
Our brain is the most powerful computer in the world. We can train our brain to help us be healthy and safe.
People are Like the Weather: Being Kind and Respectful
Most people have Sunny Weather Behavior. Some people have Stormy Weather Behavior. We help students be ready for Stormy Weather Behavior in people, whether it’s a stranger or someone they know. If we can take precautions from unsafe weather, we can also take safety measures to protect ourselves from people who use unsafe or Stormy behaviors.
Trusted Adults Can Help Us
Students are asked to think of adults in their lives whom they know and can trust. We call those “Trusted Adults” and repeatedly we emphasize the need to “tell a Trusted Adult” when anyone tries to lure or hurt them or when they feel unsafe or confused.
Child Luring: Treat it Like a Fire Drill
Child lures are used by people with Stormy Weather Behavior to trick, tempt or force children into hurtful or unsafe situations. Child Lures can be used by adults, older kids, and even kids one’s own age.
Laws Help Protect Me: Kids Have Rights Too!
In this segment we cover the protection kids have under the Law, being Truthful, Bullying, and that their Bathing Suit Zone belongs to them. With older/streetwise children, we also cover the types of abuse. (Read more about why "Good Touch, Bad Touch" is no longer a helpful message to teach children.)
Listening to Our Instincts: No Secrets
The Kindness of Strangers: Choosing Safe Strangers
Most of the time, when kids are lured into inappropriate or unsafe situations it’s by someone they know. (98% of Holly’s House clients have known their predator.) When it comes to our own personal safety, we should not just LOOK at a person, but we need to be aware and careful of how people BEHAVE, watching for Stormy Weather Behavior. Sometimes we may need to depend on the kindness of strangers, such as, if we get hurt or separated from our parents. We help students practice choosing safe strangers. (Read more about why it's more confusing and no longer helpful to teach children to be afraid of all strangers or that all strangers are dangerous.)
My Dignity: Safe & Healthy Boundaries
Everything about us, both the things we like and the things we aren’t so crazy about, make us a one-of-a-kind person. Out of all the billions of people in the world, there’s no one else like you. Nothing about the way a person looks or what they say or do gives anyone the right to mistreat or abuse them. Being mistreated is never the fault of the person targeted. Abuse is NOT a child’s fault. Just like snowflakes, each one of us is different and beautiful in our own way. Each one of us deserves to be treated and needs to treat one another with kindness and respect.
Our brain is the most powerful computer in the world. We can train our brain to help us be healthy and safe.
People are Like the Weather: Being Kind and Respectful
Most people have Sunny Weather Behavior. Some people have Stormy Weather Behavior. We help students be ready for Stormy Weather Behavior in people, whether it’s a stranger or someone they know. If we can take precautions from unsafe weather, we can also take safety measures to protect ourselves from people who use unsafe or Stormy behaviors.
Trusted Adults Can Help Us
Students are asked to think of adults in their lives whom they know and can trust. We call those “Trusted Adults” and repeatedly we emphasize the need to “tell a Trusted Adult” when anyone tries to lure or hurt them or when they feel unsafe or confused.
Child Luring: Treat it Like a Fire Drill
Child lures are used by people with Stormy Weather Behavior to trick, tempt or force children into hurtful or unsafe situations. Child Lures can be used by adults, older kids, and even kids one’s own age.
Laws Help Protect Me: Kids Have Rights Too!
In this segment we cover the protection kids have under the Law, being Truthful, Bullying, and that their Bathing Suit Zone belongs to them. With older/streetwise children, we also cover the types of abuse. (Read more about why "Good Touch, Bad Touch" is no longer a helpful message to teach children.)
Listening to Our Instincts: No Secrets
- Instincts: When we hear a siren, it’s usually telling us about some kind of danger, that something is wrong, or that someone is hurt. Instincts, our gut feelings, are our built-in, personal sirens. If something or someone sets off our inner siren, we don’t have to wait until something happens. We can tell a Trusted Adult about the uneasy feeling we have and seek their help with the situation.
- Secrets: Anytime a secret would make us feel sad, embarrassed, or afraid, it’s not healthy. All secrets are eventually told. We help students practice identifying safe and unsafe secrets. It’s never too late to tell a trusted adult about a secret we’ve been keeping for a long time, even if someone would be disappointed in us or has threatened to hurt us if we tell. Our trusted adults are here to help.
The Kindness of Strangers: Choosing Safe Strangers
Most of the time, when kids are lured into inappropriate or unsafe situations it’s by someone they know. (98% of Holly’s House clients have known their predator.) When it comes to our own personal safety, we should not just LOOK at a person, but we need to be aware and careful of how people BEHAVE, watching for Stormy Weather Behavior. Sometimes we may need to depend on the kindness of strangers, such as, if we get hurt or separated from our parents. We help students practice choosing safe strangers. (Read more about why it's more confusing and no longer helpful to teach children to be afraid of all strangers or that all strangers are dangerous.)
My Dignity: Safe & Healthy Boundaries
Everything about us, both the things we like and the things we aren’t so crazy about, make us a one-of-a-kind person. Out of all the billions of people in the world, there’s no one else like you. Nothing about the way a person looks or what they say or do gives anyone the right to mistreat or abuse them. Being mistreated is never the fault of the person targeted. Abuse is NOT a child’s fault. Just like snowflakes, each one of us is different and beautiful in our own way. Each one of us deserves to be treated and needs to treat one another with kindness and respect.