06/04/2026
The curious hairs that have appeared on my sunflower's stem help protect them - keeping insects out and water in. In the same garden, brambles have spikes for protection, and nettles have stings. It seems nature has a wealth of different ideas about what is needed to stay safe!
Protection is a word that comes up a lot when looking after children, particularly if a child has not been protected from harm in the past. The balance between letting good stuff in and keeping the bad stuff out can be hard to strike for children, parents and the wider community.
What feels safe can vary so much depending on our age, culture and life experience, so it's no wonder that navigating this with our growing children can feel challenging at times! Playing out, technology rules, parties - different safety rules in different families can bring up a multitude of feelings for all involved.
One of the 10 Growing Me sessions, narrated by a trained psychotherapist, is all about the different parenting jobs - and is packed full of multi-sensory resources to help children and their grown ups have open conversations about who does the different jobs and how they feel about it.
Visit www.growingme.org.uk to find out more about how our toolkits can help open up conversations with the young people you care about.
