Nadia Buckus (certified counsellor and life coach)
Feeling safe is important for everyone. When we feel safe, we are less likely to act out of a state of internal vulnerability. We are less likely to act with impulse on fearful, angry, hurt or insecure feelings.
Helping children identify what helps them feel safe is so important. Ask a child which colours, animals, people, places, thoughts, etc, help him / her feel safe. Ask if he / she feels safe when alone or with others, in a small space or open space.
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Helping children create a safe space in their imaginations is a fantastic way to create a place of internal peace they can carry with them.
This can be done through guided imagery-based mediation or art activities (asking the child to paint a safe place or create one out of play-dough or clay).Have her cut out and stick pictures from magazines and form a collage or decorate a safe space box (old shoe box).
You may be surprised by what helps children feel safe (a puzzle, a ritual bedtime story, a special fort on the top bunk, the colour red, a brother, a nightlight, a castle, dolphins, etc). There is no right or wrong, and simply helping children identify and explore what helps them feel safe can lead to a greater sense of internal peacefulness.
I like to think it is possible to create a world filled with more compassion and love; a world where people can have the opportunity to heal from life events that hurt them to find internal peace and break the cycles of violence and abuse.
And who knows, maybe something as simple as asking a child what helps him or her feel safe may be the first step.
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