Child Safety

I was four years old hiding in my mom's closet, covering my ears from the relentless yelling and pounding. My older sister holding me tight singing "Jesus Loves Me" into my ear so I wouldn't hear the horrific sounds coming from our living room. The sounds of our father beating our mother as she pleaded for her life. Despite my sister's best efforts I heard it all, I remember it all, and when I close my eyes now I can place my 30-something year old self back into that little four-year-old body. My childhood was stolen from me due to witnessing domestic violence on a regular basis. My father was an alcoholic. And when he drank he abused my mother. They married young then had my sister...

Y'all, I'm struggling here. As prevalent as social media is in my life, this question infiltrates my mind over and over: "Should I ever post pictures of my children on social media?" I'm just not sure anymore. Yet I still do it. We all know it's incredibly easy for images to be stolen these days ... all it takes is a screenshot on a phone and boom, someone has a picture of my daughter forever. Even with the strictest privacy settings, it's still possible to steal images. I used to think those instances were few and far between, and it would never happen to me or my kids. But it does happen. It happened recently right here in Baton Rouge...

Yesterday I shared my story about how I was bullied as a child. This was the first time I've ever shared about this in a public setting, and you can read it here. Bullied Part 2 :: How You Can Help a Victimized Child Thirty years later, here I am. Time and self-care have healed my wounds, but it's an experience that will forever be a part of me. I don't want any child to experience what I did. So today I am sharing some lessons I've taken from my life experience so that you as parents and caregivers can in turn share them with your children who are involved in bullying in any capacity. Let's put a stop to this...

I encourage my children to talk to strangers. I realize that statement might sound a little strange, so let me explain. Stranger Danger For generations the standard parenting safety advice has been “Don’t talk to strangers.” In my own childhood I remember hearing the story of Adam Walsh and his abduction. And for many years stories like his fueled the fear in parents that stranger abduction was a real and looming risk for their children. “Don’t talk to strangers” became a response to the fear that unknown predators were lurking on the fringes of every park and playground, waiting to snatch up our children. Scenarios were reviewed with school children where strangers are able to lure children with the ruse of a...

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Crawfish Aquatics, which offers year-round swimming instruction for students of all ages. “It happened so fast,” a reflecting mom said to me. “One minute we are all outside in the yard playing. Then I decided to run inside to turn the oven on and got distracted sorting some mail. That’s when I heard the yelling, the screaming. What I saw next I have replayed in my mind over and over again. My 4-year-old son was in our pool, alone. His legs were almost fully submerged, but his chest and head were above water. He was floating on his back." “My six year old daughter was going back and forth, yelling to me and calling to...