All children need adults to keep them from harm’s way. This means that adults first of all should not behave in any way that puts children at risk of harm. Put another way it means that we as adults bear a responsibility to keep children safe. For those of us who have some/a professional responsibility to children these basic precepts signal a need to listen to what children tell us, not just verbally but by how they behave, their demeanour, and through whatever medium children communicate with us.
I want to be heard
What children say provides us with a timely reminder that there can be many blocks and barriers to adults listening to children and hearing what they try to tell us. To overcome those blocks and barriers requires effort on our part. If we make that effort children will help us to understand and we will be in a far better place to work together, to take them seriously, and to help keep them safe.
