We Listen And We Don't Judge...But We Do Verify

I am quite tickled as I read the title of this blog. 

When I recall some of the outrageous things some of the children have shared with us, I can't help but to be tickled. 

And don't tell them this, but after our sessions when the staff reviews the day, we have often been doubled over from laughing at some of the funny statements the children have shared.

Are You Sure?

At GBOC, we have great relationships with the parents or guardians of the children. Because of this we have come to know their family dynamics to some degree. 

So when the children say to us something off the wall, or totally opposite of their family's dynamics, we have asked, "Are you sure"?

When we ask that question, we allow them time to correct the statement or clarify the statement. 

If the clarification still does not align with what we know, we let the children know that we will follow up with the parents later. 

That Would Be A No!

A perfect example is one of the students told us that their friend's Mom was coming to pick them up and take them to the mall. 

Immediately, we knew that this was not the norm for this child. She continued to ask about what time it was and was constantly running to the window to see if they had arrived. 

What ever made her think that we would allow her to leave with someone without her parent's consent, I can't explain. 

We told her that we would not allow her to leave our program without permission from her parents. 

Our hard stance on that did not go over well with her so she began to bring a soft disruption to the class.

We kindly took her out of the class and called her parents.  As we suspected and believed, the parents had not given her permission to go with anyone, nor was she are of who the 'friends' were. 

Now I get it, for some this would seem like a no-brainer.  But, we do know of instances where children were allowed to leave with someone without their parent's consent. Not at GBOC of course! 

With some many recent child abductions, kidnappings and missing children, we have tightened our policies in this area.

Yes, we listen and we don't judge...but we do verify!

Picture credit: Vishal Bhutani @unsplash.com