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A Safe Person is someone who is accountable, respects personal boundaries and doesn’t ask to keep secrets from others. Speaking to a safe person can help to feel listened to.

A child who knows that you will respect (and even protect!) their boundaries will have an easier time trusting you to take care of them.
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​A Safe Person can change with time, if someone has a Safe Person now, and sometime in the future that Safe Person doesn’t make the person feel safe, they can always choose another Safe Person.

Steps to be a Safe Person:
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* Give the child a choice. Ask the child if it is ok if you hug him/her.  Often children initiate hugs and that’s wonderful. But when we are the ones to reach out, it's recommended to ask for the child’s permission. 
* Intent. A role model needs to be aware of the intent of the interaction with the child. Some questions you can ask yourself about your intention are: Is this for the benefit of the child? Am I trying to prove something with this? Am I seeking for personal comfort? 
​* Comfort. A good role model should always be checking the vibe the child is putting out. Sometimes children are shy or don’t know how to express discomfort.

Being aware of our personal needs and intentions will help a lot to change the way we interact not only with children, but with everyone around us.

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Now that you know how to be a Safe Person, we would like to invite you to identify other Safe People around you and, if you have kids, to help them to do it as well.
​Click HERE to learn how.