Any parent knows that their teens cannot be fully protected from getting into a dilemma that they cannot solve on their own. Therefore, it is very important that adults can provide help as soon as possible.
Today we will tell you a useful way to keep your child away from harm. Here’s an example: Your teens hang out with bad company. One day decided to try bad things. This situation is probably too unpredictable for your son or daughter!
Also, your child will most likely not call you for advice for fear of appearing a coward in the eyes of his “friend. And even if you call your kid to ask whether everything’s all right, you’ll probably get a standard reply along the lines of “Yeah, I’m absolutely fine!”
Bert Fulks, a pastor from West Virginia, has studied this teenage psychological trait in order to better communicate with his son, Danny. As a result, Fulks invented a kind of secret code that allows his son to send his dad SOS signals without the risk of losing face with his peers.
Fulks got this brilliant idea after talking to teens in addiction clinics across the country. He asked each of those kids a simple question: “Have you ever found yourself in a situation where things started happening that you weren’t comfortable with, but you stuck around, mainly because you felt like you didn’t have a way out?”
All teenagers admitted having experienced such moments on many occasions. So the pastor decided that something needed to be done to help kids (and, specifically, his own son) overcome the problem. Here’s how Fulks himself describes his invention:
“Let’s say that my youngest, Danny, gets dropped off at a party. If anything about the situation makes him uncomfortable, all he has to do is text the letter “X” to any of us (his mother, me, his older brother or sister).
The one who receives the text has a very basic script to follow. Within a few minutes, they call Danny’s phone.
This know-how not only protects your child from harm but also helps to build trust. The most important thing is to make kids realize that even if they get in trouble due to disobedience, their parents’ chief priority would be not to punish but to help!