September 15, 2025 • 38 mins
What does it truly mean to create a safe space for children in today's complex landscape? This question lies at the heart of our passionate conversation about protecting childhood innocence while preparing kids to navigate an increasingly challenging world.
We explore this tension between protection and freedom, examining how parents and caregivers can create environments where children feel secure without being sheltered from essential life experiences. These spaces nurture trust, encourage creativity, and build confidence. But making them requires intention and effort across multiple environments: home, community, online spaces, and emotional landscapes.
If you're passionate about creating safer, more nurturing environments for children to thrive, join us at one of our upcoming events or reach out to share your own strategies and insights. Together, we can elevate the spaces where our children grow, learn, and become the thoughtful adults of tomorrow. How will you create safety for a child today?
Look up, and let's elevate!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
hey, it's jen the builder and la cori and hello
everyone and welcome to take theelevator why are you?
Chuckling.
Well, I emphasize welcome,because this is a second take of
this episode and I botched itright at the beginning at the
last recording.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
It wasn't that bad of a botch.
It was kind of cute actually.
You're just being sweet, asalways.
So, jen, we got lots ofannouncements good announcements
and I just want to jump intothere real quick and then we can
get out.
But we're going to be at a fewdifferent places coming up real
(00:52):
soon and I just want to tellpeople about it.
So, if you have an opportunity,you're able to show up and
support Not to mention firstannouncement YouTube.
Our YouTube channel is goinggood and strong.
We're building momentum andpicking up subscribers.
If you want to be entered intothat raffle to win a ruffles
(01:13):
plushie, make sure you subscribeand like one of the videos and
we will enter you into thatraffle how many people, would
you say, are in the rafflealready?
Speaker 1 (01:25):
uh, right now I'd say about 50, about 50 about nice,
okay, and then we've gotannouncements and I'm gonna
suggest, if anyone's interestedin this, either you play us back
or you get something to writewith, because I believe you're
(01:46):
about to just sound off somedates.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Yes, we have September 28th where we're going
to be a part of a convention.
Is that one right?
Speaker 1 (02:00):
The one that's in Corona.
Yes, yeah, so it's calledReaderCon, amazing con, amazing,
yes, and I guess it would be aconvention.
There's 66 authors that aregoing to be there yes at the
corona public library, rightyeah so we're excited about that
.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
We're going to be there with merch and books and
all this good stuff, uh,representing the fuzzy furry
forest, and jenco as well.
Jen, did you remember thesecond one?
Speaker 1 (02:27):
oh my goodness, I hear um.
I don't want to give wrongdates.
I believe it's october 13th and14th actually it's the 15th and
the 16th.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
I was close, okay, so october 15th and 16th.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
This is the convention yes this is at the
ontario convention um center andit's um.
Oh, I wasn't prepared, but youknow what?
That's okay, I'm.
Oh, here it is.
It's the 39th annual children'snetwork conference yeah and I
looked at the agenda and thisone's huge, so for the two days
(03:03):
they have different workshops ifyou are attending and paying
for registration, and I thinkit's 175 a day, not sure, but
really good stuff on children'stype of topics, right, medicare,
adhd, sex slavery in thecountry.
(03:26):
I mean it goes deep and I wish Icould attend the workshops, but
you and I are going to be thereand I'm thankful as exhibitors,
yes.
Vendors, yes, yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
So we're going to have a great time networking and
plugging into the community andseeing where we want to grow
Exactly, and I actually skippedover one of the dates to talk
about that one, but the otherone was October 11th, and that
is the Inlandia event that'sgoing to be in.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Riverside, riverside, that's the Riverside Book
Festival.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Yes, indeed In partnership with Inlandia.
Right, yes, it's just going tobe a blast, guys.
No-transcript.
(04:28):
Before I do that, I want tomake a statement that I have no
intentions on talking political.
I have no intentions onbringing up one side or another,
because, to me, the Genco SoundCompany and Fuzzy Furry Forest
(04:48):
do not lean in a politicaldirection.
We are about the safety and thesafe place for kids to play,
and I really want to make thatclear before we get started.
So, with that being said, jen,if you have anything you'd like
to add, here's your moment.
That being said, jen, if youhave anything you'd like to add,
here's your moment.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
I really like what you're bringing forward, corey,
because I'm going to be veryhonest with people who are
listening it was tragic news and, honestly, corey, you and I are
in conversation and justsorting everything out, so we
didn't want to use this platformto talk out things that we're
(05:30):
currently experiencing thataren't clear, but one thing we
do stand firm on is that wedon't take political sides and
we're very clear on our missionand, as Corey stated, it's to
create and have safe spaces forour kids to play, and I really
(05:53):
want to elaborate on that inthis episode because, out of
everything that's happened,there have been so many
takeaways, and this one we standfirm on is that safe space for
kids to play, and every word inour mission statement is so
intentional.
And so during this time, cory,you and I have been watching
(06:16):
things and looking for certainthings, and information and
video have come up that weweren't necessarily looking for
or really wanting to see at allno, not at all.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
And uh, with you bringing that up, jen, it just
prompts me to dive really deepand hard and fast into.
Can we just start reallythinking about how to protect
our children and if you don'twant me to claim all of the
children, can we protect yourchildren?
(06:52):
Can we protect their children?
Can we protect children of theworld?
These are innocent human beingsthat have no clue of what's
going on and, yes, they willeventually grow up and begin to
understand that adults havetheir differences and adults
(07:13):
think differently than they do,but right now, they don't get
none of that, and so I justreally want to stand firm on we
got to protect these childrenand make sure that they're safe
and they have a safe place toplay and a safe place to think,
a safe place to exist, to grow,to grow.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Yeah, you know, corey , when you were a child, what
did safe space mean to you?
Where did you find that youwere a child?
What did safe space mean to you?
Speaker 2 (07:45):
Where did you find that?
What it was for me was, youknow, I did talk about the
bullying.
It was a little bit of abullying situation, probably
(08:10):
more than a little bit another.
Um, I found a very nice safespace where the neighborhood
kids were just neighborhood kidsoutside playing street football
and basketball and, um, Ididn't play a whole lot because
I was very into music and andwriting and books and stuff like
that, even as a kid.
But when I did play, um, itjust was not a place where I was
fearful.
I, I mean, I never thoughtabout oh, I just gotta say it
(08:34):
death.
I never thought about, you know, people bringing that to a
space where, as a kid, you know,course, as we got to be
teenagers, things changed a bitmore.
But I'm talking about the youngkids, though, not the teenagers
and the young adults.
Of course, life changes as youget older.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
Yeah, yeah.
So I think another question thatcomes to mind, too, is adults
moms, dads who are listening,caregivers do you remember time
when you didn't feel safegrowing up and then asking
yourself how did that shape you?
And I don't want to go deepinto my childhood again, right,
um, but if you can remember atime when you weren't safe and
(09:19):
think about how that shaped youinto adulthood, and knowing that
you have the power to preventthat from happening to your
children, I think is huge.
Another question that comes tomy mind is how do we Corey this
is for you and I to talk aboutright now, I think is how do we
(09:41):
think society has changed interms of safety for kids
compared to when we're younger?
And what blows my mind is thatsafety was not a word that we,
that was used so much when wewere younger, but, my gosh, it
is a huge word now.
Right, safe spaces,psychological safety, and it's
(10:06):
quite contradicting the emphasison it now, and maybe there's an
emphasis because it isn't safeto how it was before.
So how has society changed?
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Well, the biggest change that I can just say
without a hesitation is theworld wide web.
That's number one for sure.
Social media is, uh, bonkers,bananas, it's out of control.
Um, I've seen some stuff Ididn't want to see, uh, as of
last week, and I know that ifit's on my phone and I have some
(10:43):
pretty good safeguards that youknow, just because I don't want
to see certain things, I don't,I don't, I don't get down in
certain things, but uh, I'm surethat these things are leaking
on everyone's phone sure, yeah,we went to a very famous
platform.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
Um, and what's that term, cory, when they say scroll
the death scroll?
Yes, and it was very literalyeah over this weekend and I
just remember you and I weretalking about that and I said,
like you don't even get awarning, you don't even get,
like what you're about to see isthis, um, and it doesn't have
(11:24):
the advisory, it doesn't haveany of that stuff.
When you and I were younger,corey, you had to buy DVDs if
you wanted to see that kind ofstuff and it was called Faces of
Death.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Now kids can just be scrolling and we're adults and
it's difficult and impossible todigest, yeah, and it's
difficult and impossible todigest, yeah.
And then you know being exposedto just other different things,
right, if we're talking digital, yes, social media, I think, is
number one.
(11:55):
And then you think about gamingand the kind of games that kids
are playing.
Speaking of social media,online predators right, the
World Wide Web has introducedthat accessibility to our
children.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
And so we can kind of lead you in a certain direction
of where we're going is becausewe're book authors children's
book authors, and because wespend a good amount of time with
kids and talking to them andreading to them.
It's important to know thatwhen they get a chance to ask
(12:38):
questions, they're really,really quick to ask the question
that they don't feelcomfortable asking people that
they're with on a regular basis.
So we may hear some of thesequestions.
We may be in the room whenthese conversations go down.
So this is why it's importantto us, because we really want to
make sure that as much aspossible.
(12:59):
I know there's going to besomething that slips through the
cracks at some point in time,but never on this level, where
you're seeing someone losingtheir life uh, it's.
It's just not a way for a childto experience that, um, at that
age right, right, and we werealso talking about news.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Yeah, Okay, let's just even go back to before
World Wide Web, and it was TVnews.
The world society had enoughsense to play the rated G
version of news during primetime and because it was during
late hours that more than likelyit was adults watching.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
Right.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
That's when they exposed more information on the
news and it was still late hoursthat more than likely it was
adults watching right?
That's when they exposed moreinformation on the news and it
was still censored yes, we.
It feels like we had the mindsetto protect the children right.
We're going to talk aboutprotection a little bit, and if
you hear excitement in my voice,it's because I'm very excited
and passionate about this um,and I'm so.
(14:07):
I think, first and foremost,what are we doing right now on
this episode?
We are bringing awareness yesto the things in our world that
make it no longer safe for kidsto play, yeah, and to grow and
to thrive right and just to beclear.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
We see the people online arguing back and forth
and presenting what their sideor their facts may be.
We see disagreements and fightsbreaking out amongst people,
but the thing we've got toremember is that the children
are watching, the children arepaying attention and they're
(14:50):
taking notes.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
Yes, and can we say this While they're taking notes
of that, they're also takingnotes of our behavior.
Yeah, so if adults are bullying, if adults are excluding or
giving people a lack ofbelonging or calling names,
hello, even in what we want tocall, in the most innocent kind
(15:14):
of conversation whatever that iskids hear that and they're
sponges and they just take whatyou're saying and will run with
it, right?
Speaker 2 (15:24):
So, and a kid will say something just to sound like
mom, dad, uncle, aunt, friend,even if it's out of context,
they'll just say it because Iwant to sound cool like that.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Yeah, and I want to note too, corey, that you
mentioned neighborhoods, and sopart of the way our world's
changed is the unsafeneighborhoods not monitored, and
that's another conflict for me,because we've got cameras
everywhere and we're monitoringless.
There's so much more access toour children.
(15:56):
I was on um instagram and I'mseeing kids, young kids like
five, and they're doing getready with me videos putting
makeup on, doing hair and justand so they're now in a world
where they're comparing, wherebeauty is now skin deep.
(16:20):
You know what I mean?
It's just all these things.
You're seeing it?
And how do I react to this?
Because a reaction gosh.
I hope that, as as a society,for people who still have hope,
there should be a reaction.
Yeah, and in my reaction, Ijust find myself really praying
(16:41):
for the state of the world thatwe're in and and our children,
who, in all of this, are theinnocent ones yeah right, um.
So I want to talk about becausewe started off with online
spaces, corey what makes onlinespaces so tricky for us parents
to monitor.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Well, most websites.
If they have any kind ofcontent that requires you to be
of a certain age, all you haveto do is push a button.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
And that's how they said.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Well, we, we asked yeah right, right um so, or they
make you put a birth date inyes, and I think there's still
safeguards for parents to yeahon their phones like what
websites or what platforms can'tbe right, right?
um, and, but I gotta say it, youknow, there's a lot of parents
(17:34):
that just hand kids phones.
There's a lot of uh adults thatsay you know, uh, I don't know
where your phone is here, takethis, I don't know where your
tablet is, but watch it on this.
And I've seen the smallest ofof small kids navigating on
digital devices like a pro.
(17:57):
Yeah, so it's scary.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
Yeah, it is, it is.
So I wanted to circle back tosomething that came up.
Sure, let's talk about safe andsheltered and how we balance
protection with freedom, becausewe believe in freedom, right to
create, to imagine, that's play.
(18:22):
There's a freedom there, yeah,but we can be so paranoid and I
understand that we just listed abunch of things but we can be
so paranoid to where we hold onso tight and we shelter.
How do we balance that?
Speaker 2 (18:39):
Well, I say, just be involved.
The more you're involved withschool, after school programs,
sports programs, that's, theless you really have to worry.
You can't expect well, let mesay it like this you can expect
(19:00):
anything, but you can safeguarda little bit better if you're
involved.
And a lot of times when ourkids were younger, I would just
make sure I'm at practices, I'mat rehearsals, I'm at recitals,
I'm at everything that I canpossibly be at, and when I just
(19:23):
couldn't be there, I'm makingsure that you're there to
safeguard and see things throughthe way they should be seen
through.
Yes, and I'm not trusting thatanybody's gonna do what they're
supposed to do.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
I'm trusting that I'm gonna do what I'm supposed to
do yeah, and in addition tobeing very present and involved,
I just remember theconversations, the communication
and the openness you'd havewith the kids.
Oh, yeah, about friends, aboutthings that they're doing,
(19:57):
asking them questions to findout their thought process.
You weren't doing the.
Because I said so, I mean youbeautifully led through
conversation and reallyunderstanding how they're making
these decisions, what theyshould factor in right, so you
(20:18):
provided guidance instead ofjust saying here's what to do,
with no explanation.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
Yeah, I tended to be an over-communicator when it
came to the kids only because myparents were the because I said
so type of parents and althoughI listened to what they said,
because they said so, I alwayshad questions.
And so I may go and do whatthey told me to do, but come
(20:48):
back and ask questions.
It just gave me the mindsetthat when I become an adult,
when I become a parent, I'mgoing to explain so that there's
no questions in their mindsdancing around and then lack of
understanding.
Yeah, yes, now guys, I'm notsaying that I did everything
perfect or I did everythingright.
(21:09):
I think I did a pretty good job, but at the end of the day, you
have to make you secure withyour parenting.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Absolutely, absolutely.
And one thing for sure is thatI've learned through your
parenting style, corey, is wewould talk about, okay, this is
what we need to do, and youweren't lazy about it, like you
acted on it, and I want to makesure that I share this.
It is especially in a singleparent household.
(21:38):
It's tough.
It's tough to play both, andtime is of the essence.
You're tired and it is easierto just let your kid get busy on
the phone or play video games,and that one was a big one for
(21:58):
us was the gaming.
I definitely I think I createdbarriers for you to parent
effectively in those areas,because, as a parent, you know
you want to see your child happyand sometimes the things that
make our kids happy in thatmoment are not what's healthy
for them, right?
And so, yeah, it is going totake a little bit of more time,
(22:25):
more energy, to actually putcrayons in paper and create, and
just create, that space,because this is what I want to
talk about now, when you'recreating a safe space, cory.
What is a safe spacetechnically, and why does it
matter?
(22:45):
well, you say technicallytechnically, oh sorry, out
technically Like what is a safespace?
How do you?
Speaker 2 (22:53):
define that.
It's a space or a place whereand when I say place, place in
your mind, place in your home,place at school.
It's a place where your childfeels comfortable in their own
skin, their own skin.
(23:16):
It's a place where theyunderstand that no harm is going
to come to them because ofwhere they are or what they're
thinking or what they'reexperiencing.
Now, if they should openly talkabout any particular subject,
it should be up to the adultsthat are around them to guide
them into a safe space to dealwith that situation, and I know
(23:38):
that's real tough, especially inthis day and age.
But that's what it, as you said, technically should be.
And why is that important?
Because you want to.
If the child is at school, youwant to deliver that child back
home in the same condition or abetter condition than they
arrived.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
And if they're in a bad situation, then you want to
give them a better situation asthey transition to the next
place.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
Yeah, yeah, definitely, yeah, yeah,
definitely.
And what that comes to isyou're giving them a space where
trust is nurtured right,creativity is allowed.
It's a place, I also think,where they build confidence.
I love what you said, thatthey're in a better condition
(24:30):
than they were in when you gotthem Right, and I think that's
the importance of a village, aworld, a community coming
together to create these spacesfor children and where they can
learn to be resilient, because Ithink this is another topic.
You'd mentioned the wordcomfort or comfortable.
My mind goes, is comfortablethe same as safety.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
No.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
Right, there's going to be times of discomfort, but I
think to your point.
What's the guiding principle?
Is that the condition that youput them in Right?
Speaker 2 (25:08):
Right, and I've shared this before, but I want
to briefly brush over this, justso the current listener is not
sitting there saying what doesthis guy really know about all
this stuff?
Well, I have a littlebackground and I chuckle,
because this was a very big partof my life working in the
(25:30):
non-public school area.
I was a crisis counselor.
I worked in a substituteteacher capacity Now, I wasn't
teaching at the moment, but Iwas, you know, aiding the sub or
the teacher at the time.
(25:51):
Just to give you a little bitof background.
The kids had some medicalproblems, medical issues that
they were being diagnosed with,and so there was a degree of
monitoring that needed to bedone.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
And mental health issues.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
Right yeah, mental health issues, and I served as a
one-to-one, which means I hadto be within a proximity of a
child all day, every day,without question.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
And even in the bathroom I had to be at the door
just in case something were tohappen and I needed to assist
this child, and so I knew thehigh importance of safe spaces
and making sure that childrenreturned home in a better
(26:42):
condition than they arrived atschool, because a lot of times
they arrived at school in veryquestionable mindsets.
So I know a little bit aboutthis and I think that's you
being humble about it?
Speaker 1 (27:00):
Yes, and then also for those who are wondering, we
were also in youth ministry forover a decade and it ranged from
sixth graders to seniors.
It ranged from sixth graders toseniors and then we started to
get into college age for a bitthere and then couple that with
(27:22):
our own experiences and, aboveall, being parents ourselves, so
the empathy goes deep.
We very much can relate and,yeah, and we have a bunch of
stories that we could share ifthat time were ever to come and
be allowed.
So I just want to kind of gotowards the end of this episode
(27:47):
with being that.
We have now talked about ourexperiences.
Let's talk from our heartsabout how parents, how
caregivers, can create safespaces In four areas At home, in
the community, online that onewas a big one that came up and
(28:09):
then emotionally so at home, Ithink we talked about open
communication, being present,involved Routine, involved
routine, kids love routine,implement those things.
Routine is one of the bestthings you can give your kids.
And, of course, love,compassionate Grace and love as
(28:37):
they're growing up and figuringthings out.
And also on yourself.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
Yeah and just to kind of guide the conversation in
the proper direction.
We are not talking about thoseextreme situations where the
child is in a very bad place andwe're talking about how to get
them into a better space,because we're not qualified to
(29:02):
talk about that stuff.
And so just if you're listeningand you're saying well, what if
this and what if that?
We can't address that, seekprofessional help.
Absolutely Yep.
Speaker 1 (29:13):
These are more the day-to-day.
Absolutely Well, kids are, yeah, growing up.
Okay, thanks for bringing thatup.
Sure, because we can't talkabout.
There's no disclaimer, there'sno advisory on the content and
here.
We are not doing that ourselvesright right all right.
So in the community um, I hopekids are still playing outside,
(29:35):
but, like just an advocate,being an advocate for safety and
parks in your neighborhoodHopefully there's a neighborhood
watch type of thing and thengetting involved in after school
programs and using your voicein those spaces.
Sports still such an amazingway to bring kids up right
(30:00):
because they're learning teameffort, they're yeah, and able
to feel safe and comfortable yes, yes, um we.
I've been blessed to see coachesin my life and my brother's
life growing up saying thatwithout a dad, I really feel
that one particular coach, coachlouise, and I always think
about him and I wonder wherehe's at today.
(30:22):
But my brother's coach he justtook my brother in as his own
and it was beautiful and youcould trust him.
My mom made sure he wastrustworthy right, not just
because he was coach, but shewas very involved, always there
and she knew it was going downand if you know our mom, you
know beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Speaker 2 (30:42):
She made sure yes yes , and probably still is making
sure right, which is, you know,I.
Speaker 1 (30:48):
I do want to bring this up, and I'm just gonna
leave this here and we couldtalk about it later.
Mom did do that, and I thinkwhat happens, though, is that we
automatically trust peoplebecause we think we should,
right, and if you were to talkto my mom today, what she would
say is you do a check oneverybody.
(31:09):
Yes, including family.
Yes, including people that youmay go to church with.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (31:15):
Yes, okay, I'll come off that right now.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
Yeah, get off that toolbox.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
All right, so how parents can create safe spaces
online.
Speaker 2 (31:26):
Oh boy, if you want to ask me, I probably will be
too extreme because I would sayjust, you know, there's no need
for it at certain points.
Need for it at certain points,um, I'm sure that there will
come a time when you need to,but three to five, just not
(31:46):
necessary yet in my opinion.
Speaker 1 (31:47):
again, this is strictly my opinion and so if
you are a parent who's of adifferent opinion and you're
like now my, you know, now myonline is a part of the world
we're in right, and there'sactually good things that they
can learn.
I mean, we can list some thingsthat we've seen, especially on
youtube, that are great for kids, right?
So just teaching discernmentright I think is huge and like
(32:10):
you said earlier, cory, beinginvolved and being present in
the digital world and engagingwith them and then just setting
those healthy boundaries.
Speaker 2 (32:19):
Right.
Speaker 1 (32:21):
Yeah, that was a powerful word.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
And I'm open to being changed.
Yes, and I say that and I hopeyou hear me, because so many
people should be open to thechange of your opinion If you're
wrong and willing to say I waswrong about that.
So if you tell me, corey, Ithink there's a need for this
(32:48):
age group to be exposed to theWorld Wide Web because of A, b
and C and I'm wrong, I will tellyou I was wrong, I changed my
mind.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
Love that and I will vouch that that is the space
we're in um, because, you know,here we are about elevating our
everyday thoughts and elevationincludes being open to other
thoughts, other ways of doingthings.
So if you're one of the peoplethat reach out to say, oh, that
(33:18):
was a great episode, I reallyenjoyed that, or please go above
and beyond for Corey and Iright now and tell us some tips
that you've learned that createsafe spaces for children.
That's so important and we wantto share those.
This is how we start tofunction as a community and do
(33:39):
what's right for our kids.
It has to start withconversation has to core.
You said that to me earlier.
How do we start a conversationon this?
Always a starting point.
So here's the invite forconversation.
Um, have that with us, please,and we'll make sure to share it.
If you want want to be on theelevator, we'd love that too,
(34:02):
and we welcome that.
So last space to create safety,of course, is emotionally, and
I just want to say this pieceand see maybe what you think.
It's just creating familyculture.
Culture isn't just about atwork, it's there's family
(34:23):
culture in your home, wherefeelings are respected and kids
know that they're valued.
Culture has come up for me alot lately mission values,
especially in companies, and andwe forget sometimes what's the
culture like in my family?
What?
(34:43):
What are our principles?
What are we saying, are ourvalues and how am I holding true
to that and role modeling thatto my kids?
Right, yeah, do you haveanything you want to add to
emotional so much?
Speaker 2 (35:00):
jen that's another episode, that's a whole another
episode, but I will say this,just on the surface of things,
um that, emotional stability isprobably number one because,
that's what a child walks out ofthe front door with.
Every single day that they goto school, every time they go
play with their friends, thatemotional instability or
(35:22):
stability is what literallyguides them through the day, and
so if they don't have thatwalking out of the front door.
it's pretty much going to be amessy day, so we really owe that
to them to give them emotionalstability and emotional strength
(35:43):
so that they can power throughthe rest of their days.
Speaker 1 (35:47):
spaces that we're creating at home.
Prepare our children fornavigating unsafe spaces in the
world right with courage.
Yeah, what you do at home foryour kids is gonna protect them
(36:11):
and help them when they doexperience something unsafe.
So let's, let's go ahead and dothis.
After hearing today's episode,if you could just do one thing
today to create a safe space forchildren, what would it be?
What would it be?
(36:32):
I think, cory, you and I havenoodled on that question.
We've also noodled on thequestion about what's a safe
space or what's an unsafe spacethat we would like to transform
for the next generation andthat's why we've been so
passionate and hardcore aboutfuzzy furry forest, not just in
(36:54):
books but in curriculum, inpractice, in time with the
children.
So I'm going going to circleback those dates that we shared
in the beginning, so importantto us, and hopefully we've given
you a little bit more what andwhy to.
Genco, and here's my invite toyou If you are passionate about
(37:15):
these spaces for kids, I wishyou would come see us at one of
these events, just to be able tomeet you in person and to give
you some resources and just talkabout where you might get
plugged in or what this lookslike.
We love to partner withlike-minded individuals and
like-minded meaning.
(37:36):
We want to elevate the worldthat we live in.
We want to elevate the spacesthat our kids are growing up in
absolutely um good job, jane.
Speaker 2 (37:46):
I'm really happy about this episode me too.
Speaker 1 (37:50):
Me too, um, thanks for allowing us this space to
share this, uh, and I just wantto reiterate that there have
been a lot of conversations,corey, that you and I are having
.
I really feel like it's goingto be a heavy impact heavy in a
good way for our future episodeshere.
(38:10):
So please stay tuned, share us.
I don't ask my I don't reallyask for y'all to share take the
elevator with people, but I amgoing to ask it this time
because it's critical that westart having these type of
conversations and start lookingout for others and using our
(38:31):
voices.
Yeah, yeah, so you know us toTake the Elevator.
We say look up and let'selevate.
hey, it's jen the builder and la cori and hello
everyone and welcome to take theelevator why are you?
Chuckling.
Well, I emphasize welcome,because this is a second take of
this episode and I botched itright at the beginning at the
last recording.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
It wasn't that bad of a botch.
It was kind of cute actually.
You're just being sweet, asalways.
So, jen, we got lots ofannouncements good announcements
and I just want to jump intothere real quick and then we can
get out.
But we're going to be at a fewdifferent places coming up real
(00:52):
soon and I just want to tellpeople about it.
So, if you have an opportunity,you're able to show up and
support Not to mention firstannouncement YouTube.
Our YouTube channel is goinggood and strong.
We're building momentum andpicking up subscribers.
If you want to be entered intothat raffle to win a ruffles
(01:13):
plushie, make sure you subscribeand like one of the videos and
we will enter you into thatraffle how many people, would
you say, are in the rafflealready?
Speaker 1 (01:25):
uh, right now I'd say about 50, about 50 about nice,
okay, and then we've gotannouncements and I'm gonna
suggest, if anyone's interestedin this, either you play us back
or you get something to writewith, because I believe you're
(01:46):
about to just sound off somedates.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Yes, we have September 28th where we're going
to be a part of a convention.
Is that one right?
Speaker 1 (02:00):
The one that's in Corona.
Yes, yeah, so it's calledReaderCon, amazing con, amazing,
yes, and I guess it would be aconvention.
There's 66 authors that aregoing to be there yes at the
corona public library, rightyeah so we're excited about that
.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
We're going to be there with merch and books and
all this good stuff, uh,representing the fuzzy furry
forest, and jenco as well.
Jen, did you remember thesecond one?
Speaker 1 (02:27):
oh my goodness, I hear um.
I don't want to give wrongdates.
I believe it's october 13th and14th actually it's the 15th and
the 16th.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
I was close, okay, so october 15th and 16th.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
This is the convention yes this is at the
ontario convention um center andit's um.
Oh, I wasn't prepared, but youknow what?
That's okay, I'm.
Oh, here it is.
It's the 39th annual children'snetwork conference yeah and I
looked at the agenda and thisone's huge, so for the two days
(03:03):
they have different workshops ifyou are attending and paying
for registration, and I thinkit's 175 a day, not sure, but
really good stuff on children'stype of topics, right, medicare,
adhd, sex slavery in thecountry.
(03:26):
I mean it goes deep and I wish Icould attend the workshops, but
you and I are going to be thereand I'm thankful as exhibitors,
yes.
Vendors, yes, yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
So we're going to have a great time networking and
plugging into the community andseeing where we want to grow
Exactly, and I actually skippedover one of the dates to talk
about that one, but the otherone was October 11th, and that
is the Inlandia event that'sgoing to be in.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Riverside, riverside, that's the Riverside Book
Festival.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Yes, indeed In partnership with Inlandia.
Right, yes, it's just going tobe a blast, guys.
No-transcript.
(04:28):
Before I do that, I want tomake a statement that I have no
intentions on talking political.
I have no intentions onbringing up one side or another,
because, to me, the Genco SoundCompany and Fuzzy Furry Forest
(04:48):
do not lean in a politicaldirection.
We are about the safety and thesafe place for kids to play,
and I really want to make thatclear before we get started.
So, with that being said, jen,if you have anything you'd like
to add, here's your moment.
That being said, jen, if youhave anything you'd like to add,
here's your moment.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
I really like what you're bringing forward, corey,
because I'm going to be veryhonest with people who are
listening it was tragic news and, honestly, corey, you and I are
in conversation and justsorting everything out, so we
didn't want to use this platformto talk out things that we're
(05:30):
currently experiencing thataren't clear, but one thing we
do stand firm on is that wedon't take political sides and
we're very clear on our missionand, as Corey stated, it's to
create and have safe spaces forour kids to play, and I really
(05:53):
want to elaborate on that inthis episode because, out of
everything that's happened,there have been so many
takeaways, and this one we standfirm on is that safe space for
kids to play, and every word inour mission statement is so
intentional.
And so during this time, cory,you and I have been watching
(06:16):
things and looking for certainthings, and information and
video have come up that weweren't necessarily looking for
or really wanting to see at allno, not at all.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
And uh, with you bringing that up, jen, it just
prompts me to dive really deepand hard and fast into.
Can we just start reallythinking about how to protect
our children and if you don'twant me to claim all of the
children, can we protect yourchildren?
(06:52):
Can we protect their children?
Can we protect children of theworld?
These are innocent human beingsthat have no clue of what's
going on and, yes, they willeventually grow up and begin to
understand that adults havetheir differences and adults
(07:13):
think differently than they do,but right now, they don't get
none of that, and so I justreally want to stand firm on we
got to protect these childrenand make sure that they're safe
and they have a safe place toplay and a safe place to think,
a safe place to exist, to grow,to grow.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Yeah, you know, corey , when you were a child, what
did safe space mean to you?
Where did you find that youwere a child?
What did safe space mean to you?
Speaker 2 (07:45):
Where did you find that?
What it was for me was, youknow, I did talk about the
bullying.
It was a little bit of abullying situation, probably
(08:10):
more than a little bit another.
Um, I found a very nice safespace where the neighborhood
kids were just neighborhood kidsoutside playing street football
and basketball and, um, Ididn't play a whole lot because
I was very into music and andwriting and books and stuff like
that, even as a kid.
But when I did play, um, itjust was not a place where I was
fearful.
I, I mean, I never thoughtabout oh, I just gotta say it
(08:34):
death.
I never thought about, you know, people bringing that to a
space where, as a kid, you know,course, as we got to be
teenagers, things changed a bitmore.
But I'm talking about the youngkids, though, not the teenagers
and the young adults.
Of course, life changes as youget older.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
Yeah, yeah.
So I think another question thatcomes to mind, too, is adults
moms, dads who are listening,caregivers do you remember time
when you didn't feel safegrowing up and then asking
yourself how did that shape you?
And I don't want to go deepinto my childhood again, right,
um, but if you can remember atime when you weren't safe and
(09:19):
think about how that shaped youinto adulthood, and knowing that
you have the power to preventthat from happening to your
children, I think is huge.
Another question that comes tomy mind is how do we Corey this
is for you and I to talk aboutright now, I think is how do we
(09:41):
think society has changed interms of safety for kids
compared to when we're younger?
And what blows my mind is thatsafety was not a word that we,
that was used so much when wewere younger, but, my gosh, it
is a huge word now.
Right, safe spaces,psychological safety, and it's
(10:06):
quite contradicting the emphasison it now, and maybe there's an
emphasis because it isn't safeto how it was before.
So how has society changed?
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Well, the biggest change that I can just say
without a hesitation is theworld wide web.
That's number one for sure.
Social media is, uh, bonkers,bananas, it's out of control.
Um, I've seen some stuff Ididn't want to see, uh, as of
last week, and I know that ifit's on my phone and I have some
(10:43):
pretty good safeguards that youknow, just because I don't want
to see certain things, I don't,I don't, I don't get down in
certain things, but uh, I'm surethat these things are leaking
on everyone's phone sure, yeah,we went to a very famous
platform.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
Um, and what's that term, cory, when they say scroll
the death scroll?
Yes, and it was very literalyeah over this weekend and I
just remember you and I weretalking about that and I said,
like you don't even get awarning, you don't even get,
like what you're about to see isthis, um, and it doesn't have
(11:24):
the advisory, it doesn't haveany of that stuff.
When you and I were younger,corey, you had to buy DVDs if
you wanted to see that kind ofstuff and it was called Faces of
Death.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Now kids can just be scrolling and we're adults and
it's difficult and impossible todigest, yeah, and it's
difficult and impossible todigest, yeah.
And then you know being exposedto just other different things,
right, if we're talking digital, yes, social media, I think, is
number one.
(11:55):
And then you think about gamingand the kind of games that kids
are playing.
Speaking of social media,online predators right, the
World Wide Web has introducedthat accessibility to our
children.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
And so we can kind of lead you in a certain direction
of where we're going is becausewe're book authors children's
book authors, and because wespend a good amount of time with
kids and talking to them andreading to them.
It's important to know thatwhen they get a chance to ask
(12:38):
questions, they're really,really quick to ask the question
that they don't feelcomfortable asking people that
they're with on a regular basis.
So we may hear some of thesequestions.
We may be in the room whenthese conversations go down.
So this is why it's importantto us, because we really want to
make sure that as much aspossible.
(12:59):
I know there's going to besomething that slips through the
cracks at some point in time,but never on this level, where
you're seeing someone losingtheir life uh, it's.
It's just not a way for a childto experience that, um, at that
age right, right, and we werealso talking about news.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Yeah, Okay, let's just even go back to before
World Wide Web, and it was TVnews.
The world society had enoughsense to play the rated G
version of news during primetime and because it was during
late hours that more than likelyit was adults watching.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
Right.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
That's when they exposed more information on the
news and it was still late hoursthat more than likely it was
adults watching right?
That's when they exposed moreinformation on the news and it
was still censored yes, we.
It feels like we had the mindsetto protect the children right.
We're going to talk aboutprotection a little bit, and if
you hear excitement in my voice,it's because I'm very excited
and passionate about this um,and I'm so.
(14:07):
I think, first and foremost,what are we doing right now on
this episode?
We are bringing awareness yesto the things in our world that
make it no longer safe for kidsto play, yeah, and to grow and
to thrive right and just to beclear.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
We see the people online arguing back and forth
and presenting what their sideor their facts may be.
We see disagreements and fightsbreaking out amongst people,
but the thing we've got toremember is that the children
are watching, the children arepaying attention and they're
(14:50):
taking notes.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
Yes, and can we say this While they're taking notes
of that, they're also takingnotes of our behavior.
Yeah, so if adults are bullying, if adults are excluding or
giving people a lack ofbelonging or calling names,
hello, even in what we want tocall, in the most innocent kind
(15:14):
of conversation whatever that iskids hear that and they're
sponges and they just take whatyou're saying and will run with
it, right?
Speaker 2 (15:24):
So, and a kid will say something just to sound like
mom, dad, uncle, aunt, friend,even if it's out of context,
they'll just say it because Iwant to sound cool like that.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Yeah, and I want to note too, corey, that you
mentioned neighborhoods, and sopart of the way our world's
changed is the unsafeneighborhoods not monitored, and
that's another conflict for me,because we've got cameras
everywhere and we're monitoringless.
There's so much more access toour children.
(15:56):
I was on um instagram and I'mseeing kids, young kids like
five, and they're doing getready with me videos putting
makeup on, doing hair and justand so they're now in a world
where they're comparing, wherebeauty is now skin deep.
(16:20):
You know what I mean?
It's just all these things.
You're seeing it?
And how do I react to this?
Because a reaction gosh.
I hope that, as as a society,for people who still have hope,
there should be a reaction.
Yeah, and in my reaction, Ijust find myself really praying
(16:41):
for the state of the world thatwe're in and and our children,
who, in all of this, are theinnocent ones yeah right, um.
So I want to talk about becausewe started off with online
spaces, corey what makes onlinespaces so tricky for us parents
to monitor.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Well, most websites.
If they have any kind ofcontent that requires you to be
of a certain age, all you haveto do is push a button.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
And that's how they said.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Well, we, we asked yeah right, right um so, or they
make you put a birth date inyes, and I think there's still
safeguards for parents to yeahon their phones like what
websites or what platforms can'tbe right, right?
um, and, but I gotta say it, youknow, there's a lot of parents
(17:34):
that just hand kids phones.
There's a lot of uh adults thatsay you know, uh, I don't know
where your phone is here, takethis, I don't know where your
tablet is, but watch it on this.
And I've seen the smallest ofof small kids navigating on
digital devices like a pro.
(17:57):
Yeah, so it's scary.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
Yeah, it is, it is.
So I wanted to circle back tosomething that came up.
Sure, let's talk about safe andsheltered and how we balance
protection with freedom, becausewe believe in freedom, right to
create, to imagine, that's play.
(18:22):
There's a freedom there, yeah,but we can be so paranoid and I
understand that we just listed abunch of things but we can be
so paranoid to where we hold onso tight and we shelter.
How do we balance that?
Speaker 2 (18:39):
Well, I say, just be involved.
The more you're involved withschool, after school programs,
sports programs, that's, theless you really have to worry.
You can't expect well, let mesay it like this you can expect
(19:00):
anything, but you can safeguarda little bit better if you're
involved.
And a lot of times when ourkids were younger, I would just
make sure I'm at practices, I'mat rehearsals, I'm at recitals,
I'm at everything that I canpossibly be at, and when I just
(19:23):
couldn't be there, I'm makingsure that you're there to
safeguard and see things throughthe way they should be seen
through.
Yes, and I'm not trusting thatanybody's gonna do what they're
supposed to do.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
I'm trusting that I'm gonna do what I'm supposed to
do yeah, and in addition tobeing very present and involved,
I just remember theconversations, the communication
and the openness you'd havewith the kids.
Oh, yeah, about friends, aboutthings that they're doing,
(19:57):
asking them questions to findout their thought process.
You weren't doing the.
Because I said so, I mean youbeautifully led through
conversation and reallyunderstanding how they're making
these decisions, what theyshould factor in right, so you
(20:18):
provided guidance instead ofjust saying here's what to do,
with no explanation.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
Yeah, I tended to be an over-communicator when it
came to the kids only because myparents were the because I said
so type of parents and althoughI listened to what they said,
because they said so, I alwayshad questions.
And so I may go and do whatthey told me to do, but come
(20:48):
back and ask questions.
It just gave me the mindsetthat when I become an adult,
when I become a parent, I'mgoing to explain so that there's
no questions in their mindsdancing around and then lack of
understanding.
Yeah, yes, now guys, I'm notsaying that I did everything
perfect or I did everythingright.
(21:09):
I think I did a pretty good job, but at the end of the day, you
have to make you secure withyour parenting.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Absolutely, absolutely.
And one thing for sure is thatI've learned through your
parenting style, corey, is wewould talk about, okay, this is
what we need to do, and youweren't lazy about it, like you
acted on it, and I want to makesure that I share this.
It is especially in a singleparent household.
(21:38):
It's tough.
It's tough to play both, andtime is of the essence.
You're tired and it is easierto just let your kid get busy on
the phone or play video games,and that one was a big one for
(21:58):
us was the gaming.
I definitely I think I createdbarriers for you to parent
effectively in those areas,because, as a parent, you know
you want to see your child happyand sometimes the things that
make our kids happy in thatmoment are not what's healthy
for them, right?
And so, yeah, it is going totake a little bit of more time,
(22:25):
more energy, to actually putcrayons in paper and create, and
just create, that space,because this is what I want to
talk about now, when you'recreating a safe space, cory.
What is a safe spacetechnically, and why does it
matter?
(22:45):
well, you say technicallytechnically, oh sorry, out
technically Like what is a safespace?
How do you?
Speaker 2 (22:53):
define that.
It's a space or a place whereand when I say place, place in
your mind, place in your home,place at school.
It's a place where your childfeels comfortable in their own
skin, their own skin.
(23:16):
It's a place where theyunderstand that no harm is going
to come to them because ofwhere they are or what they're
thinking or what they'reexperiencing.
Now, if they should openly talkabout any particular subject,
it should be up to the adultsthat are around them to guide
them into a safe space to dealwith that situation, and I know
(23:38):
that's real tough, especially inthis day and age.
But that's what it, as you said, technically should be.
And why is that important?
Because you want to.
If the child is at school, youwant to deliver that child back
home in the same condition or abetter condition than they
arrived.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
And if they're in a bad situation, then you want to
give them a better situation asthey transition to the next
place.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
Yeah, yeah, definitely, yeah, yeah,
definitely.
And what that comes to isyou're giving them a space where
trust is nurtured right,creativity is allowed.
It's a place, I also think,where they build confidence.
I love what you said, thatthey're in a better condition
(24:30):
than they were in when you gotthem Right, and I think that's
the importance of a village, aworld, a community coming
together to create these spacesfor children and where they can
learn to be resilient, because Ithink this is another topic.
You'd mentioned the wordcomfort or comfortable.
My mind goes, is comfortablethe same as safety.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
No.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
Right, there's going to be times of discomfort, but I
think to your point.
What's the guiding principle?
Is that the condition that youput them in Right?
Speaker 2 (25:08):
Right, and I've shared this before, but I want
to briefly brush over this, justso the current listener is not
sitting there saying what doesthis guy really know about all
this stuff?
Well, I have a littlebackground and I chuckle,
because this was a very big partof my life working in the
(25:30):
non-public school area.
I was a crisis counselor.
I worked in a substituteteacher capacity Now, I wasn't
teaching at the moment, but Iwas, you know, aiding the sub or
the teacher at the time.
(25:51):
Just to give you a little bitof background.
The kids had some medicalproblems, medical issues that
they were being diagnosed with,and so there was a degree of
monitoring that needed to bedone.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
And mental health issues.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
Right yeah, mental health issues, and I served as a
one-to-one, which means I hadto be within a proximity of a
child all day, every day,without question.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
And even in the bathroom I had to be at the door
just in case something were tohappen and I needed to assist
this child, and so I knew thehigh importance of safe spaces
and making sure that childrenreturned home in a better
(26:42):
condition than they arrived atschool, because a lot of times
they arrived at school in veryquestionable mindsets.
So I know a little bit aboutthis and I think that's you
being humble about it?
Speaker 1 (27:00):
Yes, and then also for those who are wondering, we
were also in youth ministry forover a decade and it ranged from
sixth graders to seniors.
It ranged from sixth graders toseniors and then we started to
get into college age for a bitthere and then couple that with
(27:22):
our own experiences and, aboveall, being parents ourselves, so
the empathy goes deep.
We very much can relate and,yeah, and we have a bunch of
stories that we could share ifthat time were ever to come and
be allowed.
So I just want to kind of gotowards the end of this episode
(27:47):
with being that.
We have now talked about ourexperiences.
Let's talk from our heartsabout how parents, how
caregivers, can create safespaces In four areas At home, in
the community, online that onewas a big one that came up and
(28:09):
then emotionally so at home, Ithink we talked about open
communication, being present,involved Routine, involved
routine, kids love routine,implement those things.
Routine is one of the bestthings you can give your kids.
And, of course, love,compassionate Grace and love as
(28:37):
they're growing up and figuringthings out.
And also on yourself.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
Yeah and just to kind of guide the conversation in
the proper direction.
We are not talking about thoseextreme situations where the
child is in a very bad place andwe're talking about how to get
them into a better space,because we're not qualified to
(29:02):
talk about that stuff.
And so just if you're listeningand you're saying well, what if
this and what if that?
We can't address that, seekprofessional help.
Absolutely Yep.
Speaker 1 (29:13):
These are more the day-to-day.
Absolutely Well, kids are, yeah, growing up.
Okay, thanks for bringing thatup.
Sure, because we can't talkabout.
There's no disclaimer, there'sno advisory on the content and
here.
We are not doing that ourselvesright right all right.
So in the community um, I hopekids are still playing outside,
(29:35):
but, like just an advocate,being an advocate for safety and
parks in your neighborhoodHopefully there's a neighborhood
watch type of thing and thengetting involved in after school
programs and using your voicein those spaces.
Sports still such an amazingway to bring kids up right
(30:00):
because they're learning teameffort, they're yeah, and able
to feel safe and comfortable yes, yes, um we.
I've been blessed to see coachesin my life and my brother's
life growing up saying thatwithout a dad, I really feel
that one particular coach, coachlouise, and I always think
about him and I wonder wherehe's at today.
(30:22):
But my brother's coach he justtook my brother in as his own
and it was beautiful and youcould trust him.
My mom made sure he wastrustworthy right, not just
because he was coach, but shewas very involved, always there
and she knew it was going downand if you know our mom, you
know beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Speaker 2 (30:42):
She made sure yes yes , and probably still is making
sure right, which is, you know,I.
Speaker 1 (30:48):
I do want to bring this up, and I'm just gonna
leave this here and we couldtalk about it later.
Mom did do that, and I thinkwhat happens, though, is that we
automatically trust peoplebecause we think we should,
right, and if you were to talkto my mom today, what she would
say is you do a check oneverybody.
(31:09):
Yes, including family.
Yes, including people that youmay go to church with.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (31:15):
Yes, okay, I'll come off that right now.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
Yeah, get off that toolbox.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
All right, so how parents can create safe spaces
online.
Speaker 2 (31:26):
Oh boy, if you want to ask me, I probably will be
too extreme because I would sayjust, you know, there's no need
for it at certain points.
Need for it at certain points,um, I'm sure that there will
come a time when you need to,but three to five, just not
(31:46):
necessary yet in my opinion.
Speaker 1 (31:47):
again, this is strictly my opinion and so if
you are a parent who's of adifferent opinion and you're
like now my, you know, now myonline is a part of the world
we're in right, and there'sactually good things that they
can learn.
I mean, we can list some thingsthat we've seen, especially on
youtube, that are great for kids, right?
So just teaching discernmentright I think is huge and like
(32:10):
you said earlier, cory, beinginvolved and being present in
the digital world and engagingwith them and then just setting
those healthy boundaries.
Speaker 2 (32:19):
Right.
Speaker 1 (32:21):
Yeah, that was a powerful word.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
And I'm open to being changed.
Yes, and I say that and I hopeyou hear me, because so many
people should be open to thechange of your opinion If you're
wrong and willing to say I waswrong about that.
So if you tell me, corey, Ithink there's a need for this
(32:48):
age group to be exposed to theWorld Wide Web because of A, b
and C and I'm wrong, I will tellyou I was wrong, I changed my
mind.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
Love that and I will vouch that that is the space
we're in um, because, you know,here we are about elevating our
everyday thoughts and elevationincludes being open to other
thoughts, other ways of doingthings.
So if you're one of the peoplethat reach out to say, oh, that
(33:18):
was a great episode, I reallyenjoyed that, or please go above
and beyond for Corey and Iright now and tell us some tips
that you've learned that createsafe spaces for children.
That's so important and we wantto share those.
This is how we start tofunction as a community and do
(33:39):
what's right for our kids.
It has to start withconversation has to core.
You said that to me earlier.
How do we start a conversationon this?
Always a starting point.
So here's the invite forconversation.
Um, have that with us, please,and we'll make sure to share it.
If you want want to be on theelevator, we'd love that too,
(34:02):
and we welcome that.
So last space to create safety,of course, is emotionally, and
I just want to say this pieceand see maybe what you think.
It's just creating familyculture.
Culture isn't just about atwork, it's there's family
(34:23):
culture in your home, wherefeelings are respected and kids
know that they're valued.
Culture has come up for me alot lately mission values,
especially in companies, and andwe forget sometimes what's the
culture like in my family?
What?
(34:43):
What are our principles?
What are we saying, are ourvalues and how am I holding true
to that and role modeling thatto my kids?
Right, yeah, do you haveanything you want to add to
emotional so much?
Speaker 2 (35:00):
jen that's another episode, that's a whole another
episode, but I will say this,just on the surface of things,
um that, emotional stability isprobably number one because,
that's what a child walks out ofthe front door with.
Every single day that they goto school, every time they go
play with their friends, thatemotional instability or
(35:22):
stability is what literallyguides them through the day, and
so if they don't have thatwalking out of the front door.
it's pretty much going to be amessy day, so we really owe that
to them to give them emotionalstability and emotional strength
(35:43):
so that they can power throughthe rest of their days.
Speaker 1 (35:47):
spaces that we're creating at home.
Prepare our children fornavigating unsafe spaces in the
world right with courage.
Yeah, what you do at home foryour kids is gonna protect them
(36:11):
and help them when they doexperience something unsafe.
So let's, let's go ahead and dothis.
After hearing today's episode,if you could just do one thing
today to create a safe space forchildren, what would it be?
What would it be?
(36:32):
I think, cory, you and I havenoodled on that question.
We've also noodled on thequestion about what's a safe
space or what's an unsafe spacethat we would like to transform
for the next generation andthat's why we've been so
passionate and hardcore aboutfuzzy furry forest, not just in
(36:54):
books but in curriculum, inpractice, in time with the
children.
So I'm going going to circleback those dates that we shared
in the beginning, so importantto us, and hopefully we've given
you a little bit more what andwhy to.
Genco, and here's my invite toyou If you are passionate about
(37:15):
these spaces for kids, I wishyou would come see us at one of
these events, just to be able tomeet you in person and to give
you some resources and just talkabout where you might get
plugged in or what this lookslike.
We love to partner withlike-minded individuals and
like-minded meaning.
(37:36):
We want to elevate the worldthat we live in.
We want to elevate the spacesthat our kids are growing up in
absolutely um good job, jane.
Speaker 2 (37:46):
I'm really happy about this episode me too.
Speaker 1 (37:50):
Me too, um, thanks for allowing us this space to
share this, uh, and I just wantto reiterate that there have
been a lot of conversations,corey, that you and I are having
.
I really feel like it's goingto be a heavy impact heavy in a
good way for our future episodeshere.
(38:10):
So please stay tuned, share us.
I don't ask my I don't reallyask for y'all to share take the
elevator with people, but I amgoing to ask it this time
because it's critical that westart having these type of
conversations and start lookingout for others and using our
(38:31):
voices.
Yeah, yeah, so you know us toTake the Elevator.
We say look up and let'selevate.
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