Welcoming Girls from All Families

By Tinker Bell2007

Family Mix Up Was your first guess of who you

were right? Was it easy to figure out who you

were with only yes or no questions? Were the questions others asked

you easy to answer in yes or no? How does this relate to how we talk

to girls about their families?

Families Come in All Shapes and Sizes

It is important to remember that not all girls come from families

That live together That have one mom and one dad That are supportive environments That are biologically related That have siblings That have extended families

How Can You Be Supportive? Allow girls to use their own

language for their family members Offer open ended questions about

families, instead of asking about specific members

Encourage girls to tell their own stories about their families

How Does a Space Become Unsupportive?

Through Overt and Intentional actions and words obviously intended to harm

Through Overt and Unintentional actions and words obviously harmful, but not intended as such

Through Covert and Intentional actions and words intended to be quietly harmful to one girl, or group of girls

Through Covert and Unintentional actions and words that many don’t recognize as harmful and were not meant as such

How does this happen in units?

Overt and Intentional – “I don’t want to hang out with you because you’re a foster kid. You don’t have a REAL family.”

Overt and Unintentional – “The real parents of kids who are adopted just didn’t want them.”

Covert and Intentional – “I already have a buddy, and so does she.”

Covert and Unintentional – “But you seem so normal, what do you mean don’t you have a dad?”

How can we use covert and overt

methods of action to make girls feel

supported at camp?

What are other issues that might arise that could

benefit from covert and overt

intervention?