The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
Being an advocate for body safety and consent education comes with its own challenges. It is a sensitive subject and there is a huge amount of misunderstanding and misconception around it, with many fearing that their children may be too young, or that it will rob their children of their innocence in some way. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Consent and body safety education should always be age-appropriate and non-threatening, and not only empowers children with the knowledge and skills to help reduce the risk of them becoming victims of child sexual abuse by up to 90%, but also helps them to recognize and form healthy relationships as they grow into teenagers and then adults. I am pleased with how people have responded to the educational resources I’ve produced on social media and am thrilled that more children and their families will be empowered by this new knowledge and will help to make the world a safer place for our children.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
It is wonderful to be able to work to my schedule and be as flexible as I need to be, but I also feel the pressure of making all the decisions and being solely responsible for its successes and failures. I have had to push myself way out of my comfort zone and have learnt quickly that I won’t get anywhere unless I try certain things accepting that some will not be successful. As someone who has spent most of their life trying to avoid failure, I am immensely proud of myself for really using this business venture to develop my own growth mindset and build my own resilience. Owning a business which focuses on the wellbeing of children, gives me no choice but to look inside myself too and identify areas of my own mental wellbeing that need work.
Setting up Our Mindful Children completely on my own has been a massive learning curve. Having done everything myself, I have spent weeks watching online tutorials about website design, online marketing, stock management and a whole host of other e-commerce topics. It has been really rewarding doing everything myself, but there are days when it would be nice to have a team around me.
Hopes and dreams: What next?
I would love to expand the education I provide around consent and body safety education. I’m hoping in the future to be able to take the education into schools and the wider community running sessions for parents and educators on how to educate their children in these crucial topics.
Visit the Our Mindful Children website to find out more, and follow them on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
