Danielle RalstonFounder, How Capacity Works · Founder of ND Hive | Building the productivity hub where work actually gets done | Execution spaces, body doubling & community accountability

Safe spaces start at home.

20 Aug 2025 · 2 min

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Parents can help children build emotional resilience by asking why they avoid certain activities, then offering alternatives that practice the same skill in a safe space. Gradually introducing sensory challenges at home teaches kids coping strategies they'll need in less accommodating settings.

Be curious.
Ask, because I will tell you that even some of my 5-year-old kids that I've worked with, and my son when he was that little, would tell you why he doesn't want to do XYZ. Kids know. I don't like how that paper feels. I won't work with that. And you want to know what the paper was? They were working with that foam, the foam stickers, and he didn't like the feel of them, wouldn't touch them. So give him something else to do because he doesn't have to do your— there are way, a lot of other ways to do that same skill. And I'm talking at the kindergarten level. Why don't you like that? Ask. Just ask the question. Maybe they can't express it and they might not know. Yeah, but then you might make them think and they may tell you later or the next time.
Yes. I'm not saying push them super, super hard, but oh my gosh, you can challenge them mentally, even challenge their sensory issues.
And yes, right now it might gonna be trigger some RSD and stuff in this moment, but if they don't try to touch the glue, if they don't try to touch the sticky thing that they may not necessarily like, They're never going to know when they can touch something that they might like. Well, they're never gonna know how to recover from that. Right. Start teaching them.
Especially when they're with you and they're with their home safe space. That is the best time to challenge them. Wherever it is, but make— but challenge them with you first so that when they go out into the world and the world might not be as accommodating as with you, they're able to either process those emotions internally or maybe have those emotions with someone else, but be able to get over it.