What can we do? It seems so complicated and tangled and the finger-pointing is going around and around, so the problem is revolving instead of resolving.
There are 4 conversations that need to be had and the best place to start is in your living room. In this episode, I dive into each conversation and what that means.
This is NOT a political debate. This is NOT a policy debate. This is NOT about blame or shame.
This is about all of us agreeing that this is not ok and finding solutions.
*WARNING- This podcast does discuss school shootings.
About the Host:
Nellie Harden is a wife of 20+ years, mom to 4 teen/tween daughters, dreamer, adventurer, servant, multipreneur, forever student, and a devoted teacher, but her ride-or-die passion is her work as a Family Life Coach & Mentor.
Coming from a career background in marine mammal sciences, behavioral work, and a host of big life experiences, both great and not some not so great, she decided that designing a life of purpose and freedom was how she and her husband, along with their 4 daughters, wanted to live.
Her work and passions exist in the realms of family and parent mentorship because she believes that a family filled with creativity, fun, laughter, challenge, adventure, problem-solving, hugs, good food, and learning can not only change a person’s life but is the best chance at positively changing the world.
She helps families build Self-Led Discipline™ & Leadership Into their homes, sets their children up for a wildly successful life on their terms, and elevates the family experience with big joy, palpable peace, and everyday growth!
With a lifelong passion and curiosity in thought, choice, behavior, and growth she has found incredible joy in helping families shift perspective, find answers, and a path forward.
(Nellie has been coaching families for over 10 years and has degrees in Biology, Animal Behavior and Psychology. )
LINKS:
Family Success Vault- https://www.nellieharden.com/vault
Website- https://www.nellieharden.com
Online Community- https://www.facebook.com/groups/the6570project
Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/nellieharden/
Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/nellie.harden/
Thanks for listening!
Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.
Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!
Subscribe to the podcast
If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.
Leave us an Apple Podcasts review
Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.
Hello and welcome to the 6570 family project
Nellie Harden:podcast. If you are a parent of a tween teen or somewhere on the
Nellie Harden:way, this is exactly the place for you. This is the playground
Nellie Harden:for parents who want to raise their kids with intention,
Nellie Harden:strength and joy. Come and hear all the discussions, get all the
Nellie Harden:tactics and have lots of laughs along the way. We will dive into
Nellie Harden:the real challenges and raising kids today how to show up as
Nellie Harden:parents and teach your kids how to show up as members of the
Nellie Harden:family and individuals of the world. My name is Nellie Hardin,
Nellie Harden:big city girl turns small towns sipping iced tea on the front
Nellie Harden:porch mama, who loves igniting transformation in the hearts and
Nellie Harden:minds of families by helping them build selfless discipline
Nellie Harden:and leadership that elevates the family experience. And sets the
Nellie Harden:kids up with a rock solid foundation, they can launch
Nellie Harden:their life on all before they ever leave home. This is the
Nellie Harden:6570 family project. Let's go Hi, everyone. Welcome to the
Nellie Harden:6570 family project podcast. In this podcast, we are normally
Nellie Harden:putting aside the power struggles and and finding paths
Nellie Harden:forward especially for our young women today in the second half
Nellie Harden:of childhood, as parents so that we can help them walk toward
Nellie Harden:that confidence, respect and wisdom mental wellness that they
Nellie Harden:need in order to prepare them for the world. But today in the
Nellie Harden:wake of everything that's been happening here in the US, and
Nellie Harden:what has shaken the US and around the world. Today, I want
Nellie Harden:to talk all about what we can do with our kids. How can we help
Nellie Harden:have another conversation with our kids? How can we face them
Nellie Harden:again, and say this has happened again, but still help them know
Nellie Harden:that they are safe, right? In a world that is obviously not and
Nellie Harden:that unexpected can come. And this is a really tough time I'm
Nellie Harden:going to take my time in doing this podcast today. I myself
Nellie Harden:have had a huge emotional week, which then I have guilt over
Nellie Harden:saying you have you know, no right to have emotions when you
Nellie Harden:know people are really, really hurt out there. I might cry.
Nellie Harden:I've been crying all week. But that's okay, we this is a hard
Nellie Harden:time it's a hard subject. And I think the more real that we can
Nellie Harden:be with each other, the more real we can be with our families
Nellie Harden:and our kids about it, the better we can become right? So
Nellie Harden:we if you can't make sense out of this, there is no sense in a
Nellie Harden:senseless act like this right? What we have to focus on, when
Nellie Harden:anything senseless happens in our lives, whether you are a
Nellie Harden:direct hit or you know, you are just auxilary hit on the side,
Nellie Harden:right? You have to focus on what you can do to positively affect
Nellie Harden:you and those around you in the situation. And in order to move
Nellie Harden:forward do the next right thing, right? To steal a line out of
Nellie Harden:frozen two right there on a has that song. And that song is
Nellie Harden:really powerful. Actually, I refer to it a lot. Just do the
Nellie Harden:next right thing takes take the next step and do the next right
Nellie Harden:thing through the heart. Right. Anyway, so there are so many
Nellie Harden:victims here, right, the more stories that have been coming
Nellie Harden:out and unfolding, the more lives that we see have been
Nellie Harden:changed. Some lives are forever gone. And that is tragic. Some
Nellie Harden:are shattered, some have incredibly steep mountains that
Nellie Harden:have now been put in the way of their life, that they are going
Nellie Harden:to have to do the hard hard work of getting past. Some are
Nellie Harden:changed with guilt that is so powerful than I worry about
Nellie Harden:them. Some are so changed with anger that it will take a long
Nellie Harden:road of healing, some with frustrations, desperation,
Nellie Harden:sadness, disbelief, you name it. We've all felt the reverberating
Nellie Harden:effects of what happened here, just like we have all the times
Nellie Harden:before. So the first school, I mean, there's been mass
Nellie Harden:shootings in so many different places, right, but the first
Nellie Harden:school mass shooting that I could really find on record was
Nellie Harden:in 1998. And then of course, Columbine, was a year later and
Nellie Harden:the first one
Nellie Harden:In Thurston high school, I believe it something like that.
Nellie Harden:But the point is, it was a child, right? In most of these
Nellie Harden:cases, this is a child, or someone that is just coming out
Nellie Harden:of childhood. And they still are mentally a child I talk a lot
Nellie Harden:about just because they turn 18 does not mean they're an adult,
Nellie Harden:right? Just because they turn 18 and have the adult title does
Nellie Harden:not make them an adult person. Right. And so these are children
Nellie Harden:that are obviously missing so much that are turning around,
Nellie Harden:because, and hurting other children. And it's not always
Nellie Harden:the case, but most of the time, it is kids hurting kids, right,
Nellie Harden:that first one was a 15 year old, that killed his parents and
Nellie Harden:then went to school and killed some students at school, right.
Nellie Harden:Columbine happened, you guys, there's been 350. You know, now
Nellie Harden:that I'm saying this out loud, I too want to say this is what
Nellie Harden:we're going to be talking about today. So if you do have, and I
Nellie Harden:apologize for not saying it sooner, but if you do have kids
Nellie Harden:in the car, and this is a conversation you want to have
Nellie Harden:just with them later on, feel free to pause this and come back
Nellie Harden:to it when it's just your yours or listen to it as a family that
Nellie Harden:is up to you and how you communicate with your family.
Nellie Harden:But we are going to be talking about these hard subjects today.
Nellie Harden:So there's been 300 over 350 school shootings since 1998.
Nellie Harden:That is more than one a month. This is 2022. On average we have
Nellie Harden:had when you space it out more than one a month of school
Nellie Harden:shootings. So when these things keep coming up over and over and
Nellie Harden:over. How do we still help our kids know that it's okay. And
Nellie Harden:that we're going to go on? And that tomorrow isn't going to be
Nellie Harden:a tragedy for us? We pray? Right.
Nellie Harden:So again, we have to talk about the things that we can do
Nellie Harden:something about. So we're going to go through four conversations
Nellie Harden:today. And these four conversations are conversations
Nellie Harden:that need to be happening. And they cannot can not be finger
Nellie Harden:pointed and go around in a circle. I mean, you you think I
Nellie Harden:have four kids, right? So I think of my four kids sitting
Nellie Harden:down in a circle, or I guess it would be more of a square if
Nellie Harden:they're sitting down, right. But anyway, and one is just finger
Nellie Harden:pointing at the other and finger pointing at the other end. It
Nellie Harden:just goes around what happens you guys. It just revolves. It
Nellie Harden:keeps going around whatever's happening keeps happening. And
Nellie Harden:everyone is just blaming everyone else. No one is
Nellie Harden:standing in their accountability and saying, Okay, this is what
Nellie Harden:we can do. This is what I can do in my area, this what you could
Nellie Harden:do in your area, right, this is what I could do in my area, all
Nellie Harden:of that, but standing still in your accountability. I think I
Nellie Harden:hope I pray that everyone in this nation, everyone in this
Nellie Harden:world can agree that this what happened last week in Uvalde,
Nellie Harden:Texas, where an 18 year old, walks into a school and has a
Nellie Harden:gun and kills 19 Kids and two teachers, and then the
Nellie Harden:subsequent passing of one of those teachers, husbands, right.
Nellie Harden:I hope and pray and I think that no one in the world thinks that
Nellie Harden:is okay. No one in the world would agree and shrug their
Nellie Harden:shoulders and say, yep, that's life. Right? I think we can all
Nellie Harden:get on the same page about that. I think we can all get on the
Nellie Harden:same page that what happened is not okay. And there were things
Nellie Harden:that led up to that, which means in these four conversations
Nellie Harden:we're going to talk about today, everyone can take accountability
Nellie Harden:in them. Okay. Think about like a Venn diagram style, right?
Nellie Harden:With these four circles, and there's going to be this middle
Nellie Harden:area where they all overlap. And that's where we need to be but
Nellie Harden:in order to get there, everyone needs to stand in
Nellie Harden:accountability. Okay. Now, this is not going to be a pill
Nellie Harden:political, I am not playing sides of the aisle so to speak,
Nellie Harden:or what have you. That is not who I am. And everyone has a
Nellie Harden:right to their own opinions, but these four conversations have to
Nellie Harden:be being had and accountability has to be in them. Okay, guys.
Nellie Harden:So let's start with the first one, which is mental health.
Nellie Harden:Okay. I've heard this week. This one being finger pointed to a
Nellie Harden:lot. Well, he was disturbed. Well, he had that right. Okay.
Nellie Harden:So he had mental health issues. And obviously, obviously, right.
Nellie Harden:So what When we do hear, and I'm talking about what can you do in
Nellie Harden:your living room? What can you do in your dining room right
Nellie Harden:now? That's what today is about? How are we going to move forward
Nellie Harden:with our kids, even though this is happening? So it's having
Nellie Harden:conversations. Okay, it sounds so, so simple, but it's
Nellie Harden:something that is not done nearly enough. Having
Nellie Harden:conversations, the worst thing that can happen is that we as a
Nellie Harden:nation, and as a world, especially as a nation, because
Nellie Harden:let's face it, there isn't other nations that really go through
Nellie Harden:this, like the United States does, which begs its own
Nellie Harden:question. But the worst thing we can do as a nation is become
Nellie Harden:numb to this, we can just accept it as a norm. I've talked
Nellie Harden:before, and I will talk again, and I will say it until my
Nellie Harden:grave, I am unsubscribing. to normal, there is too many norms
Nellie Harden:today are normals that are just being accepted, that are hurting
Nellie Harden:us that are hurting the people, the kids, the families, that
Nellie Harden:these norms are, right. So, do not become numb to this. Every
Nellie Harden:time it happens, allow the pain to come in. Because if you
Nellie Harden:don't, that wall is not going to serve you and it is not going to
Nellie Harden:serve the future kids in the future schools in the future.
Nellie Harden:assailants that go out, it's not. So what happens matters.
Nellie Harden:And we need to acknowledge the sad and the scary. Even if it's
Nellie Harden:hard, it's going to be hard, there's no doubt about that, it
Nellie Harden:is going to be hard.
Nellie Harden:So have the conversations. You don't need to get into gruesome
Nellie Harden:details necessarily, you don't have to, you know, tell the
Nellie Harden:details of someone's account. But ask them what they're
Nellie Harden:hearing, ask them what they're feeling. Share with them, what
Nellie Harden:you're going through, as a parent about your concerns,
Nellie Harden:right? Be vulnerable in these conversations, this is a
Nellie Harden:vulnerable time, with very vulnerable things happening all
Nellie Harden:these degrees of victimhood that we had or that I talked about
Nellie Harden:earlier. So I said earlier, and I always say this, if you listen
Nellie Harden:to the beginning of this podcast, or if this is the first
Nellie Harden:time that you've ever heard it, I always say and I truly, truly,
Nellie Harden:truly believe that the best way to change the world is one
Nellie Harden:living room at a time. I was recently recently listening to
Nellie Harden:Nicky Gumbel, who is the head of alpha. It is a Christian program
Nellie Harden:that I served in for many, many, many years. And I just happened
Nellie Harden:to be listening to him last week I started on Monday before any
Nellie Harden:of this happened. And then I was listening as the week unfolded.
Nellie Harden:And he echoed what I teach my parents and my families I work
Nellie Harden:with and how to cultivate that all people, all people are
Nellie Harden:looking for three things, love, belonging, and purpose. Almost
Nellie Harden:everything that a person has can fit into those things, love,
Nellie Harden:belonging and purpose never, never have I known as senseless
Nellie Harden:tragedy like this or any any senseless tragedy to have been
Nellie Harden:committed by a person who actually holds all three of
Nellie Harden:these cards, I can truly say that I have love I can truly say
Nellie Harden:that I have belonging somewhere I can truly say that I have
Nellie Harden:purpose. And if I am wrong, let me know I do want to know I am a
Nellie Harden:student of biology of a student of psychology, I want to know
Nellie Harden:these things. But to the best of my knowledge, no one that has
Nellie Harden:ever been the the person that has done these things, has those
Nellie Harden:three things truly innately in them in their foundation of who
Nellie Harden:they are. So how can we as a parent, how can we help our
Nellie Harden:children have all of three themes, these three things and
Nellie Harden:foster all three of them? Right? So that's a big question looking
Nellie Harden:at your family looking at your kids love, belonging, purpose,
Nellie Harden:love first, helping them know that they are belong or that
Nellie Harden:they belong somewhere. And then helping them develop a purpose
Nellie Harden:that is unique to them in their own special awesome way with
Nellie Harden:their gifts and talents. So love belonging and purpose.
Nellie Harden:So we need to really be proactive. I mean, this is where
Nellie Harden:it comes down to we've proactivity toward mental
Nellie Harden:wellness instead of hoping against and having reactive
Nellie Harden:behaviors toward mental illness right. It is just like eating
Nellie Harden:your fruits and veggies which also play a role by the way in A
Nellie Harden:lot of our mental health, but it's like eating our fruits and
Nellie Harden:veggies so that we can be physically healthy, and also
Nellie Harden:help with our mental illness. But we have to build mental
Nellie Harden:wellness, not just repair mental illness. Okay, I want to say
Nellie Harden:that again, because it's something that it is, that is a
Nellie Harden:norm, I would subscribe to. It's not a norm today, though it is
Nellie Harden:not, I hope and I pray it becomes one. But it is not one
Nellie Harden:yet. We need to build mental wellness into our family
Nellie Harden:structure into our kids, instead of just repairing mental
Nellie Harden:illness. Okay. And mental illness does not need to be a
Nellie Harden:norm. It happens a lot. It is out there a lot. It does not
Nellie Harden:need to be an accepted norm if you if you haven't been accepted
Nellie Harden:norm, right then you're just saying, Yep, that status quo. I
Nellie Harden:am I hear this, and I'm coming at this from experience. You
Nellie Harden:guys. I've heard kids say to their parents, you know what?
Nellie Harden:I'm normal. I'm depressed. Leave me alone. Right? No, that's the
Nellie Harden:last thing No, yes, you are a normal kid. But depression does
Nellie Harden:not need to be your normal. Let's help you through that. We
Nellie Harden:want the normal to look like Hey, Mom, Dad, I am feeling
Nellie Harden:depressed. I need some help. Can you help me? Right? If we can
Nellie Harden:get to that norm, that would be a better norm, I would subscribe
Nellie Harden:to that norm. But not I am depressed. I am not my identity
Nellie Harden:is not based in depression. But I am feeling depressed. Right?
Nellie Harden:There are two really different things you guys. So helping our
Nellie Harden:kids build mental wellness, which is exactly what we do here
Nellie Harden:with the people I work with. And so many amazing people out there
Nellie Harden:that I know that are building mental wellness, instead of just
Nellie Harden:reacting to mental illness. And then pray. So I I am a
Nellie Harden:Christian. And I personally think that prayer is one of the
Nellie Harden:most powerful things you can do for someone but think about it
Nellie Harden:even beyond that. Think about the side effects of prayer,
Nellie Harden:write it prayer as a family, you're acknowledging what
Nellie Harden:happened, we're not becoming numb to it, we're not sweeping
Nellie Harden:it under the rug, we are acknowledging what happened, we
Nellie Harden:are talking through our thoughts, we are asking for
Nellie Harden:help, we are accepting the things that we cannot change.
Nellie Harden:And we are asking for strength to do the things that we can,
Nellie Harden:the scary things. And that scary thing could be going and talking
Nellie Harden:to someone in legislation, right. And that can make some
Nellie Harden:policy change, or it is going and talking to a parent that has
Nellie Harden:been shattered by what is happening. Or maybe it is just
Nellie Harden:getting out of bed, whatever that next step is for you asking
Nellie Harden:for the strength to do that next right thing for you. So that's a
Nellie Harden:conversation about mental wellness. And this is where I
Nellie Harden:stick my my life and my work is around helping parents develop
Nellie Harden:that mental wellness within their daughters before they
Nellie Harden:leave home so that they are leaving home with that
Nellie Harden:confidence from the inside out right radiating from them, and
Nellie Harden:having the respect for themselves and others. Others
Nellie Harden:write others to and wisdom of themselves and others how to
Nellie Harden:connect and relate to and take care of others and themselves
Nellie Harden:and all of the other facets of wisdom and respect. But the next
Nellie Harden:conversation you guys is over gun control and policy.
Nellie Harden:So I told you I'm not getting political on here and I am not.
Nellie Harden:But again, like I said, I hope that everyone can see that this
Nellie Harden:is not okay. What is happening is not okay, no matter where you
Nellie Harden:are, the NRA convention is happening right now. And I know
Nellie Harden:so many people that were going decided not to write it doesn't
Nellie Harden:mean that they are anti gun now, right? It just means that they
Nellie Harden:now are saying you know what, it's not the right time, because
Nellie Harden:what happened is not okay. So, gun control and policy. This is
Nellie Harden:where people need to stand up and have accountability here. So
Nellie Harden:what can that look like? Well, every person has their own
Nellie Harden:opinion about gun control. And I'm not even going to get into
Nellie Harden:mine. But I think and hope we are all on the same page when I
Nellie Harden:say that If you are a person that has guns, protect them,
Nellie Harden:lock them up and be responsible for goodness sakes be
Nellie Harden:responsible. Now, this case that happened most recently, was not
Nellie Harden:a case of somebody taking someone's but there has been a
Nellie Harden:lot of others that are that were right, they took, they took it
Nellie Harden:from a parent, they took it from a friend, they took it from an
Nellie Harden:uncle, all of these different pieces. So just because it
Nellie Harden:wasn't this case, doesn't mean it's not a problem. So if you
Nellie Harden:have guns, if you're a person that has guns, then protect
Nellie Harden:them, lock them up with the ammo somewhere else be responsible.
Nellie Harden:If you are a person that sells guns, do your due diligence as
Nellie Harden:best as you can. Because I don't want the blood of any more
Nellie Harden:victims on to be felt on your hands either. I can't imagine
Nellie Harden:that Wait, that must be on some of these people. If you want to
Nellie Harden:ask your representatives to take action, if you want to go to a
Nellie Harden:rally, if you want to go somewhere and calmly, logically
Nellie Harden:sensibly talk to somebody about this, then do that. Go make
Nellie Harden:legislation happen if that is what you are called to do. You
Nellie Harden:can help in this arena, if that is what you are called to do,
Nellie Harden:you can help in this arena. I've seen kids recently learn like
Nellie Harden:within the last week you guys before this, but within the last
Nellie Harden:seven days, learning how to shoot guns properly, not because
Nellie Harden:they want to do this or even because it's sport, but because
Nellie Harden:we live in a world where this is unfortunately a possibility. And
Nellie Harden:so they are equipping their children and themselves with the
Nellie Harden:knowledge and know how of how to use a gun. i It breaks my heart,
Nellie Harden:it breaks my heart because these families didn't want to ever be
Nellie Harden:in this situation. But that's something that they felt that
Nellie Harden:they needed to do. You guys, I you know, I grew up in a hunting
Nellie Harden:family. And I get that and that goes down into one of our other
Nellie Harden:conversations we'll have in a couple minutes. But I get guns,
Nellie Harden:all right, I get them but not in this way. And we have to take
Nellie Harden:accountability and all of our ways. So we're taking
Nellie Harden:accountability, and mental wellness, right and mental
Nellie Harden:wellness, we need to take accountability and gun control
Nellie Harden:and policy to now our next conversation is bleeds into a
Nellie Harden:little bit with gun control, which is cultural acceptance. So
Nellie Harden:like I said, I grew up in a hunting family, I get it, I have
Nellie Harden:pictures of me in literally a diaper holding a gun. And it was
Nellie Harden:probably the last time I held the gun. But that was when I was
Nellie Harden:just because in my my family, they they hunt. And that's okay,
Nellie Harden:right? If you have a gun to protect your family, I get it, I
Nellie Harden:get it. If your job description has you having one and using
Nellie Harden:one, I get it, right? You want them if you want them because
Nellie Harden:they're cool, right? I get it. But there are consequences and
Nellie Harden:precautions that need to be had. And I've talked to a lot of
Nellie Harden:adults that have them because they think that they're super
Nellie Harden:cool and super fun. And it's more of a collector's item that
Nellie Harden:they and a hobby, a more of a hobbyist, right. And I encourage
Nellie Harden:you if that is you maybe look at a job, right a line of work that
Nellie Harden:you would have, and you would be able to have that interest come
Nellie Harden:into play. Right? That might be something for you.
Nellie Harden:Here's where we really get into some spicy water here is when
Nellie Harden:you think they are American, and I'm using quotes here, air
Nellie Harden:quotes. You think guns are an American way of life? Well, they
Nellie Harden:are. And here's the outcome of some of that rhetoric and some
Nellie Harden:of that thinking as well. Right. So I beg you the question, what
Nellie Harden:does American mean to you? What does that mean to you? I saw not
Nellie Harden:long ago within the last year I saw this picture of this
Nellie Harden:American family. All very, you know, rich, Caucasian family.
Nellie Harden:Well to do sitting in this beautiful white, big house on
Nellie Harden:their couch all of these beautiful things around them.
Nellie Harden:And it was a I believe it was a couple of parents and then it
Nellie Harden:was two daughters and a son that looked like they were all in
Nellie Harden:middle in high school. And all of them were holding guns. For
Nellie Harden:me that was one of the most atrocious um sights that I could
Nellie Harden:ever see. Because and let me give you my because before you
Nellie Harden:start if you're listening to this and rolling your eyes at
Nellie Harden:me, because I had just seen recently right before this maybe
Nellie Harden:a couple of weeks before this, an article about this family
Nellie Harden:over in the Middle East, that they had guns, and they were
Nellie Harden:being trashed because of it. They are violent, they are
Nellie Harden:wicked. Look, all they want to do is bloodshed, all of this
Nellie Harden:stuff. And it was a family in the Middle East that had guns.
Nellie Harden:And now there was this all American family in America that
Nellie Harden:had guns, and it was being viewed as picturesque. You guys,
Nellie Harden:this is this is a cultural acceptance issue that needs to
Nellie Harden:be addressed. It needs to be addressed. What are we? What are
Nellie Harden:we doing? What is our message? Why do we have them? What does
Nellie Harden:it mean to be American to you? What does it mean to have that
Nellie Harden:What feeling do you get? If that is you? And you have that with
Nellie Harden:you? That you need that kind of power? Right? It's not
Nellie Harden:protection at that point, it's power. And these automatic
Nellie Harden:rifles, they are not protection, they are power. Right? Why do we
Nellie Harden:have to have that kind of power? Like I said earlier, hunting,
Nellie Harden:get it protecting your family, you have something in the house,
Nellie Harden:get it? Your job has it, I get it, even I can kind of kind of
Nellie Harden:understand if you're a collector and a hobbyist, I get it and
Nellie Harden:you're collecting, you know, these old and nice guns,
Nellie Harden:whatever. Right. But we have an issue when it comes to power.
Nellie Harden:Why do we need the power? Right? Think about it. If one of one of
Nellie Harden:the things that we talk about all the time in here is power
Nellie Harden:struggles, it's one of the key things we talk about. And it is
Nellie Harden:dropped the rope pull up a chair, if if you don't, if you
Nellie Harden:drop your power, right, people can struggle, and one person
Nellie Harden:can't play tug of war. If everyone dropped the power, then
Nellie Harden:we would be able to pull up a chair and actually have
Nellie Harden:conversations, right? These are hard conversations, you guys,
Nellie Harden:these are hard conversations, but ones that have to be had.
Nellie Harden:Now, this is Memorial Day weekend. And I don't know when
Nellie Harden:you're listening to this, it might be recent, it might be in
Nellie Harden:a year or two from now or more. But right now, this is 2022. And
Nellie Harden:it's Memorial Day weekend coming up. And we are here to celebrate
Nellie Harden:the lives of those that fell to protect this country. For a long
Nellie Harden:time, I actually ran a celebration in our town for
Nellie Harden:Memorial Day, and I would meet these these veterans that had
Nellie Harden:fallen friends, right. And they were there. And they fought for
Nellie Harden:our freedoms, right? freedom isn't free. I totally understand
Nellie Harden:where they're coming from and where that comes from. But do
Nellie Harden:you think for one minute, that those people, those men and
Nellie Harden:women that have fallen for the freedom of the United States of
Nellie Harden:America would be okay, with these rifles walking into
Nellie Harden:elementary schools? No, right? We need to change the cultural
Nellie Harden:norms here. It's another normal, I am not willing to subscribe
Nellie Harden:to.
Nellie Harden:Okay, so we've been through mental wellness, we've been
Nellie Harden:through mental health. We've been through gun control and
Nellie Harden:policy, we've been through cultural acceptance. And our
Nellie Harden:fourth one that we need to talk about is kind of an umbrella.
Nellie Harden:Right? It is school safety, security presence policy person,
Nellie Harden:or I'm sorry, police procedure, and even social media, right? We
Nellie Harden:hear over and over again, the red flags that are going off and
Nellie Harden:people that are seeing some hard behavior, but we're told it's
Nellie Harden:just them, accept them for who they are. Right. And so you're
Nellie Harden:like, Well, I guess it's not a red flag. I mean, we hear about
Nellie Harden:these kids that are in class and they're sitting in the corner
Nellie Harden:and they're rocking themselves, or they have a violent outburst
Nellie Harden:and they're like, it's okay, that's just who they are. We
Nellie Harden:need to accept them for who they are. No, no, we do not because
Nellie Harden:that person needs help. And they need help before they hurt other
Nellie Harden:people that are going to need help. If that ever is the case.
Nellie Harden:It is not a normal. I am willing to subscribe to you guys. Again,
Nellie Harden:that goes back to the mental wellness that we talked about.
Nellie Harden:We want to be proactive, not reactive. Right? We don't want
Nellie Harden:people saying like the excuse I have heard from kids with their
Nellie Harden:parents that say A mom, I am depressed, I am normal, leave me
Nellie Harden:alone. And they shut the door. And the parent just sits there.
Nellie Harden:Because they're like, Well, I guess that's who my kid is. No,
Nellie Harden:you can help, right? And there's places you can reach out to.
Nellie Harden:There's so many hotlines, there's therapists, there's
Nellie Harden:coaches, there's mentors, and there's an army of people out
Nellie Harden:there trying to help, right? Because we don't want it to get
Nellie Harden:to this point ever again. And I hope if you're listening to this
Nellie Harden:in a year, or two, or five, or 10, from now that this was the
Nellie Harden:last time that this happened. I fear it's not. But I really hope
Nellie Harden:it is. I really hope it is. So let's talk about this a little
Nellie Harden:bit. Because looking back that retrospective look on social
Nellie Harden:media, for example, in this case, and I we've seen it happen
Nellie Harden:again and again is, well, they did post this, they did say this
Nellie Harden:on this platform or what have you. We need hands down better
Nellie Harden:regulation there. If someone is posting a post of guns and
Nellie Harden:having some obscure tagline to it. We need to be able to flag
Nellie Harden:that somehow. Because that is a cry for Somebody stop me.
Nellie Harden:Somebody stopped me, please. I'm going down this road. I am
Nellie Harden:covering it up with I'm so cool. I'm covering it up with
Nellie Harden:ambiguity I'm covering it up with Look at me, look at me,
Nellie Harden:look at me. But no one's looking at me. Right? Remember, they
Nellie Harden:want to be loved. Everyone wants to be loved wants to belong, and
Nellie Harden:once purpose. And they're saying, Look at me, look at me
Nellie Harden:Look at me, and no one's looking at me. So I'm going to make them
Nellie Harden:look at me. So social media, I think, can have a big advantage
Nellie Harden:here. If we just get the logistics in there. And I am not
Nellie Harden:a tech person. I am not an IT person. But there has to be some
Nellie Harden:things in there that can be put in place. I mean, if we are
Nellie Harden:doing things like connecting the entire world through these
Nellie Harden:platforms, there is certainly some measures that can be taken
Nellie Harden:in there to flag some things that are happening.
Nellie Harden:Now, some, some people have taken their kids out of school
Nellie Harden:and decided to homeschool in the wake of all of these shootings
Nellie Harden:from years past and even now. The conversation is ignited and
Nellie Harden:reignited over and over again and I don't blame you. Right. If
Nellie Harden:this is a possibility or desire for your family in the least
Nellie Harden:bit, I encourage you to try it. As always, if it is in you, if
Nellie Harden:it's a question for you, should we try this, then try it and see
Nellie Harden:what happens. And the worst that can happen is you have some
Nellie Harden:quality time at home. And then you send them back to school.
Nellie Harden:Right? So for if you're thinking that right now, I just want to
Nellie Harden:say do I think you should or shouldn't, that's not my place.
Nellie Harden:I do not should on people. So if but if it is something that
Nellie Harden:you're interested in, go ahead, try it and see. I did it for
Nellie Harden:seven years. And it was one of the most wonderful experiences
Nellie Harden:that I've ever had. And I came into it as a person that had
Nellie Harden:never even thought about homeschooling before, had no
Nellie Harden:experience with it before whatsoever. I was terrible. To
Nellie Harden:be quite honest. In my first couple of years, I had a lot of
Nellie Harden:things to figure out and work on both academically and with my
Nellie Harden:kids and with myself but man did we make it work because we
Nellie Harden:dedicated ourselves to making it work and it was incredible. So
Nellie Harden:if that's you and you're listening to this, then try it
Nellie Harden:and see or reach out I'd love to be able to help you through
Nellie Harden:that. Get involved and know that safety precautions or know the
Nellie Harden:safety precautions at your kids school. If your kid goes to any
Nellie Harden:school outside of your home, know the safety precautions
Nellie Harden:right know what is happening in there. And yes, you guys it is
Nellie Harden:such a pain to go in, check in sign your name go through
Nellie Harden:scanners, have your bag checked and do whatever needs to be done
Nellie Harden:at the school just to go and like drop off a book or drop off
Nellie Harden:the lunch or the project they forgot at home or what have you.
Nellie Harden:But you know why it's there. Be patient and understand that it
Nellie Harden:is in place for your child. Okay. Understand that no one
Nellie Harden:wants this to happen and people are doing what they can and need
Nellie Harden:your support much more than they need your scrutiny. There's some
Nellie Harden:people and there was some to the best of my knowledge and from
Nellie Harden:what I've seen there's been some major you know, Miss mistakes
Nellie Harden:and misunderstandings that have happened not just this time, but
Nellie Harden:in so many other times. And when you're talking about these, you
Nellie Harden:know, sometimes it's a small town, sometimes it's a big city,
Nellie Harden:sometimes it's rural, sometimes it's in like urban areas, right?
Nellie Harden:All these different things. No one, there is no normal when it
Nellie Harden:comes to who's going to be hit by this, right? We know that.
Nellie Harden:But these people need our support, and not our scrutiny as
Nellie Harden:much, right? Especially right in the aftermath, when we take off,
Nellie Harden:especially when you know, this happened in Texas, I'm in North
Nellie Harden:Carolina, if I start yelling, and screaming over here, I am
Nellie Harden:not dropping the rope and pulling up a chair, I am pulling
Nellie Harden:on that rope tighter and tighter and tighter, and it's going to
Nellie Harden:hurt somebody, it's going to trip somebody, it's going to
Nellie Harden:make it worse, right? So we need to be able to be calm. So we can
Nellie Harden:use the logic centers of our brain, we can be accountable and
Nellie Harden:all of these four areas that we're talking about today. And
Nellie Harden:we can actually make progress and go forward. Everybody
Nellie Harden:yelling at each other, everybody pointing fingers at each other
Nellie Harden:is not going to do anything, we need to be calm, we need to be
Nellie Harden:accountable. And we need to move forward and do the next next
Nellie Harden:right thing in each of these areas. Not just one of them, or
Nellie Harden:two or three, but each of them. If you are a person listening to
Nellie Harden:this, and that works in a sector of the school security, and
Nellie Harden:thank you, for you, to you if you do, and I just want to know
Nellie Harden:that we appreciate your work. And we love that you try and
Nellie Harden:help keep our kids safe, right? All of the schools out there,
Nellie Harden:every teacher is rocked I have so many teacher friends that
Nellie Harden:work in you know, any kind of school. Not just home schools,
Nellie Harden:but I'm talking public, private charter, etc. And every time
Nellie Harden:this happens, it is such a toll on them. The principals, the
Nellie Harden:superintendents, the schools, the teachers aides, the
Nellie Harden:students, obviously, the cooks in the cafeterias, right? All of
Nellie Harden:these, it's so hard, and they are rocked every time. So I just
Nellie Harden:want to reach out and give each and every one of you a hug right
Nellie Harden:now, because I know that this is hard.
Nellie Harden:So all four of these conversations, mental health, we
Nellie Harden:have gun control and policy, right, the legislative, we have
Nellie Harden:school safety, security, police procedure and social media,
Nellie Harden:right. And then we have cultural acceptance, all four of these
Nellie Harden:conversations. And their results need to have that overlap Venn
Nellie Harden:diagram style to keep our children, families, schools,
Nellie Harden:churches, grocery stores, right, this was only 10 days after
Nellie Harden:another one at the grocery store that gunned down all of those
Nellie Harden:people, right, those amazing people, and our grocery stores,
Nellie Harden:our movie theaters, our restaurants and our world
Nellie Harden:protected. teaching our kids that finger pointing at whose
Nellie Harden:fault it is instead of being accountable and taking action
Nellie Harden:never solves anything, either. So if you are a person that has
Nellie Harden:the guns in your house, and you're like, Nope, it definitely
Nellie Harden:wasn't this it was that right? No, it was everything. Take
Nellie Harden:accountability. I'm not saying you have to get the guns out of
Nellie Harden:your house, if that is, who you are and what you do. Again, I am
Nellie Harden:not trying to tell you what you should and shouldn't do here as
Nellie Harden:far as what you have. But you do need to take accountability. I
Nellie Harden:know that we have guns in this house, and this is why we keep
Nellie Harden:them locked up. This is why we are so safe with them. Or this
Nellie Harden:is why we are going to be and we are making some changes. And
Nellie Harden:also, how are you feeling about this? And also, let's go see
Nellie Harden:what's going on at your school and how the safety is there. And
Nellie Harden:also what social media platforms are you on right now? Right? All
Nellie Harden:of these places need accountability, you guys, all of
Nellie Harden:them. It's not just for the people in Uvalde, or other
Nellie Harden:people that are scarred and marred. And these places that
Nellie Harden:are scarred and marred, that is not where the accountability
Nellie Harden:lies. This is a US problem and can only be solved with us
Nellie Harden:action and us answers to all of these issues. And though the US
Nellie Harden:is far beyond any other country in this respect, other countries
Nellie Harden:do have some of these things as well sometimes not nearly to the
Nellie Harden:degree that we do, but I don't want to say by any means that
Nellie Harden:we're the only ones there's been some tragedies all over A world
Nellie Harden:that involves gun violence like this, that involve mental health
Nellie Harden:like this that involve cultural norms like this that involve the
Nellie Harden:social media, the gun control, the policy, the safety, the
Nellie Harden:security presence, right? And includes it all. So if you're
Nellie Harden:listening to this from another country to this is not just a US
Nellie Harden:problem. It's just mostly a US problem right now, right? But
Nellie Harden:these changes can be a world problem, I mean, a world
Nellie Harden:solution, the solutions can be a world solution. So can we all
Nellie Harden:agree that this is not okay? If we can agree on that, if we can
Nellie Harden:just agree on that. Then we can come together and move forward,
Nellie Harden:drop the rope, pull up a chair, everyone takes accountability
Nellie Harden:for all of these areas. And we find the next right steps for
Nellie Harden:each one of these. No one No one of these is a solution. It has
Nellie Harden:to be multifaceted, and we are all responsible. And we are all
Nellie Harden:victims in some way, some tragically more than others. And
Nellie Harden:focusing on what we can do in all four of these areas.
Nellie Harden:Starting with in our own living rooms, you guys with our own
Nellie Harden:kids, is where the biggest changes can begin for our
Nellie Harden:future. Okay, you guys, I know this was hard. I know this was a
Nellie Harden:lot. I just hope and pray that you are doing well today. And
Nellie Harden:that you are hugging your kids today. And I hope and pray for
Nellie Harden:all those that can't both recently. And all of those that
Nellie Harden:have lost them and all of these senseless acts, in schools out
Nellie Harden:of schools, on the streets, wherever, right, we can do
Nellie Harden:something about this, you guys, but it takes all of us taking
Nellie Harden:accountability in all of these areas. So keep in touch you
Nellie Harden:guys. Try to laugh, right hug. And remember to keep showing up
Nellie Harden:with intention and the 6570 the 6570 days of our parenthood
Nellie Harden:childhood journey, because they need love, they need belonging.
Nellie Harden:They need purpose. And they need to know that we're here for
Nellie Harden:them. Okay, guys, I'll talk to you soon.
Nellie Harden:Thank you so much for listening today. And I hope you were able
Nellie Harden:to take something from our discussion that you can use to
Nellie Harden:build the foundation of selfless leadership in your own family.
Nellie Harden:If you are a parent with children 17 or younger, and
Nellie Harden:especially those around nine and up, I would love to extend an
Nellie Harden:invitation to you to the best club in town. The family
Nellie Harden:architects Club is a private club where intentional parents
Nellie Harden:go that want to love support, connect or reconnect and really
Nellie Harden:truly help guide their kids and teach them how to self lead in
Nellie Harden:discipline and leadership. This is an online community and the
Nellie Harden:you are welcome to it. Parenting is a project and you are the
Nellie Harden:architect of this one. You plan you design and oversee the
Nellie Harden:construction of the beginning of someone else's life. And that's
Nellie Harden:what goes into these first 6570 days. And it will be the
Nellie Harden:foundation for the rest of their lives. So come join the club.
Nellie Harden:You can find your invitation on the front page of my website
Nellie Harden:Nelly hardin.com. That is N E ll ie H AR d e n.com. Thank you
Nellie Harden:again for being a part of this conversation today. And if
Nellie Harden:something really resonated with you, or if you have a question,
Nellie Harden:please don't hesitate to connect with me. You can find me on
Nellie Harden:Instagram at Nelly Hardin. And lastly, if you love the
Nellie Harden:information, please please leave a five star review and a comment
Nellie Harden:so more and more families can be impacted by harnessing the
Nellie Harden:strength of these ideas and tools in their own families. So
Nellie Harden:thank you so much. Happy building you guys and I'll see