Looking for the Goldfish
Posted on Tuesday, August 14, 2018 by
Hannah Roepke was facilitating Campus Life club at the juvenile detention center a couple weeks ago. Listen in.
"I was sharing this picture with the teens in jail: 
I began talking about how kids often present with behaviors that look like the shark, but if we look below the water, we will realize they are really just scared goldfish trying to have a need met. Their behaviors might communicate anger and hostility, but below the surface is fear and a hurting child. I further explained that it is our job as parents to stop parenting the shark fin, look below the surface, and meet the needs of the goldfish. One of the teens in jail raised her hand and said, "I'm a lot like that picture. I act all tough and mean, but I'm really just a scared fish. I wish when I was a kid, someone would have thought to look for the goldfish instead of just seeing me as a shark."
How true that is for so many of us, but especially for youth today who are still developing and maturing while trying to find their place and way in -- what is more often than not -- a very hostile world. Thank you for your support of JJM, Campus Life, and Parent Life which are lighthouses, respites, safe training grounds for the youth in Lincoln and the surrounding areas.