Why Vulnerability Creates Safety or A Book That Starts the Conversation
There's a page in What Are OUR Skills? that makes people smile every time.
A sweet character holds a balloon, beaming with confidence, and confesses: "I once did a whole speech with toilet paper stuck on my shoe!"
It's funny. It's relatable. And it's quietly doing something quite powerful.
When we share a story about our own mistakes — really share it, with a laugh and without shame — something shifts in the room. Walls come down. Shoulders drop. People lean in. Because suddenly, whoever is listening realises: oh, this person isn't perfect either. And that's okay. Neither am I.
That's the magic of vulnerability.
I didn't set out to write a book about vulnerability. What Are OUR Skills? grew from a simple idea — that every person in a family brings something unique and worth celebrating. But as I worked on it, I kept coming back to this truth: before we can celebrate each other, we need to feel safe enough to be seen.
And nothing creates that safety faster than someone being brave enough to go first.
Whether you're a parent trying to get your kids to open up at the dinner table, or a teacher hoping to build a classroom where students feel genuinely seen — sharing your own wobbles is one of the most disarming things you can do. Not in a performative way. Just honestly. "I got lost on the way here." "I burned dinner last night." "I once did a whole speech with toilet paper stuck on my shoe."
No one is perfect. (No one is!!!)
And the sooner we say that out loud — especially to the young people in our lives — the sooner they stop pretending they have to be. Children’s books about feelings help them increase what they know about themselves.
What Are OUR Skills? is a family activity book designed to spark exactly these kinds of conversations: warm, honest, a little bit funny, and full of heart. Because that's where connection lives.
Ready to start the conversation in your family or classroom? What Are OUR Skills? is available now on Amazon. Grab your copy and see what wonderful things you discover about each other.