Imaginif

Wandering around the children’s playground, I wondered what Frizzy Lizzie would be wearing. How on earth was I going to pick her? When we arranged the interview she said she would be wearing a distinctive Australian gold necklace. I could see no women lurking amongst the happy children on the play ground equipment, let alone women with gold necklaces on.

Something ran up my leg! Straight up the baggy leg of my cargo shorts, skirted my private parts and poked out through the cloth waist. Terrified, I looked down upon my heaving breast to see an Australian Frilled Neck Lizard, now slowly stalking my jugular vein.

“Well I hope you are going to call out for help Megan because I can feel your early warning signs. Your heart is racing, your chest heaving and your whole body is shaking. Your early warning signs kick in to tell you what to do - to act - to call for help. No, no! Please don’t knock me off. I’m, Frizzy Lizzie. Use your voice to tell on me, that is what I’m most scared of. I hate sound. Don’t use your hands to flick or hit me because I may bite you and hurt you more.”

Once my heart returned to its correct shape, pace and colour, and my voice found its projection spot, I saw the funny side of what had just happened. Frizzy Lizzie, the queen of conquering all that which makes children feel creepy crawly, had just totally creeped me out! She taught me my first lesson on intuitive listening: in knowing how my body reacts when something weird is happening. I was supposed to call for help, not freeze and say nothing!

And so the interview began:

Megan: Apart from scaring me to death, what have you been doing to help keep kids safe Lizzie?

Lizzie: I’ve been flat out like a lizard drinking. I love to pop out of the garden and let the kids know to make a Frizzy Lizzie fuss if someone tries to touch their private parts. I tell the kids that it is good to get their hair in a knot, for it to really stand on end, when they sense danger. This sense is part of our early warning signs, our intuition.

Megan: Is it really okay for kids to make a fuss when their hair stands on end Lizzie? Won’t they get into trouble for being bothersome?

Lizzie: Pooh, pooh, pooh. Any parent that growls their kids for listening to their intuition will end up my dinner. I’ll give them a good licking with my tongue! If kids are scared, this is what I say they should do:

Lizzie opened her mouth wide and her neck frill folded out around her like a threatening Elizabethan collar or mad woman’s wig. She stood tall on her two back legs, looking larger than she really was and dangerous to any predator who thought they may be able to get Lizzie to keep her mouth shut.

Stunned, and a little alarmed at her sassiness, I took a step away from her. Lizzie shrank back to her unaroused size and laughed.

Lizzie: It is alright Megan. I don’t really hurt people. I just make it look like I am big, strong, loud mouth.

Swallowing my fear, I asked my final protective play interview question.

Megan: If parents wanted to teach their own children about becoming more Frizzy Lizzie like, how would they go about it?

Lizzie: They would buy a Frilled Neck Lizard puppet and act out this funny interview. Children learn through play so the best way to help a child become a big mouth and get their hair in a knot over someone trying to touch their private parts is to play, play, play Frizzy Lizzie. I’ve left some Frizzy Lizzie finger puppets for you in your protective play shop Megan. They are only $5.00 each. That is only a little price for a little bit of protective behaviours.

As Frizzy Lizzie disappeared back into the garden, I made a mental note to myself that I would be sure to tell this funny, but true, story as many times as I possibly could. Glory knows, I would do anything for child safety and teaching protective behaviours. How lucky am I to have a job where I keep kids safe by interviewing Frilled Neck Lizards and I get to tell the world about it.

Article by Megan Bayliss

For more Protective Play ideas, please search our Protective Play archives.

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