In a recent Cyber Safety Cop webinar, Building the Bridge: Using Empathy Statements to Disarm Fear and Resistance, we focused on one of the most misunderstood, but most powerful, skills in crisis negotiation: Empathy.

Not the soft, vague idea people sometimes associate with “being nice,” but empathy as a tactical tool. A bridge. A strategy that helps you move from power struggles to cooperation, especially when emotions spike around screen time.

Clayton Cranford (former Sergeant, Crisis Negotiator, and School Resource Officer) shared the exact empathy tools negotiators use in high-stakes situations, and how parents can use them tonight at the kitchen table.