As a child growing up in a police family, Katherine Boyle didn’t really understand what her dad did for a living. To her, it was just her life. Looking back, she sees the things that she thinks her dad did right for her to feel safe and for them to have a close relationship to this day. Katherine is the “Lt’s daughter”. She’s making waves on social media and on podcasts, sharing her and her dad’s story and impacting our community by sharing those lessons. Today, she shares those lessons with us.
(03:19-6.21): Katherine shares that as a child, her family normalized her dad’s career and she never grasped what her father did for a living or how dangerous it could be.
“For a really long time, I actually thought be careful was synonymous with “See you later” or “Goodbye.” I thought it was a regular salutation that anyone would use.”
(07:21-10:33): Creating a routine among the unpredictability of the career and being intentional with gestures can help strengthen connection in law enforcement families
(11:56-13:32): Emotion in officers can be difficult and flat at times. Learn to transition from the job to show up at home and positively impact connection.
(14:01-17:12): Problems that can impact connection are feeling the strain of wanting to be with family versus other activities (i.e. shift parties/choir practice after work or going to the gym)
(17:33-20:14): Katherine talks about the impact the career had on her adult life.
(21:02): Being purposeful and intentional with your family life as an officer can positively spillover into your children’s childhood as well as their adult lives.
(21:45): Learning how to compartmentalize life as an officer and life as a spouse/parent can strengthen relational connections.
(24:02): Having boundaries can give a different sense of self and a different childhood than other kids that have the career bleed over at home.
(25:23): In the world of social media and the war on police, intentionality and having open dialogue need to be a part of police families’ lives to create clear communication, trust, and connection.
(27:23): Find people and a community who want to have a healthy home life and also be a successful cop.
(30:00- 33:34): Katherine shares how she viewed the world from a slightly different perspective being the child of a cop.
(34:37): Understand as law enforcement families that it is possible to have a connected and loving relationship at home. It’s not always easy, but it’s possible.
(36:54): Create opportunities to have a relationship with your family because not only will it make you a fantastic father, partner, son, or daughter, but it’ll also make you a better cop.
(44:11): Don’t overthink connection! Just make the opportunities with your family count.
Katherine Boyle is the daughter of a former Lieutenant of the Special Victims Unit in Philadelphia. She is helping police officers who want more connection with their families by identifying priorities and values outside of the job through a private online community and local events.
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beyondtheuniformkatherine/
Instagram: @theltsdaughter
Link to the upcoming Law Enforcement Family Group Fitness Bootcamp [Philadelphia area]: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/law-enforcement-family-group-fitness-bootcamp-tickets-704947636357?aff=oddtdtcreator
Law Enforcement Couples Retreat: https://2crranch.com/special-events
