Teaching your children about body safety With one in five girls and one in eight boys sexually abused before their 18th birthday, and with 90% of children knowing their perpetrator, it’s important that the children in our care know the following crucial and life-changing skills in body safety.
The 10 empowering Body Safety skills below will go a long way in keeping children safe from sexual abuse, assisting them to grow into assertive and confident teenagers and adults. There is no downside!
- Talk openly with your child, and ensure that they know they can talk to you about anything!
- Tell your child never to keep secrets that make them feel bad or uncomfortable, even if threatened.
- Be Wary of people who are always “there” to help out and who take a special interest in your child.
- Watch for out-of-character behavioural changes in your child and investigate
- Listen to your child, even when you are busy and everything else seems more important. Abused children often drop hints in conversation to gauge your reaction.
- Always believe your child when they tell you about any form of abuse. Reassure them of your love and that they were never to blame. Your initial reaction to a disclosure is very important.
- Educate your child in body safety before they are in the abuser’s web, and their lives are changed forever.
- Name body parts correctly. As soon as your child begins to talk and is aware of their body parts, begin to name them correctly.
- Teach them about the ‘private zones’. Teach your child that no one has the right to touch or ask to see their private parts, and if someone does, they must tell you or a trusted adult straightaway
- The invisible bubble. Reinforce the idea that everyone has an invisible body bubble around them (personal space) and that they do not have to hug or kiss someone if they don’t want to. They can choose to give that person a high five or shake their hand instead.