Child safety and protection: How to educate your kids on their safety
Protecting our children and vulnerable adults is the most important things we can do as parents or caregivers.
Unicef research estimates that 8 % of children have suffered some form of abuse or violence. The figures seem high, but may even be an under estimation given that many cases go unreported either because the children are too young to report the incident, it falls under social norms, or the systems are not in place to allow early detection and reporting.
Unicef refer to abuse as violence: “Violence against children takes many forms, including physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, and may involve neglect or deprivation”.
Abuse or violence occurs in any setting: at home, school, in the community and over the Internet. And there can be a wide range of people who carry out the abuse against children from family members, teachers, strangers, friends and even other children.
Child abuse often happens over a period of time, but it can be a one-off incident.
So, how do you talk to your children about their personal safety?
A friend of mine, who is a paediatrician and mother shared this useful picture recently.
She also told me that in her household her kids know that ‘ Adults do not tell children secrets’.
And her children are reminded that, ‘Your private-parts are your private parts and no one should touch them, see them, take photos of them or show you their private-parts’.
It’s a serious conversation. But children need to be aware of this, just like sexual health education.
Knowledge creates awareness of what is right and wrong, and allows children to understand if something bad has happened and what they can do about it..
Some parents may not feel comfortable discussing this topic, so having a poster to share with your kids is be useful.
And if the problem lies at home, then having the knowledge that this is wrong and a network in place can help kids talk to someone outside of their family.