Parents Influence Of Personal Safety

Parents are the most important influence in a child's life and as such, it is important for them to speak to their children in an open, non-threatening, positive way about the issue of safety and abuse, and give them tools to prevent it or get help if in a dangerous situation. Below are guidelines to assist parents in supporting the safety of their children:
• Safety and abuse-prevention does not have to be scary. Rather, teach your children in a positive and empowering way about healthy boundaries, personal space, and privacy.
• Personal safety should be an ongoing discussion in the home: The topic of personal safety is easier to accept and internalize if it is brought up naturally in everyday conversations like at the supermarket, while giving a child a bath or getting them dressed. A child whose family talks calmly and freely about safety, boundaries and personal space is more likely to feel comfortable telling his parents if something happens to him.
• Teach your child accurate names for their body parts (including their private areas). In a situation of abuse, this knowledge will enable them to speak up and explain what happened in a way that will be understood.
• Teach your child about appropriate and inappropriate touch: o No one, not even a …show more content…
If your children know that no one is ever allowed to ask them to keep a secret from you (even within the family), they are much more likely to tell you when someone asks them to keep a secret (a prime strategy of abusers). Children need to know that even if someone threatens to hurt them or someone else if the secret is shared, they need to share it with you and that you will protect them. Teach children the difference between surprises (Something good and happy that will soon be shared – such as a birthday party) and secrets (something someone shared with us that we are never allowed to tell. Secrets often make a child feel bad or