{"id":5321,"date":"2019-06-20T14:05:57","date_gmt":"2019-06-20T14:05:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kokutangaza.com\/?p=5321"},"modified":"2019-06-27T10:34:46","modified_gmt":"2019-06-27T10:34:46","slug":"help-protect-your-child-from-sexual-abuse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kokutangaza.com\/help-protect-your-child-from-sexual-abuse\/","title":{"rendered":"Help Protect Your Child from Sexual Abuse"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article was originally written by Jayneen Sanders<\/a> and has been re-blogged from HuffPost<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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You can help to protect your child from sexual abuse by teaching the following crucial <\/span>Body Safety Rules<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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1. From an early age, teach your child that their body is their body and it belongs to them.<\/strong>\u00a0Explain that they have the right to say \u201cno\u201d if they don\u2019t want to be kissed or hugged by someone.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In a greeting situation, encourage your child to offer the person a high-five or a handshake (or, with people they know well they could blow them a kiss instead). Other adults may be offended by your family\u2019s stance on this issue, but the best option is to explain your family\u2019s reasons behind this practice.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Keep in mind it is our job as parents and carers to empower our children and not to pacify the occasional disapproving adult and\/or relative.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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2. Help your child to create a\u00a0<\/strong>Safety Network<\/a>. A Safety Network is made up of three to five adults that your child trusts. These are adults your child could tell anything to and they would be believed. The people who have the honor of being on your child\u2019s Safety Network should be adults who will listen to your child\u2019s concerns, who will always believe them, and who are accessible. Remember, it is your child\u2019s choice who they place in their Safety Network.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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3. Talk to your child about their\u00a0<\/strong>Early Warning Signs<\/a>. Explain that if they feel worried or unsafe, their body will let them know. Their Early Warning Signs may include feeling sick in the stomach, feeling shaky, their heart racing, etc. Explain to your child that if they feel\u00a0any<\/strong>\u00a0of their Early Warning Signs, they must tell an adult on their Safety Network straightaway.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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4. Always call your<\/strong>\u00a0child\u2019s private parts by their correct names<\/a>. Explain that no child, teenager or adult can touch their private parts, that they should never touch another person\u2019s private parts even when asked, and that they should not view images of private parts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Explain that if\u00a0any<\/strong>\u00a0of these things happen, they have the right to say, \u201cno\u201d or \u201cstop,\u201d and then they\u00a0must<\/strong>\u00a0tell an adult on their Safety Network straightaway. If that person is not available, they will need to tell another person on their Safety Network. Reinforce that your child needs to keep telling until they are believed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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5. Discourage secrets.\u00a0<\/strong>Explain that your family has \u201chappy surprises\u201d instead of secrets because happy surprises will\u00a0always<\/strong>\u00a0be told. Explain that if someone does ask them to keep a secret, they should tell that person that they don\u2019t keep secrets. Reinforce that if someone does ask them to keep a secret that makes them feel unsafe or uncomfortable, they\u00a0must<\/strong>\u00a0tell an adult on their Safety Network straightaway.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A few final hints!<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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1.\u00a0<\/strong>Decide on a \u201cfamily word.\u201d For example, \u201cpickles.\u201d So if your child is somewhere without you or in a situation where they can\u2019t speak up, and they feel unsafe, they can call or shout out \u201cpickles.\u201d This will alert you to the fact that they feel unsafe and need to be removed from the situation immediately.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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2.\u00a0<\/strong>Educate yourself in\u00a0Body Safety<\/a>; this includes\u00a0signs of child sexual abuse<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0grooming process<\/a>. Remember, sexual predators groom both parents and children.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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3.\u00a0<\/strong>Encourage your child\u2019s school to teach\u00a0Body Safety<\/a>! And if they don\u2019t, please ask why not.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Free to view and share\u00a0<\/em>My Body Safety Rules animation<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Free to download\u00a0<\/em>My Body Safety Rules<\/a>\u00a0poster.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Free to download\u00a0<\/em>My Early Warning Signs<\/a>\u00a0poster.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This article was originally written by Jayneen Sanders<\/a> and has been re-blogged from HuffPost<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article was originally written by Jayneen Sanders and has been re-blogged from HuffPost. You can help to protect your child from sexual abuse by teaching the following crucial Body Safety Rules. 1. From an early age, teach your child that their body is their body and it belongs to them.\u00a0Explain that they have the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5322,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[135],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kokutangaza.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5321"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kokutangaza.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kokutangaza.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kokutangaza.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kokutangaza.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5321"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/kokutangaza.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5321\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5442,"href":"https:\/\/kokutangaza.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5321\/revisions\/5442"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kokutangaza.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kokutangaza.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kokutangaza.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kokutangaza.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}