How Can You Protect Your Child?

Be Involved In Your Child’s Life

Sexual abuse can happen to children of any race, socioeconomic group, religion, or culture. There is no foolproof way to protect children from sexual abuse, but there are steps you can take to reduce this risk. Below, you’ll find some precautions you can take to help protect the children in your life.

• Being actively involved in your child’s life can make warning signs of child sexual abuse more obvious and help your child feel more comfortable coming to you if something isn’t right.
• Show interest in their day-to-day lives. Ask them what they did during the day and who they did it with.
• Get to know the people in your child’s life. Know who your child is spending time with, including other children and adults. Talk about these people openly and ask questions so that your child can feel comfortable doing the same.
• Talk about the media. Incidents of sexual violence are frequently covered by the news and portrayed in television shows. Ask your child questions about this coverage to start a conversation. Questions like, “Have you ever heard of this happening before?” or “What would you do if you were in this situation?” can signal to your child that these are important issues they can discuss with you.

Encourage children to speak up

When people know that their voices will be heard and taken seriously, they are more likely to speak up when something isn’t right.

• Teach your child about boundaries. Let your child know that no one has the right to touch them or make them feel uncomfortable — this includes hugs from grandparents or even tickling from mom or dad.
• Teach your child how to talk about their bodies. From an early age, teach your child the names of their body parts. Teaching a child these words gives them the ability to come to you when something is wrong.
• Be available. Set time aside to spend with your child where they have your undivided attention. Let your child know that they can come to you if they have questions or if someone is talking to them in a way that makes them feel uncomfortable.
• Let them know they won’t get in trouble. Many perpetrators use secret-keeping or threats as a way of keeping children quiet about abuse. Remind your child frequently that they will not get in trouble for talking to you, no matter what they need to say. When they come to you, follow through on this promise and avoid punishing them for speaking up.

For more information on keeping kids safe, call (701) 323-5626.

• This post was recently published in the Dakota Catholic Action. View the original article.