Category: Parenting Safe Children

  • Body-Safety Rules Are NOT Enough

    April is Child Abuse Prevention month and I’ve been reflecting on what it will take to change the cultural norm of silence that allows child sexual abuse to thrive in our communities. I’d like your help. Parenting Safe Children workshop participants tell me how empowered and secure they feel after teaching their kids body-safety rules.…

  • Build Your Prevention Team – the Easy Way

    Build Your Prevention Team – the Easy Way

      “If I was handed this card before I abused, I’d probably walk right away.” Abuser in Treatment Parents are doing a great job teaching their children body-safety rules (yay!), but as I’ve said before, body-safety rules alone are not enough. Here’s why: First, when you rely solely on your child to speak up to…

  • How to Talk with Children About Consent

    Learning about boundaries and consent is a process that takes place over many years. Here are examples of conversations you can have with your children at different ages. I’ve also included examples of how you can model consent as well. Infant: You’re sitting with a group of friends and family who are adoring your infant…

  • What’s Your School Doing to Keep Your Child Safe from Sexual Abuse?

    What’s Your School Doing to Keep Your Child Safe from Sexual Abuse?

    Talking with the DirectorJust as you would talk with the director about curriculum, teachers, meals, and play safety, it’s also important to ask about policies and practices that will help keep your kids safe from sexual abuse. Please don’t let your discomfort stand in the way of this important back-to-school conversation. Ask the director about background checks…

  • I Know Your Child is Adorable, but…

    I Know Your Child is Adorable, but…

    Posting photos of your children is a personal decision, but to make an informed choice, here is some information about what can happen to the photos you post on social media. I will now be blunt: Online child sexual abusers download, trade, Photoshop, and sell images of children. People who engage in child pornography have…

  • Your Top 10 Questions About Body Safety

    Your Top 10 Questions About Body Safety

    1.  At what age should I begin talking with my kids about body-safety?  It’s never too early or too late to start talking with children about their body safety, as long as the information is age-appropriate andpresented without fear. For example, when you’re bathing your 18-month-old daughter, you might say: “Mommy is cleaning your back…