Category: Speaking Up
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I am an Incest Survivor and I Speak Up. Will You?
By Marilyn Van Derbur Atler, Author, Miss America by Day I am an incest survivor. My father began coming into my room at night when I was 5. It didn’t stop until I left for college at age 18. No one knows how to stop a man like my father but we do know how…
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I Spoke Up for Kids – and Helped Heal My Past
By Annie, California AuntI took the Parenting Safe Children (PSC) workshop to learn more about keeping kids in my life safe from sexual abuse. I was surprised by all the feelings that came up about a childhood experience in which a teenager repeatedly exposed himself to me. When it happened, I was scared, felt like…
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Eyes, Ears, Nose – and Penis!
By Rachel, Colorado Mom I attended your Parenting Safe Children workshop a few weekends ago. That day, I went home and played a game with my 2-year-old son. I asked him to point to his eyes (check), ears (check), chin (check), knees (check), and then his penis. He gave me a blank stare. I was…
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I Want Every Parent to Ask Me Five Questions
By Nancy James, Executive Director, Montessori Academy of Colorado When you walk into our school, you’ll see a sign, “Welcome, Montessori is about celebrating children and supporting a child’s independence—and we are a body-safe school. We added the last part because we want parents to know right away that we take child sexual abuse prevention…
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My Heart Was Pounding
By Genevieve, Colorado Mom“When I attended the Parenting Safe Children workshop, the idea of screening caregivers, coaches, teachers, etc. around sexual abuse was very intimidating. My husband and I promised ourselves, however, that no matter how uncomfortable it was, we were going to talk with everyone about our daughter’s body safety.The first time I screened…