Your Child's Safety

This theme has been on my mind all summer. A friend shared some articles on how to protect your child from sexual abuse and it's been on my mind ever since. As uncomfortable as it seems to discuss this topic, we all know it's something we have to teach our children. (One in four girls and one in six boys will be sexually abused before they turn 18, according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.) I vaguely remember being taught about it in school, with groups coming in and doing skits and talking about our "uh-oh" alarms. We also had the Safety Kids books and tapes as kids and I remember the song about "sometimes you just gotta yell and scream." Stranger Danger was a popular concept to teach back then, but we know now that most child abuse and abductions happen by people we know.
I'm not an expert in this area, but I am a concerned teacher and parent. I've researched and read a lot about this topic and want to share what I've learned with you so you can better protect your child. One of the biggest ways to prevent our children from being sexually abused is by having a close and open relationship with them. Predators go after the weak, and are unlikely to harm a child if they know that child will tell someone. Through the "grooming" process, they often test the boundaries and if a child tells a trusted adult at this phase they will often back off (Time magazine had an article about Jerry Sandusky that discussed this tactic. It was scary to learn how many kids did tell, yet he still hurt so many who didn't.)
I will not be discussing with your preschoolers how to stay safe from child predators during our 2 week Safety Unit. I believe this is something that you should be teaching in your home and did not feel it was appropriate for me to talk about with them.
We will talk a little about strangers with a book called Don't Talk to Strangers by Christine Mehlhaff. It gives a general overview of who strangers are and why we don't talk to them and what to do. I think a valid fear in parents is that a stranger will hurt your child, but we don't want to scare our children so much that they are scared of everyone. Another fear of mine is my child getting lost when we are out somewhere. A general rule I'm trying to teach her (and I'll talk about with your kids) is how to find someone to help them. At a grocery store, they can go to the front where you buy your groceries and tell them you're lost. They can look for a police officer in uniform. I have also taught her to look for a mom with kids. A mom with kids is a stranger you can trust (I hope!). Another person would be a grandmother.
As a mom, I'm scared to talk about this topic with my own child, and so I've tried to arm myself with information to help me. I hope to do the same for you. Here are links to articles I've read and found helpful and hope that you do as well.

Stranger Danger:
Tricky People are the New Strangers
Dr. Phil
How to Teach Your Child Stranger Danger
Stranger Danger Resources
Tips for Parents
10 Ways to Test Your Child about Stranger Danger

Protecting your child from sexual abuse:
Protect Your Child From a Predator
10 Body Safety Rules
Books to Teach Kids Appropriate Touch
I Said No
Lessons to Parents from the Sandusky Verdict
In Plain View: How Child Molesters Get Away With It