3 Things To Teach Your Kids About Keeping Their Bodies Safe
Sadly, one of the biggest concerns of many
parents is how to keep their children safe from those who would seek to harm
them. Be it emotionally or physically, children can often be vulnerable to
adults or others who are bigger or stronger than them trying to overpower and hurt them.
So as a parent, it’s important that you can prepare your children for how to
protect themselves and keep themselves safe from this type of harm. To help you
in this goal, here are three things you should teach your kids about keeping
their bodies safe from others.
It’s
Acceptable To Say “No”
When it comes to your children showing
affection to others, you might be tempted to encourage them to give hugs or
kisses to friends and family even if they show signs of apprehension. But in
order for your kids to be comfortable speaking to adults about situations where
they feel uncomfortable, StopItNow.org recommends that you teach your kids that
it’s perfectly acceptable to say “no”
when someone wants a hug or kiss or high five. And when this situation happens,
make sure you respect and support your child’s decision, even if it might mean
hurting someone else’s feelings. For people that your children regularly
interact with, make sure they know that your child has the final say for any
physical interaction that takes place.
What
Things Should Be Kept Private
Because children don’t understand complex
concepts very easily, it can be hard to know how to explain things to them and
what things about these types of situations to explain. But regardless of your
child’s age or understanding level, they should be able to register what things
are private and what things aren’t. Share with your children which areas of
someone’s body are private and shouldn’t be shown or touched by others.
According to Vanessa Bennett, a contributor to the Huffington Post, you should
also have your child practice saying
things like, “Please don’t touch or speak about my body like that.”
Don’t
Keep Secrets For Adults
One rule you should have for your family and
teach to your children, according to Jayneen Sanders, a contributor to
Mother.ly, is to never keep secrets for adults or keep secrets about your body.
While you can still have “happy surprises” like about an upcoming birthday
party or Christmas presents, your children should be told never to keep secrets from their parents,
especially if they’ve been told to keep a secret from their parent by an adult.
Additionally, it can be helpful for your kids to know a few others adults that
they can trust if they need to share sensitive information with.
To help keep your kids safe, consider teaching
them some of the principles mentioned above.
