BishopAccountability.org
	Four Ways to Help Protect Your Preschooler from Sexual Abuse By Joelle Casteix The Technorati June 13, 2011 http://technorati.com/lifestyle/family/article/four-ways-to-help-protect-your/ Being a parent can be downright scary. With a 24-hour news cycle and the media's love of the scare tactic ("To Catch a Predator," anyone?), we are constantly bombarded with messages of fear and helplessness when it comes to the safety of our kids. When I present to parents and community members about preventing and identifying child sexual abuse (CSA), the number one question I receive is: "What can I do RIGHT NOW to help keep my young child safe?" Fortunately, there are tools every parent can use to help preschoolers empower themselves and become less likely targets for predators. While no method is full-proof, every child can benefit from the simple strategies below. 1) Teach preschoolers the correct names of their body parts. When a parent calls a body part by a silly pet name (wee wee, pee pee, etc), that body part's importance is minimalized. Using the right name allows children to own their body parts, speak about them properly, and draw appropriate boundaries with other kids and adults without shame. Not only does this help protect against abuse, but it also helps on trips to the doctor, playground accidents, and the all-important sex talk in 10 years. 2) No Secrets This is simple: Tell your child that secrets are bad and there is nothing so awful that he or she can't tell Mommy and Daddy. CSA is a crime of shame and secrecy. If you take away the power of the secret, suddenly the predator has one less tool of manipulation. Don't forget to differentiate between secrets (which are bad) and surprises (like birthday presents). 3) Looking and touching The bathtub is a good time to teach this lesson. Tell children that no one is to touch their private body parts and they are to never touch anyone else's. Tell them that no one is to take pictures of them when they have no clothes on. Don't use a tone of fear in the discussion - If you approach this the same way as you approach the rules of crossing the street or sharing toys, your child will not be scared or threatened.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.