How To Talk To Your Child About Body Safety

 

Discussing body safety with children and making them aware of the gravity of the topic can be pretty challenging. Parents and caregivers have to follow a specific methodology to make children understand and abide by rules for their safety. Read on for an overview of the issue. 

Teaching them proper names

It’s the responsibility of both parents and caregivers to start teaching the children about body safety from a very early age. The first step to body safety skills involves making them aware of the proper names of the private parts, just like every other part of their body.

It also involves teaching them ways to communicate if someone touches their private parts indecently or inappropriately. Children should be encouraged to freely discuss their bodies with their parents, and it’s also important to let them know about privacy. Parents can talk with their children about private parts in the bathroom, during a shower, or during toilet training.

Teaching them to differentiate between safe and inappropriate touches

When children get to the age of 2.5 to 3, it’s important to teach them the difference between safe and unsafe touches. While safe touches include genuine touches of affection, inappropriate touches include hitting, pushing, kicking, and touching their private parts. 

Caregivers must make children understand the difference between the two. For example, when the kids are playing, and they engage in hitting or pushing, explain to them it is unsafe and so should be avoided.

Express clearly

Encourage kids to express clearly if someone is touching them inappropriately. 

  • Teach them to say ‘NO” when someone touches them inappropriately and loudly. 
  • Run away from the person
  • Talk about the incident to parents or safe adults.

Besides, as and when the children are about to reach puberty, they should be taught about sex education and the hormonal and physical changes their bodies gradually undergo. 

Sex education is not just confined to a particular topic but it has a much broader spectrum. Thus, as the children grow, sex education should also expand and cover newer topics. It is also about teaching them how to use that education for their safety.