Keep Children Safe

Ask questions. Stay involved. Talk to your children.

Speak up when “warning sign” behaviors are seen or reported.

Teach them to be wary of any physical contact initiated by an adult.

Involve your child in setting up a safety plan that is easy to remember.

Tell them that people they know could be capable of doing hurtful things.

List for yourself and your child whom to call for advice, information, and help.

Know your child’s teachers, coaches, day care providers, and other significant adults in their lives.

Teach children the differences between Safe touch and Unsafe touch and the secrets about touching are not OK.

Encourage, affirm, and acknowledge a child’s opinions and feelings – giving them a sense of self-esteem and confidence.

Teach children to trust their feelings and that it is okay to say “No” when someone they know and care about, does something they do not like.

Get comfortable talking about difficult topics such as sexual abuse and saying the proper names of body parts before teaching them to children.

Teach them to trust you with their problems and their pain. The safest child is the child who knows he/she can bring his problems and concerns to parents and adult caregivers without reproach or retaliation.