Teaching and Empowering Children Against Abuse

Of all the news that we read in a day, at least 50% is about abuse, rape or murder. And among those, in at least one of them (if not more), the victim is a child.

It’s important to know why children are easy targets of sexual abuse as this  helps you prepare them to be aware of any kind of abuse. Here’s what you need to know.

Children Need Touch: Young children thrive on touch, touch is one of their most important senses in the early years and naturally they show and accept love using this sense the most.  

Early experiences of touching are incredibly important: Tactile experiences not only mould later tactile sensitivity, motor skills, and understanding of the physical world but also the health and emotional well-being of children. If your child associates touch with a traumatic experience then it will impact overall development. So it is important to keep them away from all kinds of bad touch. Stop hitting and slapping them as they start to associate these with love.

Kids don’t know what bad touch is: Children do not understand what bad touch is unless explained to recognize it.

Kids lack communication skills: Kids have limited vocabulary to share with you about what they experience. Talk to them every night about their day, who they played with, talked to and what kinds of play did they indulge in. Keep it simple, do not get anxious.

Parents think kids imagine things: Many parents think kids are imagining this behavior and thus tend to ignore the child’s attempts to talk about it. If your child shares any unusual talk or behaviour, do not ignore it, look into it. Do not get hyper about it or your child will use it as an attention seeking tactic. Be calm but ensure that you look into all the facts to safeguard your child.

Abuser is thought to be trustworthy: The abuser is usually someone you trust and he is confident that you will not suspect him and it will be his word against that of a small child. Stop calling everyone an uncle or an aunty.

Parents fear stigma: Abusers know that most parents are afraid of social stigma and will thus not bring any action against the abuser and he can move on to the next child. Never be lenient with a child abuser, your child can be at risk again. We have strict laws in our country, demand justice for your child.

To prevent an abuse from occurring, parents and schools need to be vigilant about children’s changing moods, be aware of rules of abuse and educate even little ones about the difference between good touch and bad touch.

It’s our duty to create a safe environment for our children. 

Also read –  What Must You Know About Child Sexual Abuse?, All you need to know about the ill effects of Child Sexual Abuse

Explore the entire collection of articles: Child Safety

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