'STRANGER DANGER'-TEACHING CHILDREN SAFETY SKILLS

CORRECT NAMES OF BODY PARTS

Teach the correct names for body parts using age appropriate language. Children often find it hard to report sexual abuse because they do not know the words to use. Learning correct (anatomical) words for private body parts helps children:
- Not to feel embarrassed to talk about those body parts;
-To understand what is happening should an abusive situation arise.

'STRANGER DANGER'-TEACHING CHILDREN SAFETY SKILLS

GOOD SECRETS, BAD SECRETS

Good secrets make children feel good, safe, excited, and they have a limit (and expiry date). Bad secrets on the other hand cause children pain, shame, anxiety and they are supposed to be kept for a long time or forever.

When ‘commanded’ to do so, children are bound to hold onto bad secrets because of three things:
They:
•Do not yet understand the difference between good and bad secrets;
•Are not yet emotionally strong enough to resist pressure to keep a bad secret; and
•Have been given mixed messages about secrets from the adults in their life

It is therefore imperative for parents to teach children that:
•Anything that bothers them should never be a secret; and
•No one should ever tell them to keep a ‘special’ secret from their parents.