Parents often hesitate to talk about good touch and bad touch with kids. Telling your kids about inappropriate touching is the first step towards their safety. Many kids might not be aware of what to do or how to react to bad touch. They may or may not even tell their parents about it fearing the reaction, which is why it is really important for parents to teach kids about body safety as early as possible. And if you are wondering how to get started, here are some tips to help you out.
1. Start With Teaching The Body Parts
Parents generally teach kids about body parts like the head, legs, hand, and so on but hesitate to teach them about the private parts. Teaching kids about the anatomical names of the private parts will help them to communicate about their bodies easily with you in case of need.
2. Tell What is Body Safety
Tell your kids about body safety and why it is important. Teach them that they are the boss of their bodies and they have to keep it healthy and safe. Use the swimsuit rule to help them understand the concept easily. If a body part is covered in the swimsuit then it’s the private part, which should be touched by anyone or shown or photographed. In case, they face any such circumstance, they should immediately tell you, teachers, or any trusted person.
3. Educate Them About Touch
Educate your kids about various physical touches like handshakes, hugs, pats, caressing, pinching, hitting, and so on. Let them know that if any physical contact, irrespective of the body part, is making them uncomfortable or scared will be considered as a bad touch. Good contact, however, will make them feel safe and happy, like a hug from parents, grandparents, friends, and so on.
Kids should also know that it’s absolutely fine to say no even to family members or friends in case they feel uneasy with their touch.
4. Teach Them To Retaliate
Kids are often taught to be polite and well-behaved around strangers or known people, which is fine, but teach your kids to retaliate and fight back too when they feel uncomfortable. Tell them to firmly say no and quickly move away from the person, or to shout for help in case stuck in some uneasy situation, and never hesitate to reach out you.
From your end, always make sure your child does not go to unknown places all alone or is out with someone trustworthy and someone they are comfortable with.
5. Don’t Stop The Conversation
Kids’ body changes as they grow older. So, don’t stop the conversation about bad and good touch during their growing years. With growing age, kids might get more curious about their changing body and want to know more about it, thus answer their queries and keep reminding them about good and bad touch from time to time.
To make things more simpler, you can even take the help of various books that teach about good and bad touch. Do not delay to teach about inappropriate touch to your kids. The sooner, the better. Its for their own safety.
You can also read 5 Tips How Parents Can Prevent Cyberbullying Of Kids
