My Body & Safe Touch - Tips for Kids Age 3 to 5

Safe House Project has a ready made activity for you to make the most of your quality time with your families and create a Move(ment) for Justice. This is a fun activity for your family that will create meaningful discussions around personal safety.

Most child sexual abuse cases and child trafficking cases involve someone the child trusts. Sexual predators establish a trust relationship with a child long before they start to abuse the child.

Topics:

• Teach your child anatomically correct terms for their body parts. Make sure that they understand that their "private parts" are meant just for them.

• "Safe" & "Unsafe" Touching - An easy way to explain this is through the bathing suit example. “No one should touch you anywhere your bathing suit covers. No one should ask you to touch them somewhere that their bathing suit covers. No one should show you a part of his/her or someone else’s bodies that their bathing suit covers.” Remind your child that this includes other children, not just adults.

• At this age a child is going to learn more from what you are doing than a conversation. Don't just tell them boundaries, show them boundaries. For instance, when and when it isn't appropriate to climb into someone's lap.

Activity: With your child, come up with a list of 5 people who they can trust and can talk to if they feel uncomfortable. Often, sexual predators will tell the child they cannot tell their parents, so making sure your child knows other safe people in whom they can confide in. #Move4Justice #SafeTouch #SafeTalk