Kat J photo | Unsplash
Recently, I spoke at an event on the principles of emotional safety, where a representative from the National Organization of Victim’s Assistance (NOVA) happened to be in attendance. Since then, we’ve been working together on a few projects and becoming good friends.
The mission of NOVA is to champion dignity and compassion for those harmed by crime or crisis. They work quite frequently on behalf of abuse victims.
One evening, my friend and I were carpooling back to our hotel from an event and I asked him a personal question.
“As a dad,” I began, “how can I best protect my kids from sexual abuse?”
Here are seven answers he gave me.
1. Have surprises but don’t keep secrets. We don’t keep secrets in our house. We only have surprises. Think about it, secrets are never told. Surprises are always revealed. If I take our kids to get their mommy a birthday present, we’re not keeping it a secret from her; we’re getting her a surprise that will be revealed on her birthday.
Most child predators tell children that the acts are to be kept a secret between the two of them. If secrets are not allowed in your family, it’s unlikely for your child to buy into someone asking them to keep something secret.
2. Over 90% of perpetrators are people we love and trust. Aunts. Uncles. Stepmoms. Stepdads. Grandparents. Moms. Dads. Coaches. Teachers. Pastors. Family friends. Be vigilant of who your children are spending time with—or who wants to spend time with them.
3. Trust your child’s instincts. If your child is skittish towards a relative or friend, don’t push or force him to like and trust that person. Too often we assume that since we trust that individual, our child should too. Allow trust to happen naturally over time and under your supervision. There could be a legitimate reason for your child’s apprehension of an individual. Don’t force it.
4. Use the appropriate names for private parts. It’s not a “willy,” a “pee-pee,” or a “dingy.” Teach your son he has a penis. The same is true for our daughters. Calling a vagina by its proper name is important because sexual predators often use “cutesy” names to lure children.
They need to learn the appropriate terms. If your children know the names of their private parts, they can more accurately, and with no confusion, tell you if it hurts or if someone touched that area inappropriately.
5. Teach them the appropriate situations for private parts to be seen. Just as they need to be told the appropriate ways to speak to others, use a fork, or share toys, our kids need to learn the appropriate situations for private parts to be seen and touched by others.
For the most part, this shouldn’t go beyond bath time at home with mom or dad or an examination at the doctor’s office.
6. If your children ask questions, answer them. Don’t ignore or deflect questions they have about their penis or vagina. Our children are curious about everything, including their body parts.
Ignoring their questions or concerns will only increase their curiosity and, at worst, lead to feelings of shame about their body as if it’s something they shouldn’t discuss. Age-appropriately, answer their questions. Knowledge is power.
7. They don’t have to hug and kiss everybody. There’s always the overzealous aunt or grandma in the family who wants to pinch cheeks and plaster lipstick all over our children. Many times we comply and force our poor kids to do this.
If your child doesn’t want to give hugs and kisses to family members, neighbors, or friends, respect that boundary and don’t force them. Lord knows, you probably don’t want to hug and kiss them either.
JOSHUA STRAUB, Ph.D. (@joshuastraub) is the marriage and family strategist at LifeWay Christian Resources. He has served as a professor of child psychology and authored several books on parenting. This post originally appeared at his website: JoshuaStraub.com.
